Welcome to the LinnStrument Support page for both LinnStrument and LinnStrument 128.
If you have an operation question or you think your LinnStrument may have a problem, please first visit some of the links on this page, especially the Getting Started, FAQs, Panel Settings, Hooking It Up, and Recommended Sounds pages.
If you don't find your answer there, I personally answer all emails to support@rogerlinndesign.com and calls to +1 (510) 666-6930 (no messages), California time.
Important: When you email me for support, please include the following:
1) Your name and the LinnStrument's serial number. This will tell me the age of the unit and any support history.
2) What country you're located in. This is helpful in the event that I may need to send you a repair part.
3) A clearly-written question or description of the problem. A short video demonstrating the problem is very helpful because it shows many things that you may not have considered to be relevant in your text description.
If there is a hardware problem in your LinnStrument, there is never a need to send it away for repair. LinnStrument is designed so that all problems can be fixed by sending you a replacement part that you can install yourself--with only a screwdriver-- by following a video. However, the vast majority of problems require only a setting change.
Note: I always reply to emails promptly. If you didn't get a reply, check your junk email folder.
Often it may seem that your LinnStrument has a problem, but the actual cause of the problem is an incorrect MIDI setting or a problem in your synth or DAW or something else. Here are some tips for tracing down the cause of a problem, which are also helpful in allowing me to reproduce the problem you're experiencing:
1) Simplify, simplify, simplify
Example A) If the problem occurs when using a specific synth, try it with a different synth. If the problem only occurs with one synth, it's in that synth.
Example B) If the problem occurs only with LinnStrument but not with other MIDI keyboards, then learn what your other keyboard is sending and set LinnStrument to send the same messages.
Example C) If LinnStrument works with your synth in One Channel mode but not in MPE (Channel Per Note) mode, then learn if your synth is MPE-compatible and how to correct set it for MPE use.
Example D) If your setup is complex with multiple synths, MIDI routing devices and effects, but the problem sound is coming from one specific synth, then remove everything except LinnStrument and that synth. If that solves the problem, put back one device at a time until the problem reappears, then you'll know that that device is likely causing the problem.
Example E) If the problem is related to hearing unwanted changes in pitch, Y-axis or pressure response in your synth, try turning off the sending of these messages in Per-Split Settings. If the problem persists, it isn't in LinnStrument.
Example F) If you think you've found a software bug. try to find a series of steps that I can perform at my location that will cause the bug to reliably happen for me.
2) Intermittent problems are usually not intermittent.
If the problem occurs only sometimes and not others, try to learn what you're doing differently when it occurs. Are your settings exactly the same? Are you playing in exactly the same way?
3) Use a MIDI monitoring app
Remember that LinnStrument doesn't output sound but rather MIDI, and that I (Roger) know very few of the hundreds of synths on the market. So rather that telling me that your synth doesn't sound right and you think the problem is in LinnStrument, it's better if you can state that LinnStrument is not sending the MIDI messages that you think it should. A MIDI monitor app will show you exactly which MIDI messages LinnStrument is sending. For Mac, there is the free "MIDI Monitor" app from snoize.com. For Windows, there is the free "MIDI OX" application.
4) Check to insure that your LinnStrument is running the latest software
Your problem may be due to running an earlier software version that is corrected in the current version. Also, the online documentation is always matched to the latest software release, which may prevent you from accessing a feature that is described on the Panel Setting page. To check your software version or update, click the "Updating Software" link on this page.
Or if the above diagnostic approach is too difficult for you, just do your best and I'll try to read between the lines and figure out what's causing the problem from your video.
Thank you for owning a LinnStrument.
- Roger
