Hello from Roger Linn-- 

Here are a few items of possible interest to LinnStrument owners or enthusiasts.

If there's anything you'd like to see in future newsletters, please let me know.

- Roger

LinnStrumentalist Videos by

Jeremy Cubert

One of my favorite LinnStrumentalists is Jeremy Cubert, who is not only an excellent musician but who also plays a variety of instruments-- piano, LinnStrument, guitar, Chapman Stick, ZenDrum and more--and is remarkably able to adapt his skills from one instrument to another.

Here are some videos from Jeremy that aren't recent but are markable examples of his creativity and skill, and may be unknown to recent LinnStrument owners. The first one is called "Memory of Flight", using a fretless bass sound:

Next, here's one of him playing a Turkish Oud sound:

Finally, here's a 2016 compilation of Jeremy demonstrating various sounds, including the SWAM instruments from Audio Modeling, incorrectly stated in the video as products from the Sample Modeling company, their distributor at the time:

Thanks, Jeremy, for being a great ambassador for LinnStrument and creating so many wonderful videos.

Tips & Tricks

Here are few new LinnStrument Tips & Tricks:

Quickly Change Between Musical Modes While Playing

Let's say you're playing in C Major but want to change to C Minor in mid-song, but would find it confusing to play the unlit pads. Here's a trick that allows you to play the lit pads in both C major and C minor:

1. Using the default C Major scale lights, play your C Major part by playing the lit pads.
2. Using the Octave/Transpose button, transpose the "Pitch" row up by 3 semitones.
3. Now you'll see the same C Major scale pads lit, which is an A Minor scale if you start on A instead of C. But given that you just transposed up by 3 semitones, that A Minor scale is now a C Minor scale.

Discovering LinnStrument's Hidden Settings

LinnStrument has a variety of "hidden" settings, often accessed by HOLDing a pad in Per-Split Settings or Global Settings. To learn about these hidden settings, open the Panel Settings page, select either the "Per-Split Settings" or "Global Settings" tabs, then search for "hidden".

Or watch this video entitled "LinnStrument's Hidden Settings", which details most of them.

Performing Trills

LinnStrument's Arpeggiator is handy for performing trills, for example how mandolin players rapidly repeat some notes during play. But ideally you want to trill some notes and not others, so it's useful to quickly turn the Arpeggiator on or off during play.

To do this, set the Low Row to ARPEG in Per-Split Settings > Low Row column. The arpeggiator will be off by default, but will turn on as long as you hold the Low Row, which you can do with your thumb while fingering the notes to be trilled in the upper 7 rows.

As a bonus, sliding your thumb left or right on the Low Row will change the arpeggiator rate. For example, if the Arpeggiator is set to 16th Notes in Global Settings, then holding your thumb on the Low Row will enable 16th note trills. But subsequently sliding your thumb on the Low to the right by one pad will change to the next higher Arpeggiator rate of 16th Triplets.

Want to light all pads of the same pitch as the pressed pad?

In earlier LinnStrument software versions, pressing a pad would light all pads of the same pitch in other rows. This was handy, for example, to guide your other hand to know which notes to play.

Around 2021, I turned this feature off by default because it would light too many other pads when playing chords, effectively removing the scale indicator lights.

If you want to restore this feature, it's a simple setting change. In Per-Split Settings, Color column, HOLD the "Played" pad. You'll see "CELL" in large letters. Slide your finger over the surface one column to the right to select "SAME", then exit Per-Split Settings.

You can learn more in the Panel Settings page, Per-Split Settings tab, search for "animations".

Want to use the Low Row like a Modulation Wheel?

Sometimes it's handy to use the Low Row like a piano keyboard's Mod Wheel, setting it to a position and leaving it there until you change it again. To do this, you can set the Low Row to act as a long Modulation slider that stays where you leave it.

Here's how to do it: In Per-Split Settings, Low Row columns, select the "X=CC1" pad. Then HOLD that same pad to access its hidden settings. You'll see "HLD", indicating hold mode. Now slide your finger one column to the right to select "FDR" (fader mode), then exit Per-Split Settings. Now sliding your finger along the Low Row will change its light bar to where your released your finger, and it will stay there until changed.

