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| LM DRUM on the kitchen table |
Like all the gear reviewed here on HoT I purchased this machine and paid the full retail price ($399+ Florida sales tax) for the privilege of being an early adopter. But does it live up to the originals best feature?
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| UNBOXING, click to enlarge |
IT LIVES!
After years of teasing, Behringer has finally released the LM-DRUM and first deliveries are dropping all around the world. Recently I’ve been on a roll here in the H.o.T. studio laboratory evaluating several drum machines by Behringer, plus the Roland TR-8, the MPC ONE+ from Akai Professional and the Digitakt from Swedish developer Elektron. The LM-DRUM has been the most highly anticipated of the bunch.
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| Special message from Uli Behringer printed inside the box, click to enlarge |
SOUND QUALITY
Let’s get this out of the way UP FRONT! I think the LM DRUM sounds great and there are a lot of samples to choose from, all included, so you can tailor the character of the drum voices to be whatever you need, even create your own. If you can’t make music with this it’s not the fault of the LM-DRUM sound quality.
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| Programming buttons and master controls, click to enlarge |
WHY USE A DRUM MACHINE?
I started using drum machines back in 1980, my journey began on the now classic Roland TR-808, at the time the guys in my band said it sounded like a “rice paper” snare drum. What I really wanted was a LinnDrum but the price was WAY out of reach so I settled for the $1200 Roland (which I purchased as a store employee for a little over $800 new).
I love to use drum machines as song writing tools. There is a feeling of solidarity and control I get when laying out a song in a drum machine. I don’t need to power up the studio to use software drums or make all the loud sounds from my DW studio drum kit. With a self contained drum machine it’s just my Muse, my voice, guitar and the rhythm, it's a streamlined way of writing. I can tweak a beat, clone it to a new location, mod that, compare them, clone it again, mod that, build variety and flow and then rearrange everything. The whole production is stored in solid state memory and it’s waiting for me at a moments notice which is usually how I create, everything ON all at once. A drum machine can provide all this and more. Some of my favorite songwriters have used drum machines, sometimes the beat is heavy in the foreground and sometimes it’s laid back. The right machine inspires songwriting workflow. Unfortunately too many of the current batch of beat making boxes have programming quirks that get in the way of smooth sailing along fast and free.
REAL TIME PERFORMANCE INPUT
Machines like the RD-9 from Behringer and the 808 from Roland are centered around 16 buttons, and you use these buttons to turn ON drum voices on certain beat locations represented by the 16 buttons. Creating patterns on the LinnDrum was different, you turned on a metronome for timing reference and tapped out a drum performance in real time using buttons that trigger the drum voices. The various drum voices were available as a mix or as discrete outputs for each voice so external signal processing could be utilized during mixing for more creative sound shaping. For me the ability to tap the drum part like I hear it in my head, quickly undo it if I don't like what I did, then take another shot at it, or clone what I created and edit that for variety, the flow of this creative process is extremely important to getting the rhythm right and getting the drum pattern to “feel” right in a song.
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| MXR Drum Computer from 1981, click to enlarge |
Back in the early 80's I sold my original 808 and bought the ill fated MXR Drum Computer. This was still before MIDI so manufacturers made you use a portable cassette deck to back up your work, it always seemed gross but generally worked. The MXR drum computer used realtime programming techniques and allowed individual voice processing. The problem was, it would periodically lose your work and eventually it just completely died (and took a big composition with it). MXR had gone out of business so there was no path to repair. Fortunately Alesis came out with the incredible HR-16 drum machine which had MIDI, touch sensitive input pads and it used realtime recording style programming, all for the amazing price of only $299 retail.
