| Reprinted
from the July 1, 2002 issue of Remix
magazine
Roger Linn Design AdrenaLinn
By Kent Carmical
There are tons of reasons to love Roger Linn. After all, he did
invent the Linn Drum, the first drum machine to sound like real
drums instead of bloops and farts. Linn went on to use his considerable
genius to develop the Akai MPC60 and MPC3000 — and Lord only
knows where the rap and hip-hop production world would be without
those accessories. Add the fact that Linn is a really nice guy with
a genuine love of electronics and music, and what's not to like?
My beef with good ol' Linn started shortly after he sent me his
new AdrenaLinn Groove Filter FX/Amp Modeling/Drum Box. For three
solid days, I've done nothing but create utterly wicked grooves.
My productivity has ground to a halt: I've missed a couple of deadlines,
my personal hygiene has taken a dive, and my wife has stopped talking
to me — but I sure have created some dope tracks!
IF GOD MADE ANYTHING BETTER
Marketed primarily as a guitar effect, the AdrenaLinn combines a
digital-modeling effects processor synchronized with a simple internal
drum machine to produce a massive array of sounds, all tempo-synched
to the groove. You're in no way limited to using AdrenaLinn on guitars,
though; it can work on anything from synths to loops to turntables
to vocals.
The filter section will probably give you your favorite jams. AdrenaLinn
rips with two types of lowpass filter: a 2-pole Oberheim type that
gives a nice fat vibe and a 4-pole Moog type, which can sound intense
and edgy for those moments when you want to give a Roland TB-303
a run for its money. Both filters have a full complement of editing
parameters — you can adjust the cutoff frequency and resonance,
as well as attack and decay. If you really get into programming
the AdrenaLinn, you can get the filter to produce some sick bass
lines and even small melodies.
The AdrenaLinn also includes a host of more standard effects, including
a variety of flange, delay and tremolo options. And, like I said
previously, all the effects sync to the master tempo, recognizing
everything from eight-measure phrases down to 32nd-note triplets.
All this motion is controlled by the AdrenaLinn's 32-step sequencer
and various modulation sources. It all adds up to be really useful
without overpowering a track.
BRING THE NOISE
The drum machine in the AdrenaLinn is simple. It's a 32-step sequencer
with 40 different drum sounds and four-note polyphony. The 100 preset
rhythm patterns are two bars long and can't be chained together
to create longer tracks or songs. You can program your own rhythm
patterns on the AdrenaLinn, but with four knobs, four buttons and
a (sometimes) cryptic three-character LED, drum programming can
require some serious concentration.
The drum machine works best as a rhythmic template for you to work
up your sounds. Play the drums while you get the feel for the groove,
and then mute them when you want to record. Although the AdrenaLinn
has no Tap Tempo button, if you want to lock to tempo manually,
just hold down the Hold footswitch for a measure and the tempo will
automatically lock up. The Hold footswitch function is somewhat
similar to a traditional Tap Tempo key. The AndrenaLinn adjusts
its internal tempo to match the duration that the key was held down.
Thus, a time of two seconds would yield a tempo of 120 bpm.
The AdrenaLinn comes with 12 guitar-amp models covering all the
must-have sounds, such as Marshall, Fender, Mesa-Boogie and Vox.
I'm not one of those tone freaks who claims to be able to tell the
sonic differences between the brands of battery in a stompbox, but
AdrenaLinn's amp models sound just fine to me. They don't have the
editing depth of a dedicated amp modeler like the Line 6 Pod, but
they can add a bit of warmth or a lot of sizzle to your synth and
drum tracks.
MAKING ADRENALINN WORK FOR YOU
Of course, you can MIDI-sync the AdrenaLinn to your favorite sequencer
and have it control the AdrenaLinn or vice versa. Synching AdrenaLinn
to your external sequencer is simple. Just make sure AdrenaLinn
is set to external sync, and you're set.
Editing individual parameters isn't hard per-se — you just
don't have much to work with because of the minimal controls and
the small display. So, for a while, you'll need your AdrenaLinn
codebook. The manual is slim but well-written. It also helps to
download the Sound Diver editor from the Roger Linn Design Website.
Although you have to purchase Sound Diver (www.emagicusa.com) separately
for about $199 list, it's good to have. You can see all the edit
parameters on your computer screen. Tweaking the AdrenaLinn with
the editor really helps you to understand how everything works.
THERE'S GOTTA BE A CATCH
Once you start liking a piece of gear, you begin to think, “Wouldn't
it be cool if….” Stereo inputs would be the bomb and would
sure make it easier with synths and beatboxes, not to mention the
live-DJ type of environment. And how about a headphone jack? I don't
want to take the chance of someone hearing whatever wicked jam I'm
working up and getting it out before I do.
Also, if you are a gigging guitarist dragging your pedals around
a club every night, the AdrenaLinn might be a bit hard to control,
as the only way you can change presets is either through MIDI commands
or by hand with the top-mounted Tempo knob; that's problematic because
you need your hands to play guitar. The more technically adept players
could probably get a generic MIDI pedalboard to change settings
live. Although it's not a substitute for preset up and down footswitches,
the Bypass footswitch may be assigned to instead select an alternate
preset. Keyboardists and remixers shouldn't have as much trouble.
Also, it would have been nice to see a set of stereo inputs for
synths, drum machines and turntables.
DUTY NOW FOR THE FUTURE
For a while now, synths, groove boxes and samplers have been able
to produce synchronized effects like filter, pan and flange. If
you hadn't noticed, not too many electronic acts are overflowing
with guitar and bass players. Finally, the technology to compete
with the synths on the dancefloor is here.
Product Summary
ROGER LINN DESIGN
AdrenaLinn
$395
Pros: Plentiful tempo-synched effects. Produces unique and usable
sounds.
Cons: No stereo inputs. No headphone jack. Drum programming difficult
without Sound Diver editor.
Overall Rating: 5
Contact: tel. (510) 898-5433
e-mail support@rlinndesign.com • Web www.rogerlinndesign.com
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