We explored the difference in sound between two different versions of this classic 80s drum machine, by sampling a few one-hit kits from each machine. Which do you prefer? Download the samples to compare for yourself 🥁
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The LM1 (often mistaken for the Linndrum) is an incredibly groovy, classic and rare drum machine from the 80s, most notably popularized by Prince. After waiting years to find (and afford) this holy grail of 80s drum machines, we finally acquired one in 2018 (see below, left) and sampled it extensively.
But just a year later, we acquired another unit! 🤷🏻♂️ This mysterious looking LM1 (see above, right) featured a curiously gray faceplate, softer, more pillowy pads, and sounded somehow warmer and lazier! Oddly enough, the research we've done has provided no explanation for this.
Since we never added the samples from this gray machine to the LM1 From Mars pack, we figured grabbing a few kits from both units would be the perfect way to explore and compare the subtle differences between these amazing machines. you can download the samples for free here:
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Matching tuning and filter settings, we captured one hits and two beats. You can download the new samples above (they're also included in the everything bundle). You'll get 3 kits from each machine, and 3 Ableton racks to switch between units 🕺🏻
Can you hear the differences, or do they sound identical to you? While the video only shows very subtle differences, the one-shots will prove otherwise upon more critical listening (try headphones).
The orange LM1 has a harder, punchier and faster sound (almost like a 707), while the mysterious, gray unit is warmer and lazier. Something about the bass drum filters sound completely different between the two, and the cabasa is either a different sample entirely, has more distortion, pre-attack, or all of the above. The orange unit also has a modded snare sample with less pre-attack, so that it arrives a bit earlier when sequenced. All of these differences give each machine their own distinct sound, feel and pocket.
The Linn LM1 had three different released versions (known as revisions, or "Rev" for short). Roger Linn's first prototype was housed in a cardboard box (but this doesn't count as a revision lol).
The original Rev.1 is recognizable by its lack of LEDs for auto-correct and shuffle. It had engraved buttons and the drum buttons had symbols for each drum that they represented. Internally, it had single eproms for kick, toms and congas. There was no filter on these voices.
LM1 Rev.1 (1980)
The Rev.2 had two rows of LEDs added for auto-correct and shuffle. It had 24db CEM filters added for the kick, toms and congas. To cut costs, the engraved buttons were replaced with unlabeled buttons and names were printed on the sides. However, there are some rare Rev. 2 LM1s with both engraved buttons and shuffle and auto-correct LEDs. Interesting...🤔
LM1 Rev. 2 (1981)
The Rev.3 retained the sweet CEM filters but employed more cost-cutting measures like button size changes, and some switches/functions taken out. For example, the record/safe switch that helped with the accidental erasing of your programmed data was removed. The low level stereo outputs were removed. Later Rev.3's had the raised buttons replaced with flatter, flush to the surface buttons. Interesting again...😏
LM1 Rev. 3
Based on the information above, it can be deduced that our original black LM1 is a Rev.3 and our mystery LM1 is an early Rev.2! 🎉
While we can deduce models based on appearance, internal electronics and sound are harder to nail down. LM1s have been known to be messed with and modified (included ours). Our Rev.3 had the tuning knobs relocated from the back to the front panel (beware of this mod as it can - and did, on ours - add a whine to the Mix Out). It also had the snare sample modded for less pre-attack.
Based on the two machines we have in our possession, how do they differ in sound?
The Rev.2 has an overall warmer and softer color and timbre. The Rev.3 sounds more aggressive and punchy. Some drum voices on the two machines are very hard to tell apart, while others like the kick and cabasa are leagues apart.
On most LM1s, there are filters on the kick, toms and congas that can be tweaked by opening up the machine and adjusting trimmers. We tried to match the filter settings, but they still didn't sound the same. There’s something with the filter or filter envelope that sounds warmer on the Rev.2. The resistance could be different, or possibly the gain staging is opening the dynamic filter more or less. We're not sure what's going on! We contacted an original designer of the LM1 and they said these two LM1s *should* sound the same!
Opening up each machine, we tried to visually confirm as much as we could. Both LM1s have the same filter chip, a CEM 3320 VCF. This is a classic chip used in other drum machines and synths like Sequential Pro One, Oberheim OB-Xa and Elka Synthex.
LM1 Rev.3 Filter & Trim Pot:
LM1 Rev.2 Filter & Trim Pot:
Maybe some eagle eyed engineers out there will spot some differences in the circuits?
There are also tuning range discrepancies between these two machines. The Rev.2 congas and toms can go higher than Rev.3 but Rev.3 congas and toms can go lower. The cabasa sounds completely different - we think it's a different sample. The Rev.2's rimshot is labelled as 'clave' on the pad, but we couldn't find any information on why. Perhaps it was an option to swap the rim sample for a clave for some time.
