Lm-1 Drum Machine Samples

[Taneka Tarring]

TheLM1 is one of the most rare and sought after drum machines of all time, and as a result, not many sample packs exist. And the ones that do are either incomplete, low quality, or have the wrong sounds (many units are unknowingly loaded with custom samples).

So, after waiting around for years trying to locate one, we ended up finding two in the same week this year. Needless to say, we were excited, and set forth creating the most comprehensive and highest quality LM1 pack in existence. With extreme attention to detail, we multi-sampled a combination of both units, at as many pitches, decays and even round robin (Hi Hats) as we could, without going overboard! Everything was run both cleanly and heavily processed through our API 1608 console and Apogee Symphony MKII.

Introduced in 1980, the LM1 was based around 8 bit, 28kHz digital samples of a drummer (who is unknown!) passed through analog filters. It was the first drum machine to introduce record quantize and shuffle, which was a major accomplishment at the time.

Upon its release, the sound immediately became ingrained in pop culture, most notably by Prince (who was often mistaken for using the Linndrum) and followed by legends like Michael Jackson, Gary Numan and Roger Troutman. Its sounds were also most likely stolen by other drum machines of the era, including the Drumtraks, 707, DMX and more. Regardless, with its laid back groove, constantly changing hi hats, and crunchy, 80s drum sounds, the LM1 is an organic machine that oozes funk. It is a beast of a drum machine:

Whatever it is, this pre-head is precisely what gives the drum machine its signature laid back, funky feel that Prince loved so much. It allows the snare drum, for instance, to sit well after the bassdrum even though both are quantized to the same beat. And when you pitch each drum sound, this pre head becomes either shorter or longer - for every voice - so the pitch of the drums ends up hugely affecting the groove of the machine. Just look at this pre attack!

The LM1 sounds ALIVE (especially considering it is not analog) and this is due largely to how the hi hats work. There is just one sample: a sizzling open hi hat (it almost sounds like an LFO). The closed Hi Hats (you get Accent and No Accent) are created by an analog VCA that opens and closes the open hi hat sample. Because the attack and release of the gate is always changing, so are the hi hat transients. Plus, each hi hat button's gate sounds slightly different. And finally, there's a hi hat decay knob!

This all leads to quite dynamic hi hats (and sample anxiety!). To re-create this without going overboard, we captured three different versions of each hi hat, at 4 different decays, and 30 different pitches. The hi hats alone are as big as the rest of the pack, at over 1600 samples, but as a result, when used in a "round robin" sampler, in combination with the different decays, they really come alive:

The recording process was broken into two parts: clean and color. Both the clean and color versions include up to 30 pitches per drum voice, including round robin hi hats at 4 different decays for every pitch.

The LM1 was first recorded cleanly, at low volume through our API 1608 console, through the cleanest possible balanced power, directly into our Apogee Symphony MKII converter. Without any processing, the beauty of this drum machine is clear. The clean samples sound amazing and ready to go.

The color versions were also recorded through our API 1608; we drove the input hot (sometimes creating duplicate channels and running one even more distorted). The 1608 can be saturated much harder than its API 500 series counterparts since there are so many more transformers. The benefit of console saturation is that, as opposed to using a bunch of different distortion devices (which we tried at first), using only the console resulted in a much more cohesive color, allowing the samples to play like one instrument.

We also used our API 560, API 550B, some slight API 2500 Compression, and the Overstayer Saturator, to create colored hits. These are mostly subtle colors that bring up the RMS, make the sounds a bit darker, and add more hardware harmonics so they cut through a mix more easily. But, we made sure to smash some bass drums, snares and toms for all of your dirtier needs.

It seems that every LM1 sounds a bit different - not in the same way that every 808 varies, but because so many LM1 owners modified them in various ways that suit their needs. People loaded their own sounds (Most LM1 sample packs unknowingly have the wrong sounds because of this), and some even had their EPROMs edited to get rid of that funky head at the top of snare samples.

The first LM1 we sampled comprises the majority of the drum hits in this pack. In all aspects, this was a traditional LM1 with working filters and no chopped EPROMs - except that instead of Congas it had a second pair of Toms. AND - Quincy Jones modified the unit to have a Ride and Crash Cymbal! The crash is identical to the one on Prince's "777" - it's a non standard crash that I haven't heard anywhere else, so it is likely this unit may have been used on that recording.

