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Ok.. so you may know these sounds (check the attached MP3 file), but there is something you probably aren't to clear on.. The biggest and most awesome Digital Drummer of the 80's - the LINNDRUM, used the same sampling setup as the Cheaper Oberhiem DMX (later the DX) and the even cheaper Sequential Circuits DRUMTRAX.. Sounds stored as 16-bit, 24k mono grabs on EEproms. The Linn used 2k eproms, holding a massive 85ms of sound! Later, they expanded on this, even allowing 2 or 4 sounds on 1 chip, triggered by different buttons.
So, If you had access to an EPROM BLOWER (doubtfull) or more likely, post 1984, the oberhiem 'prommer' that offered sampling , limited editing and 'blowing' in one unit, you could change the soundset in your drummachine to whatever you could record
Heady stuff!
LINN set the standard, with the highly-ropey LM1. Later refined into the LinnDrum (manufactured by 360 systems) and finally into the Linn9000 and Roger Linn/Akai products we still use today.. But NOBODY had one. Record companies owned them, or studios booked themselves on the strength of having one and a set of Roms. See the roms here: http://www.electrongate.com/dmxfiles/linn/index.html and hear them too..
Now, of coarse, LinnDrums are changing hands for 2Grand in working order, yet You can pick up a DRUMTRAX by Sequential for <300euro, or an Oberhiem DX or DMX for about the same.. The most powerfull of them all is the Oberhiem DX.. It has MIDI, 4 voices running from a single 4k eprom (340ms sample time), 1 sharing 2 sounds on 1 4k eprom (170ms each), and 2 with a massive 16k per voice (1360ms for cymbels).. You need to hack the original LINN roms to play properly - otherwise they loop! This is because the stock linn length was 85ms, and if you fire this in a DX, it plays it 4 times per trigger! interesting, but annoying. So, You simply open the Rom in WAVLAB or whatever after converting to WAV, copy & past itself 3 times, and silence the last 3..
Anyway - bottom line, you can have a linndrum, without all the unreliability, by just blowing the roms and popping them into a DX, DMX or SCI Drumtrax!
The soundfile attached to this post was made with an oberhiem DX, running Original Linn LM1 roms, hacked to stop the looping, with the addition of my personal favorite UH! grunt in place of the crash cymbel.
See also: a review of the DX vs. EMU's rom-playing 'drumulator', later to evolve into the HipHop favorite SP-12 Actually, the DMX (pre-dx, smaller rom chunks but more sounds available on the panel..) and the SP12 BUILT hiphop.. In fact, the DMX is now prized by Aging hiphoper, despite it having no or basic MIDI, and horrible build qualitys that see the voice cards wobble all over the shop.. The DX had the voices on the motherboard, doing away with this issue..
See also also: Pics of my DX's guts with custom Roms, and it from above with the obligitory Blue LED i put in after cleaning 20 years of crap out of it. Actually, 22 years of crap.. I bought it in MUSIC MAKER in dublin, when they were knocking them out for IR£299 to get rid of them in Xmas 1988.. I totally failed to get a PROMMER and had to wait till last year to explore the burning of roms with a BATRONIX blower i got to homebrew for the atari 2600! lol..
WAIT! WHY BOTHER? THE SAMPLES ARE ON THAT WEBPAGE SO I COULD JUST USE THEM IN MY FAVORITE ABLETON OR WHATEVER - yeh, i thought that too, but the truth is, NOTHING beats the timing and feel of an actual machine. Software Patterns CANNOT FEEL LIKE THIS - listen to the audio file, tell me i'm wrong..
ALSO: the DX has smart FSK sync on board.. so, you can sync it to a tape machine - like SMPTE, but you had to start it from the start of the track every time.. Mindboggling stuff indeed.
So, to sum up: LINNDRUM - awesome, but unreliable and now worth SERIOUS money to collectors.. OBERHIEM DMX - Unreliable but awesome, and now worth SERIOUS money to HipHop Historians, OBERHIEM DX - last of a line and solid, SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS DRUMTRAX - SOLID AND CHEAP AND OMFG GET ONE ITS A SCI.