To learn more, open the Panel Settings page, Per-Split Settings tab, and search for "X=CC1".

Price Increases on Jan 1

I'm sorry to report that I'll be increasing LinnStrument prices on January 1, 2026. Why? Two reasons:

1) Inflation

Regarding LinnStrument (200), I released it in October of 2014 at a pre-tax US price of $1499 and haven't raised my price since then, yet my manufacturing cost has increased at the 37% rate of inflation since 2014. If I had increased the pre-tax sales price to keep pace with my cost to make it, I'd now be selling it for 37% more, which would be US$2,054.

Regarding LinnStrument 128, I released it in November of 2016 at a pre-tax US price of $999, then raised it to $1099 in May of 2022, yet my manufacturing cost has increased at the 35% rate of US inflation since 2016. If I had increased the pre-tax price to keep pace with my cost to make it, I'd now be selling it for 35% more, which would be US$1,349.

Instead, I've been steadily making less profit. Note that current my annual income from both LinnStrument models is about the same as an engineer's salary, so I'm not getting rich and have no employees, but I am having a lot of fun.

2) The Trump tariffs

I manufacture LinnStruments in the US because a) I believe in supporting the US economy, b) I don't sell enough to benefit from Asian manufacturing, and c) I'm better able to maintain quality by driving out to my local manufacturer after each production to personally inspect every unit before it ships.

However, many of the parts used in LinnStrument--even those bought from US chip companies-- are unavoidably manufactured in Taiwan or China, so I must pay those tariffs. (Despite Trump's false claim that foreign companies pay the tariffs, US companies pay 100% of the tariffs.) It's difficult to predict what new tariffs Trump will suddenly threaten on any given day, and equally difficult to run a small business with such erratic government policies, but my best guess is that the tariffs will add an additional 10% to my manufacturing cost. If I were to increase my prices to compensate for both the above inflation increases plus this 10% estimated tariff, my LinnStrument prices would be:

LinnStrument: US$2,259

LinnStrument 128: US$1,484

Unfortunately, fewer people would be able to afford LinnStruments at these prices. While I must increase my prices to stay in business, I've decided to limit my increases and simply earn less profit. So as of January 1, 2026, I will raise my US pre-tax prices to the following:

LinnStrument: from the current $1499 to US$1,649

LinnStrument 128: from the current $1099 to US$1149

Export dealers set their own prices, but will likely increase them by the same percentage.

I'm giving you this early warning so that if you have been considering buying a LinnStrument, you'll save money by buying before January 1.

Next Zoom Call

The next First-Tuesday-Of-The-Month-LinnStrument-Zoom-Call is Tuesday November 4th at 10 am California time. All are welcome-- LinnStrument owners and those interested in LinnStrument. I'm happy to answer questions from potential buyers or newbies, and interesting discussions often ensue between owners about tips, techniques, specific synths, or editing the source code.

To get the Zoom meeting link, click here or click "Monthly Zoom call with Roger" from the LinnStrument Support page. I hope you can join the meeting, if not this one then on any future first Tuesday of the month at 10 am California time.

Spread the Word

As a tiny company with limited resources, it can be challenging to find ways to tell people about the merits of LinnStrument. If you've found LinnStrument to be helpful in your musical process, I'd appreciate it if you could let others know about it, either in online posts, YouTube videos, or simply telling friends about your experience. Thanks much.

Note: The only way you got this newsletter is if you intentionally opted in to my monthly email newsletter list. If you no longer want to receive these newsletters, simply click the "unsubscribe" link below. But please don't mark this email as spam because it can result in LinnStrument owners not getting my support responses.

Please feel free to pass this message on to anyone who might be interested. If you're not on the Newsletter email list and would like to receive these monthly newsletter, visit the LinnStrument Support page and click "Email Newsletters". And thanks for owning, or having interest in, LinnStrument.