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In-depth Feature:  Industry Interview -Roger Linn
The Daddy of the MPC and the modern drum machine
Nick B writes: .


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Introduction
If you're into sampling or drum machines, Roger Linn is one of those names that is or certainly should be, be familiar to you. His innovations in music technology go back as far as 1979 with the release of the worlds first sampled drum machine - the LM-1 and subsequently the LinnDrumm and Linn 9000, lead to some defining moments in the music of that era - Joy Division's Blue Monday, and many of Prince's finest recordings. In 1988, Roger teamed up with Akai to create another classic instrument of it's time, the MPC 60 followed by the MPC 3000 in 1994. Roger’s flare for design and Akai's marketing and distribution muscle formed a perfect partnership that spawned a whole generation of beats and sampling machines. Even today the MPC 60 is held in high esteem - and the MPC 3000 and it's offspring almost totally ruled the world of Hip Hop and Rn'B for a time - some might say still do.

Roger Linn is still in the business of innovation with his new company, Roger Linn Design – responsible for the award winning beat sync'd filter, amp modeling stomp-box Adrenalinn and this years Adrenalinn II. We talked to Roger about past classics and future plans.

Beginnings
SS: Where are you and what have you been up to?

RL: I'm in Berkeley, California, and since the beginning of 2002, I've been running my new company, Roger Linn Design.

SS: How did you first get involved creating technology for music, and what was your first project (commercial or otherwise)?

RL: While in high school I modified a fuzz tone product called the Foxx Tone Machine with some simple filters to make it sound more like real guitar amp distortion. I sold one to a little-known girl band at the time called Fanny. It apparently failed on stage, causing a news station to come through the P.A. Also during that time I had an after school job installing pickups and elecftronics in guitars, and had more switches in my guitar than an electronic voting machine in a California governorecall election. My first real product was the LM-1 Drum Computer, released in 1979 from my first company, Linn Electronics.

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