Behringer today shared this in-depth video demo for their new LmDrum drum machine.
While the LmDrum case, name and styling position it as a knockoff of the classic Linn Electronics LinnDrum, it’s actually a very different design, supporting sampling and on-board sample editing.
In the video, Patrick (aka PatchDog) offers a deep dive into the LmDrum:
The Behringer LmDrum has been one of the company’s more controversial introductions, because of its unauthorized copying of the LinnDrum.
LinnDrum creator Roger Linn shared his take on the LmDrum over the weekend, noting “It is clearly intended to evoke my 1982 LinnDrum drum machine, borrowing its visual style, control layout, colors and logo style, as well as copying its sounds and those of my LM-1 and Linn9000 drum machines.”
Pricing and Availability:
The Behringer LMDrum is now shipping from their factory, priced at $399 USD. It typically takes several months from when they start shipping for new introductions to be available at retailers.
Check out the video, and then share your thoughts on the Behringer LmDrum in the comments!
It’s probably worth mentioning in your articles here, as context, that companies have been stealing those Roger Linn copywritten samples in sample packs since the collapse of the company and ever since the invention of sample packs. Makes me think of Cubase. Uli has to own the visual copying even if only to assess it as another Behringer playbook move. But the copyright thing is a bit funny from this point of view.
What Spotify does to the published music landscape of WAY more offensive that what Uli does to 40 year old gear inventors. Neither is right to me personally but saying it out loud, these guys could have brought back their instruments directly or via licensing or collaboration officially on their own but mostly did not. I dunno. From a journalistic perspective here on Synthtopia where is the same lens and disparity for DinSync and their Roland clones? On this topic I sort of agree with Uli that a market will arise when there is a need. Imagine how many of us would line up to buy a recreated Roland 808 FROM ROLAND. Seriously. Somebody had to finally make these old guys weep with access to holy grail instruments, even as miniature and derivative versions.
Bring open about it, I do have some, “means to an end gear” from Behringer in my studio, but as I gain better financial stability it gets replaced with bougie boutique modules that do the same thing BUT just don’t feel as icky. WASP and Moog Sequencer stuff from System-15 or whatever. They look like mini versions of the instruments my heroes used. That’s the answer to why the clone market for old gear that also clones the limitations and poor decisions even exists. Hero played it when I was a kid? Ok. Now I can get a mini version to make me feel that kid feeling again? Done and done. Take my money. I’m just a hobbiest anyway. Pros can go buy a pro version from those guys who still sell incredibly expensive gear (rhymes with Goog and ends with Heim, among others) who price their gear at legacy prices $4-$5k synths. Nothing is hand wired anymore. We can probably agree that we’d like to see some leeway with pricing considering the shift in production costs coming down due to automation and modern circuit board creation by let’s face it, underpaid robots.
The side benefit is the younger kids who are not familiar with or offended by any if this clone business typically have access to an incredibly rich and expansive wide world of monophonic, polyphonic, paraphonic, algorithmic, software-based or whatever cost-effective gear their hearts desire. When I was younger that meant Realistic (Radio Shack), Peavey and so on. My how times have changed. You can get a synth, a legit synth for guitar pedal money now. Bananas.
Nice try, Uli.
I’d like to point out that this comment by realistic rubber seems like one of those posts made by perhaps an employee of the company mentioned above for the specific purpose of provoking more comments by saying incendiary things