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INSANE: Roger linn - The Real Truth

Want crispy, retro digital drum machine sounds? Here’s our top picks of the plugin options that emulate the pioneering classics

Despite low-quality sample rates, vintage digital drum machines remain a production constant. We hook-up three of the best, and recommend their plugin counterparts

MusicRadar

"It's the silliest, most oddball song in our entire catalogue, but it truly hit a nerve." How Toto used a synthesised flute riff and a drum loop to concoct a classic and a cultural phenomenon

Written to get their label off their back, Toto's Africa – written by a man who'd never been there – has become inescapable

Louder

“It’s the heart of my studio”: The story of the Akai MPC, from the MPC60 to the MPC Live III

Few pieces of production gear are as influential as Akai’s MPC series. We trace the MPC's journey through its phoenix-like birth from the ashes of the LinnDrum 9000 to the latest apex-hitting incarnation

MusicRadar

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“Much like its predecessor, the 909 was also a commercial flop, and arguably more so than the 808”: How the drum machine grew into a viable alternative to real drummers

There's not much early-80s tech that still influences modern creativity, but the dominance of electronic drum sounds stems right back to 1980, and a bizarre series of unfortunate events…

MusicRadar

“Kudos to Akai’s software team”: Roger Linn uploads video that praises the MPC Live II as “the ultimate looper”

He works up a track in just two minutes

MusicRadar

“There’s a freedom of thought that doesn’t exist elsewhere”: How and why California became the heart of the synthesizer world

Many of the biggest players in the genesis of modern music-making hailed from California, but just what made the state such fertile ground for the synth pioneers to flourish?

MusicRadar

“For the record, I have never been consulted in any way about this pedal, it has never been authorised by me”: Bill Finnegan sues Behringer parent company over Klon Centaur clone

Finnegan invented the Klon Centaur in 1994. Behringer launched a $69 copy and called it the Centaur Overdrive in November last year

MusicRadar

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Uli Behringer speaks out on Behringer's pricing strategy: "Our competitors say 'how much could I charge and get away with it?' We take the cost, add a small margin and that's the sale price"

"In many cases, we build synthesizers and there is no commercial incentive behind it. In some cases we even lose money - it doesn't matter"

MusicRadar

“The perfect environment for creating iconic drum sounds, which have scope to move beyond their original sonic remit”: GForce Software IconDrum review

In the return of an Iconoclastic instrument, GForce revisits one of the most influential drum machines of the ’80s, and beyond

MusicRadar

“This company has not only copied the trade-dress, they have even assimilated the history of Musitronics into their videos”: Musitronics slams “$2 billion German company” for copying Mu-Tron effects

Musitronics does not mention Behringer by name but does not miss in a social media post calling out the company for issuing three clones of classic Mu-Tron products

MusicRadar

“We believe we could make this happen for under $500”: Behringer asks for user suggestions as it considers making an “affordable” version of the classic E-MU SP-1200 sampler

The company is also on the lookout for “experienced software engineers” to work on the project

MusicRadar

"I'd have preferred for Uli to ask my permission. Even if he thinks it is legal, I question whether it is ethical": Roger Linn slams Behringer's unauthorized LinnDrum clone

Linn says he has mixed feelings about Behringer's LM Drum, which he says he found "confusing and difficult to use"

MusicRadar

"He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": When an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story

Best of 2024: Tom Petty rejected Mike Campbell's synth and drum machine demo, Don Henley didn't make that mistake… but the 1984 hit had other obstacles to overcome

MusicRadar

"It may have bothered him that people didn’t recognise his guitar virtuosity, which might be why the song devotes so much space to his shredding": A music professor breaks down the theory behind Prince's When Doves Cry

Best of 2024: As Purple Rain celebrates its 40th anniversary, we put one of Prince's best-loved songs under the musical microscope

MusicRadar

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“People think of Prince and they think ‘vocalist, songwriter, guitarist'. But his bass playing: bar none”: Questlove on the Prince production with the ‘David Garibaldi LM-1 drum beat’ that he calls “one of the most daring funk songs of all time"

How Tower Of Power’s Squib Juice fuels the groove that drives The Time’s 777-9311

MusicRadar

As Purple Rain celebrates its 40th anniversary, we put one of Prince's best-loved songs under the musical microscope

MusicRadar

"I didn't expect it to be as good as it is": Watch Roger Linn, creator of the original MPC, test out Akai's MPC Live II

"Akai has done a very good job of honouring the workflow of my original design and bringing it into the present"

MusicRadar

"He didn't just select a stock beat and press play": Prince’s go-to synths and drum machine - a career in music tech gear

From the Linn LM-1 to the Roland JD-800

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MusicRadar

“She’s slightly behind the beat but this doesn’t make her sound sloppy; to the contrary, it shows an effortless command of musical time”: A music professor breaks down Amy Winehouse's Back to Black

With Winehouse's biopic in the cinemas, we put her best-loved song under the musical microscope

MusicRadar

"He didn't tap a foot or move his head or anything. He listened to it all the way through and I thought he hated it": when an Eagle, Heartbreaker, Roger Linn and an Oberheim OB-X combined forces for a pop masterpiece – the Boys Of Summer story

Tom Petty rejected Mike Campbell's synth and drum machine demo, Don Henley didn't make that mistake… but the 1984 hit had other obstacles to overcome

MusicRadar

"Immaculate condition for its age": There’s an original Linn LM-1 drum machine for sale on Reverb, but if you want it, you might have to pay around $35,000

On the plus side, the delivery might be free…

MusicRadar

808s, MPCs and Auto-Tune: The story of hip-hop production in 10 iconic bits of gear

Hip-hop's evolution is intertwined at every turn with the development of music technology. As the genre turns 50, we chart its five-decade history through ten influential pieces of music-making kit

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