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Linnstrument with ipad
Hi!
Has anyone tried the linnstrument with ipad? What’s your experience?
Comments
A lot of us are using some sort of virtual “Linnstrument” with our iPads
Check out Velocity Keyboard as an example
With regard to synths Volt is cool. The Moog synths do alright as well
SWAM instruments are coming in iPad, according to rumors
But you probably know all of this. :-)
I have a used Linnstrument that I was lucky enough to score at a good price (they are expensive!). It works great with a USB cable and a CCK connector to my iPad. The amount of expressiveness is really governed by the apps rather than by the Linnstrument itself--it's an obviously powerful controller. With apps that support MPE and/or multiple MIDI controls, the experience can be wonderfully expressive--you wiggle your finger and the sounds just morph/explode/wobble, etc. I am a personal fan of using the LS with SpaceCraft as the developer of that app put a lot of thought/effort into supporting MPE instruments like the LS.
The closest analogue to the experience is GeoShred--but with the tactile experience that you can't get with finger on glass. Anyway, it's easy to see why some LS users think that Roger Linn is not overstating things when he articulates his hopes for a new paradigm with the LS.
@audiobussy I have tried some virtual controllers like geoshred. I like them but I prefer hardware controllers. I don’t why but hardware keeps me playing for hours. @lukesleepwalker hhanks for the info. I use the roli block with the noise app and the swam instruments are amazing. I just wish they made it work outside the noise app.
Same here... I like the Block with the SWAM samples
In my experience, Geoshred is a mess as a midi controller compared to velocity keyboard and others
I can’t get enough of the Linnstrument,
So expressive, really excels with MPE as you may expect, but single channel apps work well if you dial in the right settings(which are right on the hardware!).
Linnstrument with Moog Model 15 mellokeys Preset alone and I could be happy with it for years. Also as a bass player the layout is great.
When the era of MPE is ushered in full force it just may be the best investment I’ve ever made.
Put
@tput73 I think the linnstrument will be a christmas gift to myself this year
Right, if you play a stringed instrument of any sort, the LS opens up all kinds of new ways to create more expressive MIDI. The obvious are slides and bends and vibrato--BUT, I also find myself including ghost notes and other little MIDI blips and blobs that I never get with a piano keyboard type of thing.
MPE is such a big plus for making/composing music, you can put so more expression in it. I own a Roli Soundmaker kit(seaboard block, lightpad block, live block with the full Equator software), never been happier.
Hoping that more developers will support MPE in their software.
That’s like putting Centerlines on a Ford Pinto.
I have also a Linnstrument. I am so glad I bought it.
There's people that say it is difficult to get used to it. I think this is because they come from a keyboard-centric set up. I used to play bass, I've never been able to "see" the notes in a keyboard but with the Linnstrument I was right at home from the beginning.
Also if you like to sequence music the Linnstrument may not be it, despite of the built-in sequencer. I think I like it because I like to play as I did with the bass guitar, performing those small gestures to change timbre, etc.
For MPE it should be noted that the Y-axis is way shorter than Roli's so sounds in Noise App would be better if some settings could be modified. I like to make very subtle modulations in this axis and prefer aftertouch for more dramatic changes in amplitude (filter, velocity, sustain...).
It is very easy to change settings right on the device (no need for a computer for that). Those of you worried about MPE using all 16 channels should know that these can be limited to the number of voices needed + one for the common channel. So Model 15 would use 5 channels and the rest is up to you to use.
Also changing to non MPE is as easy as pie. Can be done in less than a second and still press the aftertouch out of Zeeon or get carried away by the plucks in Resonator.
This is important if you are not fully satisfied with the MPE synths out there, which I'm not. I'm too lazy for Model 15 (despite the great sound it provides); Spectrum is a beast that cannot be tamed; Model D is not my cup of tea; Volt is jumpy; DRC is limited; Quanta could be it (a subtractive synth in those lines would be amazing).
There is the Synclavier which I haven't tested.
SpaceCraft has a great MPE support if you are into space travel. I use it all the time but tend to forget the Linnstrument as it wants to be screen-touched.
And then there's Animoog, the one and only. I can live with it non being AU but tempo won't sync to host. The biggest problem is that the sound gets kind of sad when using Linnstrument in MPE mode. Aftertouch makes it somehow wobbly, unstable, kills the attack and sometimes the release too. Funny to think that the same man is behind the Linnstrument and Animoog. Moog knows. Who knows if they'll do something about it or when.
So yes, @fattigman give yourself a xmas present this year!
@musgo thanks a lot for the detailed description about the MPE apps. I’m more and more convinced it is what I want.
@fattigman, curious... why the LS as compared to a Roli Seaboard?
@LinearLineman I have the deluge with a similar keyboard layout as the linnstrument. I like that you can learn to play a song in all keys without changing anything because of the layout.
I don't own either of them and since I don't live anywhere near a useful music store, I haven't been able to try either of them out. So, I can't really say anything about the playability of the two in comparison. I've been looking into both of them to try and figure out which I would want to get. There's a few things that make me lean towards the Linnstrument. I'm a guitar player, so the layout is more familiar. I use an all 4ths tuning on guitar, so it's even closer to how I think. The layout also makes pitch bends and glissandi more sensible to me over doing it on a piano like layout. The way that it's done on the Seaboard doesn't seem to me like it would feel natural.
I'm also pretty interested in alternate tuning systems and the Linnstrument is more usable for setting up alternate tunings.