The second LM1 (ours) had the filter removed from the Bass Drum and Toms. That, or the filter is broken. Either way, this allows for a much more cutting Bass Drum, closer to a 707 (which I'm told may have stolen sounds from the LM1). It also had those original congas we were after.

So, we combined the best aspects of both LM1s and were able to create a super extensive pack, offering both filtered and non filtered bass drums and toms, all original sounds, a crash and ride, and even trimmed versions of the bass drum, snare, toms and cowbells.

The end result is a detailed, well organized and extremely high quality collection of LM1 samples that allows you to just as easily dive deep into any individual sound at any pitch, or just jam out on the pre built kits. The LM1 is a beast - I hope you enjoy it!

A wonderful sample pack reeks of the 80s. Hands down, as a musician myself I have to say that the Linndrum is a personal favourite and one of the great drum machines ever made. Sounds from the linndrum drum machine are wonderful kitsch and has a very plastic tonality. The Linndrum is widely used by independent artists just because it the sounds are easy manipulate and has this trademarked strength to them. This sample pack has been sampled from an original drum machine.

I love these drum samples since they remind me of contemporary artists such as Com Truise and John Maus. Especially the congas in this sample pack have a great tone to it, which is perfect to pitch and EQ. This sample pack is totally free to download from drumkito.com.

However, The LM-1 was the first drum machine to use samples of a real drum kit, Roger Linn confirms that it was indeed Art Wood session drummer that played the majority of the sounds that he used. Borrowed from thevinylfactory.com:

The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American engineer Roger Linn, wanted a machine that would produce more realistic drum sounds and offer more than preset patterns.

The LM-1 became a staple of 1980s pop music and helped establish drum machines as credible tools. It appeared on records by artists including the Human League, Gary Numan, Mecano, Icehouse, Michael Jackson and particularly Prince. The LM-1 was succeeded in 1982 by the LinnDrum.

The LM-1 was designed by the American engineer and guitarist Roger Linn in the late 1970s.[1] Linn was dissatisfied with drum machines available at the time, such as the Roland CR-78, and wanted a machine that did not simply play preset patterns and "sound like crickets".[2]

At the suggestion of the Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, Linn recorded samples of real drums to a computer chip.[1] By the late 1970s, the technology required to store and play samples had become small and affordable enough to use in his drum machine.[2] As the samples were stored as digital audio, they would not degrade like those of earlier devices, such as the Chamberlin Rhythmate, which used tape loops.[2]

As per one 1985 interview, Linn confirmed the samples were mostly from session drummer Art Wood, with hand clap sounds from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.[3] Linn introduced the shuffle feature after he discovered that his code would record his playing and play it back in perfect sixteenth notes, effectively correcting his timing. To implement swing beats, he delayed the playback of alternate sixteenth notes.[2]

Linn showed his prototype to the pianist Leon Russell, who often used drum machines to record with. He immediately asked to purchase one, and used it to record drums for every track on his 1979 album Life and Love.[4]

The LM-1 features twelve 8-bit percussion samples, which can be individually tuned: kick, snare, hi-hat, cabasa, tambourine, two toms, two congas, cowbell, claves, and hand claps.[1] Cymbal sounds were not included, due to the cost of long sound samples at the time.[5] Each sound can be tuned, and has its own output to allow processing by external hardware.[4] The LM-1 also introduced features such as "timing correct" (quantization) and "shuffle" (swing), and the ability to chain patterns.[5][6]

The LM-1 was announced in 1979 and released in 1980 as the first Linn Electronics product.[5] It retailed for $5,500,[1] making it accessible only to wealthy musicians and studios.[4] A flyer for the machine promised that it would provide "real drums at your fingertips".[4] Only 525 were built; Linn sold them by bringing prototypes to showbusiness parties.[1] Early adopters included Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Wonder.[1]

The LM-1 became a staple of 1980s pop music, used by acts including the Human League, Gary Numan, Michael Jackson, Giorgio Moroder, ABC, Devo, John Carpenter and particularly Prince.[1][2] According to The Guardian, the LM-1, along with Oberheim DMX, helped establish drum machines as "credible, powerful instruments" rather than toys.[1] The Vinyl Factory wrote that it was "leaps and bounds ahead of the competition," and a significant step forward for music production.[4]

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