Zoom Q&A with Roger Linn (monthly)

LinnStrument
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Just a heads-up: Roger Linn announced an open Zoom meeting for Q&A. Further information here: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=263&t=577761

I guess this meeting will be helpful for those who are thinking of buying a Linnstrument or share their ideas on playing/setting up the Linnstrument.

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Thanks for posting here :wink:

I saw the announcement and forgot to spread the word here; unfortunately I can’t make it that day/hour… (rehearsals)

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Since the first Zoom meeting, Roger has decided to make them monthly on the first Tuesdays of every month at 10 AM PST.

There will be one happening soon in about 8 hours. Each meeting is recorded and can be viewed in the link below, along with a few recent previous recordings. The Zoom meeting link is also provided.

https://www.rogerlinndesign.com/zoom-call

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Unfortunately Roger forgot to record the July 4th Zoom meeting, so hopefully the next one will be remembered for others to view later.

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The next Zoom meeting is coming up tomorrow in about 17 hours. You can join it using this Zoom link.

If the Zoom meeting is recorded this time, I will provide a brief digest of topics discussed within it, so others do not necessarily have to listen to the entire meeting.

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  • 7:00 - Roger Linn discusses the Jesse Washmon Artist Interview and their vertical layout playing style.
  • 8:00 - Roger, Jack Eddy, and Curt Malouin discuss about pedagogy on the LinnStrument, how techniques varies between LinnStrumentalists, if there are any preferences between a sitting or standing position while playing it in a live setting, and the dependency of the LEDs influencing the former.
  • 12:00 - Roger mentions the LinnStrument’s hardware, such as the wooden sides, are open to customization using STEP files via interested inquiries, along with potentially offering alternative wooden sides in the future to play the LinnStrument more ergonomically in a vertical position.
  • 13:00 - David Frick showcases a 3D-printed keytar that can contain either two LUMI keys within the keybed, or the LinnStrument (200).
  • 18:50 - Étienne wanted an updated LinnStrument battery pack holder. They can find that in the LinnStrument Anker PowerCore 5000 Holder thread.
  • 21:35 - Chris briefly showcased the WIP LinnStrument Backpack.
  • 22:30 - Roger discusses Geert Bevin’s LinnStrument Anker PowerCore+ Mini Holder, the LinnStrument iPad Holder, and the CME WIDI Master.
  • 24:45 - Chris provided links to Onshape and JLCPCB for 3D design and printing.
  • 25:20 - Roger and Chris discuss and showcase the Speedbumpy Surface on the LinnStrument Backpack.
  • 26:10 - David showcases their keytar, along with their music setup for their Twitch channel, BubblegumNihilists.
  • 29:25 - Dave Casey showcases their Speedbumpy Surface, while Étienne and Chris, and Dave discuss how the bumps and “grooves” affect Y and Z-axis expression.
  • 32:50 - David talks about experimenting with using a flat silicone surface and volume dips between columns.
  • 34:10 - Roger addresses David’s observation by referring the phenomenon to the firmware’s interpolation, and its limitations with playing quarter-tones when unquantized.
  • 36:00 - Roger talks about the silicone playing surface, its manufacturing process, and its design choices.
  • 38:45 - Étienne explains their Y-axis is used for volume.
  • 39:40 - Roger explains the limitations of using the Y-axis for precise movements due to the lack of space compared to other MPE hardware controllers, the spacers between the sensors/rows preventing them from becoming combined as one unit, and how an alternate sensor design overcoming this limitation would cause other issues.
  • 41:45 - Roger talks about the Madrona Labs Soundplane and its design benefits/limitations compared to other MPE hardware controllers.
  • 42:55 - Jeff Hulit talks about the Expressive E Touché SE as an alternative solution for precisely controlling the Y-axis.
  • 44:20 - Chris and Roger discuss about the Soundplane’s ability to slide along the Y-axis.
  • 45:00 - Roger talks about Randy Jones and their perspective of the Soundplane.
  • 46:05 - Dave mentions acquiring curly maple veneer for their LinnStrument to use as its interface, once they have access to a laser cutter to shape it.
  • 46:25 - Roger talks about the recently uploaded Making of LinnStrument YouTube video, and the making of the video itself.
  • 50:20 - Chris and Roger discuss the 3x3 proof of concept YouTube video from the How LinnStrument’s Touch Sensor Works support page, the implementations of FSRs across other MPE hardware controllers such as the Sensel Morph and embodme ERAE Touch, and how the Sensel Morph’s division of six zones could potentially be used on the LinnStrument, but just not from Tangio Printed Electronics’ fabrication process, which Roger uses for short LinnStrument runs.
  • 57:00 - David and Roger discuss the scrapped overlay system for the LinnStrument and hex layouts.
  • 1:01:30 - Roger talks about the origin of the Sensel Morph and its close history with the LinnStrument’s early concepts.
  • 1:02:40 - Roger compares the Sensel Morph and LinnStrument’s scan rate regarding velocity values.
  • 1:03:50 - Chris showcases a gadget with an FSR strip, and compares it to the Expressive E Osmose’s portamento feature.
  • 1:05:45 - Curt and Roger discuss the LinnStrument’s FSR sensitivity against the finger force applied in a similar manner from drum machine pads.
  • 1:08:30 - David, Roger, and Dave discuss how to address the issue of the silicone playing surface expanding due to heat.
  • 1:11:40 - Roger and David discuss about customer service from Roger Linn Design compared to its competitors.
  • 1:14:40 - Curt talks about their business, Red Panda, and customer service from their perspective.
  • 1:16:15 - Roger and Curt compares email vs video calls for customer support, and the advantages/disadvantages of having their name on their own products.
  • 1:18:05 - Roger talks about their history of selling products and the gratitude felt from purchases.
  • 1:19:10 - Jeff talks about their second LinnStrument purchase being questioned by Roger.
  • 1:20:25 - Roger talks about his business, Roger Linn Design.
  • 1:23:05 - Jay Salsburg talks about their Teensy project, with Roger discussing about Teensy in general.
  • 1:30:00 - Curt and Roger discuss guitar pedal enclosures.
  • 1:31:40 - Jay talks about their Teensy project some more.
  • 1:33:20 - Charles and Roger discuss about the Jesse Washmon Artist Interview.
  • 1:35:30 - Charles and Roger briefly discuss Max Bajzek’s Solo Expressive LinnStrument YouTube video.
  • 1:37:07 - David, Jeff, Curt, and Roger, and Llarry Amrose discuss about different row offsets.
  • 1:39:10 - Roger talks about Chapman Stick, the amount of those players also using the LinnStrument, and Jeff Moen.
  • 1:41:30 - David talks about the tritone layout and its benefits/drawbacks.
  • 1:43:00 - Roger compares the tritone layout against the strings 4th layout, and the community’s contributions with these layouts and other projects.
  • 1:44:30 - David, Max, and Roger discuss microtonal scales.
  • 1:48:50 - Max mentions about the Ruins of Atlantis YouTube video showcasing their microtonal scale.
  • 1:49:00 - Roger talks about the flexibility of the LinnStrument and its openness to experimentations.
  • 1:50:30 - Roger talks about a story encountering Ned Boynton, who used the 4ths string tuning with their guitar.
  • 1:51:10 - Chris, Roger, Jay and David discuss about non-equal temperament tunings and the Hammond organ.
  • 1:56:45 - Jay, Roger, and Charles discuss George Russell’s Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization.
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EDIT: lets keep this all in one topic.