For more Linndrum, check the following: Heaven 17's PENTHOUSE & PAVEMENT (track and album), HUMAN LEAGUE's DARE, and if You can get it, WILL POWERS's DANCING FOR MENTAL HEALTH..
So, If you had access to an EPROM BLOWER (doubtfull) or more likely, post 1984, the oberhiem 'prommer' that offered sampling , limited editing and 'blowing' in one unit, you could change the soundset in your drummachine to whatever you could record
Heady stuff!LINN set the standard, with the highly-ropey LM1. Later refined into the LinnDrum (manufactured by 360 systems) and finally into the Linn9000 and Roger Linn/Akai products we still use today.. But NOBODY had one. Record companies owned them, or studios booked themselves on the strength of having one and a set of Roms. See the roms here: http://www.electrongate.com/dmxfiles/linn/index.html and hear them too..
Now, of coarse, LinnDrums are changing hands for 2Grand in working order, yet You can pick up a DRUMTRAX by Sequential for <300euro, or an Oberhiem DX or DMX for about the same.. The most powerfull of them all is the Oberhiem DX.. It has MIDI, 4 voices running from a single 4k eprom (340ms sample time), 1 sharing 2 sounds on 1 4k eprom (170ms each), and 2 with a massive 16k per voice (1360ms for cymbels).. You need to hack the original LINN roms to play properly - otherwise they loop! This is because the stock linn length was 85ms, and if you fire this in a DX, it plays it 4 times per trigger! interesting, but annoying. So, You simply open the Rom in WAVLAB or whatever after converting to WAV, copy & past itself 3 times, and silence the last 3..
Anyway - bottom line, you can have a linndrum, without all the unreliability, by just blowing the roms and popping them into a DX, DMX or SCI Drumtrax!
The soundfile attached to this post was made with an oberhiem DX, running Original Linn LM1 roms, hacked to stop the looping, with the addition of my personal favorite UH! grunt in place of the crash cymbel.
See also: a review of the DX vs. EMU's rom-playing 'drumulator', later to evolve into the HipHop favorite SP-12
Actually, the DMX (pre-dx, smaller rom chunks but more sounds available on the panel..) and the SP12 BUILT hiphop.. In fact, the DMX is now prized by Aging hiphoper, despite it having no or basic MIDI, and horrible build qualitys that see the voice cards wobble all over the shop.. The DX had the voices on the motherboard, doing away with this issue..See also also: Pics of my DX's guts with custom Roms, and it from above with the obligitory Blue LED i put in after cleaning 20 years of crap out of it. Actually, 22 years of crap.. I bought it in MUSIC MAKER in dublin, when they were knocking them out for IR£299 to get rid of them in Xmas 1988.. I totally failed to get a PROMMER and had to wait till last year to explore the burning of roms with a BATRONIX blower i got to homebrew for the atari 2600! lol..
WAIT! WHY BOTHER? THE SAMPLES ARE ON THAT WEBPAGE SO I COULD JUST USE THEM IN MY FAVORITE ABLETON OR WHATEVER - yeh, i thought that too, but the truth is, NOTHING beats the timing and feel of an actual machine. Software Patterns CANNOT FEEL LIKE THIS - listen to the audio file, tell me i'm wrong..
ALSO: the DX has smart FSK sync on board.. so, you can sync it to a tape machine - like SMPTE, but you had to start it from the start of the track every time.. Mindboggling stuff indeed.
So, to sum up: LINNDRUM - awesome, but unreliable and now worth SERIOUS money to collectors.. OBERHIEM DMX - Unreliable but awesome, and now worth SERIOUS money to HipHop Historians, OBERHIEM DX - last of a line and solid, SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS DRUMTRAX - SOLID AND CHEAP AND OMFG GET ONE ITS A SCI.
For more Linndrum, check the following: Heaven 17's PENTHOUSE & PAVEMENT (track and album), HUMAN LEAGUE's DARE, and if You can get it, WILL POWERS's DANCING FOR MENTAL HEALTH..
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