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| Compare layout of original on left to Behringer tribute on right, click to enlarge |
MEET THE MODERN LM DRUM BY BEHRINGER
The LM DRUM has real time input programming so hopefully it will be able to inspire songs in a creative way similar to the original LinnDrum. The LM DRUM also has the 16-button programming interface like the classic Roland machines so the user can choose which style of programming to use based on their personal preference. Unlike drum machines that have large builtin libraries of beat patterns, machines that allow realtime programming offer opportunities for creative input which can sound more natural, less canned, less prefabricated and rigid.
SOUNDS
Michael Jackson and Prince were both famous for their use of LinnDrum machines (along with several other brands) and they were unrestrained by the high prices of those early digital rhythm boxes. The ability to tailor the rhythm feel and the gritty sound of the early digital converters are both cited as reasons for their success (along with heavy doses of extreme creative genius). To get the contemporary user into a similar sonic ballpark with the original early 80’s digital hardware the Behringer LM DRUM provides 12-bit digital converters and the software allows the bit depth to be adjusted to achieve lower 8-bit resolution sound quality to match the originals.
The actual recorded samples in the LM Drum include all the original LM-1 samples, all the original LinnDrum samples, the original samples from the Linn-9000 along with samples from some other classic machines. If that's not enough you can sample your own instruments and load them into the LM DRUM.
LOOK AND FEEL OF THE LM DRUM
Behringer has gone to great lengths to copy vintage synthesizers and drum machines, the LM DRUM is no exception. The general feel of the hardware is very similar in quality to musical products by Yamaha, Korg or Roland. The metal components are of appropriate thickness, the adjustable knobs feel smooth while offering a pleasing amount of resistance and the jacks on the rear are quite useable.
The color selections for the printing, the stylized fonts used, the feature layout like the mixing, panning and tuning names and positions, all these facets on the LM DRUM are clearly meant to evoke the look and feel of the vintage LinnDrum hardware.
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| Close view of wood side on LM DRUM (real wood or faux?), click to enlarge |
It was popular in the 70’s and 80’s to add wood sides to a musical product and the LinnDrum featured real wood bolted on, left and right (looks like oak). The sides on my Behringer LM DRUM look like smooth faux wood but they could be some tight grain processed wood, whatever they're made of they do a good job of helping the enclosure to have that vintage design flair.
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| Fully integrated MIDI and USB connections on LM DRUM, click to enlarge |
NOT YOUR SAME OLD LINN DESIGN, BUILTIN MIDI AND USB
Unlike the original LinnDrum the Behringer LM DRUM has midi and it is part of the design. Third party manufacturers came out with MIDI retrofits for the original LinnDrum but they were not integrated like they are on the LM-DRUM and not nearly as full featured. The Behringer LM DRUM has native USB to communicate with your PC, it can be used to sync the machine to your DAW, save your drum creations, upload and download/edit new sounds.
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| Display and navigation controls on LM DRUM, click to enlarge |
Instead of the two digit numeric displays like the original LinnDrum the LM Drum features an LCD window with lots of user information. There is an awful lot of information crammed into that tiny screen, time will tell if I embrace it or learn to despise it.
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| 1/4" INPUT jack is for recording mono sounds for samples |
BEHRINGER ADDS SAMPLING
To change the sounds in an original LinnDrum you had to go under the hood and use a special tool to remove the eproms which are memory chips that stored the digital recordings of each drum voice. The Behringer LM-DRUM heads into MPC territory by adding the ability to record and edit your own samples right inside the box. Sampling in the LM DRUM is limited to mono at 24kHz sample rate but this won’t be much of an impediment to creative musician types. The LM Drum’s native format is 12-bit, 24kHz mono. I’m already dreaming up new samples based on my DW studio drum kit and my collection of Zildjian cymbals.
SYNTHTRIBE APP
Behringer offers the Synthtribe app which provides some very handy external sample management capabilities for the LM DRUM. The app converts stereo samples to mono in the native LM DRUM format (12 bit/24k). Any Wav file under 1Mb in size can be loaded into the SynthTribe app and downloaded onto the LM DRUM. You can also edit patterns created in the LM DRUM using the SynthTribe app.