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Sure, but I originally separated my post into a different thread because I encountered a Discourse limitation of three sequential posts by the same user (me) on a thread that I did not originally started. By starting my own separate thread, that limitation does not exist, as the LinnStrumentalists’ Log thread has proven.

So by moving and combining my thread with this one, I have to rely on someone posting after me after three sequential posts or earlier. If that does not happen I must create a new thread to continue these monthly Zoom meeting summaries, as I did just before you moved them.

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Ive upped the limit to 50 …
if you post with no one replying on this topic for 4 years…(*)
I’ll reply to say congratulations, and give you another 4 years :laughing:

more seriously… do the videos get uploaded somewhere?
I could not find on Roger’s YT channel, or on the linnstrument website.
Id have thought these timestamps would be much more useful to others, if they were attached to the video recording - as you can do with YouTube.

  • 45:00 - Roger talks about Randy Jones and their perspective of the Soundplane.

is not much use to those of us not present, without actually being able to hear the discussion.

edit: ok, I found the last two here :
https://www.rogerlinndesign.com/zoom-call

perhaps suggest to Roger that he copies them to YouTube, then you can add the timestamps into the description… that would make a whole lot more ‘user friendly’.

(*) that said, Id hope in that time frame, someone who reads it would come and thank you for your dedication :slight_smile:

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I do not use YouTube, so that would not work. Besides, there is quite a significant difference between summaries and subtitle transcriptions - I definitely have no time for the latter. Timestamps are usually placed in the video description or a pinned comment.

I still think Roger would benefit from uploading them to YouTube for archival purposes, so I will email them about that later.

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Roger will be away for the September monthly Zoom meeting, so @TigerBalm will be hosting on their behalf instead. It will start this Tuesday, September 5th, at 10 AM PST using the below Zoom link.

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The September 5th Zoom call is now over and has been recorded. Instead of doing topic summaries in this thread, I think it would be a better idea to help support a PeerTube platform/instance for Poly Expression (and others) while also archiving the monthly Zoom calls on it instead.

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