Linn LM-1 (1980–1983)
The LM-1 was the first drum machine to use digital samples of real drums. Roger Linn designed it after he watched a drummer struggle to keep a consistent beat. Before the LM-1, rhythm boxes synthesized their sounds. The LM-1 played back 8-bit recordings of actual acoustic drums, captured at a 28 kHz sample rate. The sound was crisp and immediate, and Studio Sound (November 1981, p.7) described it as real drum beats rather than synthesized approximations.
The hardware was built around a 6800 microprocessor and offered twelve drum sounds: two kicks, two snares, claves, open and closed hi-hats, cabasa, high and low congas, tambourine, and rim shot. Most sounds could be tuned, and some offered selectable decay. Programming was done in real time or step time via a panel of buttons, with an 8,200-note sequencer running at 96 parts per bar. There was no display at all, no screen and no visual aids, which made the LM-1 genuinely difficult to learn. It did include a programmable shuffle/swing function, and as Wikipedia notes, a few notes programmed with swing could transform a bad performance into a good one. The machine offered twelve individual analogue outputs plus a main mixed output and headphone jack. MIDI did not exist yet.
Priced at $4,995 at launch, the LM-1 was too expensive for most musicians, yet it appealed enormously to famous ones. Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" was the first record to use it. Prince used it on "When Doves Cry" and "1999." Michael Jackson's "Beat It" and "Thriller" both feature it, with the latter crediting "the Linn" outright. The Human League's "Don't You Want Me," plus records by Gary Numan, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Devo, Eurythmics, Stevie Wonder, and Herbie Hancock all use it too. Only about 500 units were made between 1980 and 1983. The LM-1 directly led to the LinnDrum (1982) and Linn 9000 (1984), which followed its blueprint.
Known specifications
- Sound generation: 8-bit digital samples of acoustic drums at 28 kHz
- Drum sounds: 12 (kick ×2, snare ×2, claves, hi-hat open/closed, cabasa, conga high/low, tambourine, rim shot)
- Sequencer: 8,200 notes, 96 parts per bar, real-time and step sequencing
- Shuffle/swing: programmable
- Outputs: 12 individual analogue outputs, main mix, headphones
- MIDI: none
- Processor: 6800 microprocessor
- Production: approximately 500 units, 1980–1983
- Original price: $4,995
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