The Synthtribe app contains a step time sequencer where drum rhythms may be programmed, the steps visualized as a grid and parameters set. You can upload patterns from the LM DRUM to the Synthtribe app and download from the app to the LM DRUM. The app provides you with a very visible way of creating and tweaking the sounds and rhythms you want the LM DRUM to perform but it requires you to have a computer and you need to get the free app from Behringer.
LIKES
- Downloadable comprehensive manual in English (wish it was included in the box)
- Multiple solutions for programming beats
- Real Time programming, maximizes feel
- Step Time programming, allows precise beat placement and editing
- Separate outputs for individual voice processing and mixing externally
- Variety of drum samples (109 included)
- Sampling- record your own sounds
- Front panel click (metronome) volume control
- Trigger outputs: trigger external synths like Syncussion and Eurorack
- Outrageous bargain price
- 1/4” Headphone output jack
- Balanced stereo left and right output jacks
DISLIKES
- Mini 1/8” unbalanced connectors used on individual outputs (I love the direct voice outs but not these tiny sockets, same as Eurorack synthesizers use)
- Small monochrome display
- Awkward programming and memory management
LM-DRUM SPECIFICATIONS
- Native Sample Format: 12-bit at 24kHz
- Sampling Time: 310 seconds (5.16 minutes)
- Total storage for user samples: 14.17 Mb
- Power Supply: Universal external line-lump style-100-240AC input,12 volt, 2000 mA output
- Weight: 6.9 pounds
- Dimensions: 2.9” x 10.4” x 18.9”
THE LM-DRUM USER GUIDE
I encourage you to do a little searching, locate and download the full LM DRUM User Manual from the Behringer web site. The English (EN) version is surprisingly well written and detailed. Do this BEFORE you buy the machine and read the sections about “Real Time Programming”, “Creating a Song” and “Chaining Patterns”. Try to envision yourself making patterns and using these procedures. If you’re coming from zero drum computer experience the steps involved should not feel confining or limiting.
Also included in the LM DRUM box is the almost useless Quick Start Guide, printed in 9- languages. It's difficult delivering a product this complex to countries all around the Earth.
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| Printed documentation included, click to enlarge |
EPILOGUE
There is a lot to like in the LM DRUM. The original inspiration, the LinnDrum, never had a companion computer app, wave design processor and it was a royal pain in the neck to change sounds by swapping eprom chips (Lord help you if you accidentally bent a leg on an old computer chip while inserting them, or maybe one of the legs just separated from the chip while trying to extract it from an antique socket, ouch). The Behringer LM DRUM hardware feels solid, the pots are not wiggly and the buttons all get the job done. As I said in the beginning, the sound quality is very good and if you can’t make music with the LM DRUM the problem is not the sound quality of the samples. I’ve only scratched the surface of the sampling capabilities on the LM DRUM and if you like the Lo-Fi converter-sound, this platform has you covered with lots of options (and sound shaping features) to help produce the gritty crunchy sound you crave ;-)
My biggest personal complaint is the complex series of steps and button presses it takes to make a track on the LM DRUM. The way you create patterns, how they can be edited and the complexity of these processes interferes with my creative workflow. I don't think it's just me, Roger Linn received a free copy of the LM DRUM from Uli Behringer and posted a generally negative view of the machine on the Gear Space forum. After spending some time with the LM DRUM I think the best feature from the original LinnDrum, the simple immediacy of creating tracks is missing. Perhaps a bit too much was borrowed from the Roland style of getting things done.
The LM DRUM has lots of features and lots of sonic firepower. I’ll continue creating with it but for now my favorite beat making machine (with its large touchscreen, refined workflow and stereo sampling) is the Akai MPC-One+, but that review is for another time.
Thanks for reading High on Technology and Good Music To You!
©March-2025 by Mark King…It’s not ok to copy or quote without written permission from the author, thank you.
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| click to enlarge |
