LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985
LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985
LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985
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LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985
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LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985

A 'LINNDRUM' LM-2 ANALOG DRUM MACHINE

Details
LINN ELECTRONICS, TARZANA, CALIFORNIA, CIRCA 1982-1985
A 'LINNDRUM' LM-2 ANALOG DRUM MACHINE
The logo LinnDrum to the top, the serial number 780 stamped to the reverse
4 ¼ in. (10.8 cm.) high; 22 in. (55.7 cm.) wide; 11 13⁄16 in. (30 cm.) deep

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker
Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

Lot Essay

Jeff was exposed to a good deal of new technology when working with Nile Rodgers on his 1985 album Flash, and even agreed to work with a LinnDrum machine in place of live drums for the first time. ‘Drum machines I loathe them,’ he admitted to Musician magazine in May 1985. ‘But you have to go with the mainstream for some things. Not having a resident drummer in my band – not even having a resident band – it seemed a lot cheaper and more effective to use a good LinnDrum player. And we got one in Jimmy Bralower: he plays the Linn computer almost like a drum kit.’ Despite his reservations, Jeff seemed to be fairly impressed with the results, telling Guitar World: ‘What we’ve turned up with is a challenge to a drummer; my next drummer will be hard-pressed to play what’s on there.’ Although it seems probable that the specific drum machine used on Flash belonged to either the recording studio or was Balower’s own, it would be a fair supposition that Beck was intrigued enough by the possibilities to place an order for himself. Either way, he evidently had his own LinnDrum Machine at home by January 1985 and was using it to practice two hours a day. ‘I just sit there and mess with it,’ he told Guitar World’s Gene Santoro. 'Sometimes I'll set up my Linn drum and work with that. I use the Linn more as a metronome, and do some scales and such; and then if something comes out good that day I'll remember it and use it somewhere. That is, I'll put it on tape, put the tape in a box, and put the box somewhere and lose it [laughs]. But that happens all the time. But the thing about working with the Linn drum is that it makes you play, and you tend to overshoot the paint. You might write something that is so self-indulgent that you're back to the jazz-rock thing again.'

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