On the practical side, I'm a bit worried by what looks to me like Roli is narrowing their line of Seaboards and killing off the top end of the line. One thing I really like about the Linnstrument is that the control software is open source and is based on open hardware for the processing. It makes it much more likely that people would be able to keep them running even if the company stops support.
@fattigman I havent used a LS but Spacecraft IMO has the best MPE implementation I tried so far, I made tons of little test tracks on my seaboard when testing SC. It was easy to make interesting sounds and music from a simple sample.
One of the many quick doodles I made when testing, you can imagine if you spent some time and thought plus production into using a LS!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dy9mtioo1u3a18y/Sc MPE test .wav?dl=0
I have not tried it but i plan on doing so in another form via the Sensel Morph. There's a Linnstrument based overlay setting that someone in the Sensel Morph community made. Great bang for the buck and room for ultra customizability down the line. I understand that nothing compares to the 'real' thing but i think it's worth considering.
I've been looking at the Morph too. The price and configurability is cool. The thing I'm concerned about with it is the tradeoff between latency and position sensing. The specs list the latency for high speed mode at 2ms and for the highest accuracy at 8ms. One of the Sensel people noted that in high speed mode two adjacent note pads on the music production overlay wouldn't be discernible. So, it seems that to do a Linnstrument like overlay you'll need to go to the 8ms latency. I think that would be too much. I haven't seen the Linnstrument overlay in the forum though. I'll have to go check that out.
I haven’t noticed any latency myself, and I’ve been making custom overlays but I’ve never been personally bothered by any midi Bt latency I’ve experienced so I’m not the most qualified person to comment on it. I know a lot of drummers are no joke about this kinda stuff. Price wise, and with all the modularity on offer I’d still take a gamble on the morph, if of course, the latency is tolerable for you.
Here’s the link:
https://forum.sensel.com/t/12x6-linnstrument-mpe-grid/639
@[Deleted User] nice sample. I have to sc after hearing this.
Thanks for the link. It's definitely interesting. I agree with you that the price is very good for products like this. Nothing else I've seen comes anywhere close in pricing.
The latency thing isn't going to be an issue for a lot of applications. I would think that most layouts for drumming type interaction would have wide enough spacing and strike zones that you could use the fast mode and 2ms is good enough that you aren't going to feel it at all. For a Linnstrument like setting where the pads are really close together and you actually want to be able to touch between the pads at times, having to move to 6ms or 8ms latency could be a little off when you are trying to get fine gestural control of timbre and vibrato.
Still, maybe thinking about it differently than the Linnstrument would lead to a better way to use the Morph as an MPE controller. This looks really interesting, https://forum.sensel.com/t/22shruti-on-sensel/991
Hi! I've been thinking about picking up a Linnstrument and just wanted to resurrect this topic to see if there have been any significant improvements in usability with iPad apps over the past 6 months as we've had so many excellent releases recently...
Thanks to anyone for more insight into how well it works with iOS!
I sold my Godin midi guitar, and Roland guitar synth two years ago to purchase the Roli Seaboard Rise 49; since I am mostly a keyboardist. No regrets. Love it! It was a toss up at the time between the Roli and the Linnstrument. I have been fascinated with isomorphic layouts for a long time. So, wish I could have purchased the Linnstrument; but cannot afford it now.
I have ordered the Novation Launchpad X, and awaiting its delivery. It is not fully MPE compatible, but offers velocity sensitivity and aftertouch (2 of the 5 axis of expression). It also is tuned to perfect 4ths like the Linnstrument; and can do custom scales. Great price. See video link below of a Linnstrument user, who is switching to the Novation Launchpad X.
There’s nothing wrong with the Linnstrument with iPad. Just plug and play.
There might be some problems in MPE implementation in some apps but there’s reason to be optimistic.
Besides the Linnstrument is one pad away regular midi if you prefer, so you can play any synth you like. I love to play Ripplemaker with it. There’s also a sequencer and cc faders.
Thanks @bsantoro ! Tempting to try out the LaunchPad X first to see if it can save me $1000+...
I’ve been working with my Linnstrument and MiRack. Build up a voice with the parameters you need (PW, MW, AFT, Vel, etc) then copy the voice however many times you need, each with a different channel. I’ve successfully made 8 voice and 16 voice versions. The extra parameters need to be tweaked a bit...scaling mostly...but it’s pretty cool. It’s worked in the AU version I’ve been testing as well. One thing I like about the Linnstrument is the ability to split the instrument. Theoretically 2x 8ch MPE controllers (or less voices if you prefer). By slightly detuning each oscillator you can almost get an analog response from the synth. Fortunately MiRack doesn’t eat a lot of cpu... I have a couple pics in the MiRack Live thread here:
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/34790/mirack-by-mifki-limited-live/p52
Dave
I'm perplexed. The Linnstrument works great with iPad. You plug it in and it works.
@oddSTAR, don’t get me wrong.. the LaunchPad X is not a substitution for MPE; like the Linnstrument or Roli. You would be missing expressive capabilities, like pitchbend, and others. You would have to use a MIDI keyboard to do the pitchbend along with the LaunchPad X. A pitchbend wheel on a keyboard, however, bends every note in the same channel all at once. The Linnstrument can independently, bend or slide each note separately; independently of each other; for far more expression. Please forgive me if I am telling something you already know.
A bad Linnstrument player may prefer the Launchpad. But the Linnstrument is still pretty obviously a more expressive instrument.
How do you compare the sensitivity of the pads on the Launchpad vs LinnStrument?