The grooves on the machines differ too! The groove feels tighter on the Rev.3. This is due to the more aggressive sounding kick and the quicker onset of the snare drum. Conversely, the warmer kick with the later occurring snare sample give the Rev.2 a looser sounding groove.
When listening to classic records with an LM1, it's fun to examine and attempt to guess what version and variation of LM1 they were using. 🥁
The differences in sound are best explored through the one-hits. This is not an extensive multi-sampling, but (3) 18x hit kits from each LM1, including all of the drum voices. We built these into three Ableton drum racks, with a macro knob that switches between the two machines - a very effective way to compare them. We also included the stems from the video above for fun :)
We're curious which LM1 you prefer. Can you hear any other major differences? Is one better suited for a certain style? What do they sound like mixed together?
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]]>10 years ago I created this business and 10 years ago I made my first sample.
I started Samples From Mars before I’d ever sampled anything (other than a record), with only a few pieces of gear to my name.
]]>Yep, I started Samples From Mars before I’d ever sampled anything (other than a record), with only a few pieces of gear to my name. The preceding decade I’d tried just about everything - playing in bands, producing, engineering top 40, DJing….
I loved it all, but was tired of not being able to afford the gear that made the sounds I craved. I figured most other producers were facing the same issue, and thought - if I can somehow get my hands on these machines and sample them, these iconic sounds that have defined so many old records can become much more affordable and define so many new records!
Of course I didn’t come up with this idea. But I felt that through the recording process I’d developed producing and engineering, I could provide my own take on these machines…. learn their story, how they shaped history, and how we could continue that story, together.
So I borrowed a car, drove to New Jersey, rented a few drum machines and frantically sampled them over the course of a grueling weekend. (For reference, now we'll spend about two months sampling one drum machine!)
I had no clue what I was doing, but processed the machines with the same passion I'd harnessed while producing music. Twisting every knob I could lay my hands on, I recorded to the MTR-12 tape machine I'd gotten for free after James Murphy had thrown it away. It's one of the only pieces of gear that has been here throughout the years and is a big part of our sound (see if you can spot it in the pic at the top of this post):
The results, although technically imperfect, were full of vibe. In fact, even though we've updated these packs, we still keep the Legacy versions available, because we never were able to recreate their character, born out of the blind passion and rule-breaking only a beginner possesses.
Next, I hacked together an ugly Wordpress site, and Samples From Mars (a "temporary name, until I find something better" was born! With product titles like "808 Samples Library", it was not the SFM world as you know it today, but it was good enough 🙂.
Now, I needed to become an expert. Sampling was gruesome (still is) - a dark art I’d have to teach myself; something that required a level of detail nobody should be forced to succumb to.
But I was happy to do it - anything to live that drum machine life! So I spent all of my free time creating and releasing more packs - I was not precious about them and I put them out before they were perfect (and I strongly advise you to do the same with your creations).
For the next 3 years every day was a GRIND. Samples From Mars, as it was written about on the website, did not exist in real life. It was not a big Brooklyn studio full of rare gear, but a 10'x12' bedroom that I would sleep and sample out of every day.
I couldn’t afford to get sick, and I was willing to miss rent trying to perfect the next sample pack. I was still trying to understand what packs did well and why (oh nobody wanted Minilogue samples? Cool...tell that to my landlord!).
Was this a dream or a nightmare? I debated moving out of NYC. I debated finding another job.
But I didn't give up - I kept testing new strategies. And getting kicked out of studios for being too loud.
Until finally, in 2017, I decided to break every marketing rule (except “test everything 😉”). and offer every pack we'd ever made for one shockingly low price.
People thought I was going out of business, but really I’d just underestimated how broke musicians are. These samples had to be even more affordable than I'd originally anticipated. And to me, cheap no longer needed to mean low quality. I’d created something of real value (which is an absolute necessity for something like this to work), and the market dictated just how low the most successful price point was.
Fortunately, the deal exploded and I was able to build into existence everything I'd been dreaming of. From 100% customer sales - no outside investment - I was able to get all the gear I had rented, sold, or never had access to in the first place. More importantly, I could hire amazing employees like Ben and Ryan, and build a new studio! Here's what the first set up looked like:
I felt legitimized and my imposter syndrome slowly started to dissolve because I'd become an "expert" from the sheer amount of time I’d put in.
So if you've ever purchased a pack, or even downloaded a freebie, or followed us on Instagram, or are reading this - THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to dedicate my life to this!
Looking back over the past 10 years, it seems I’ve had the most success with the thing I was least precious about. It’s CRAZY how much fear holds us back, and disguises the excuses we make (often in the guise of perfectionism).
So I urge you - if you have a goal, a dream, of any kind - figure out how you can act on it in small, incremental steps, and bring your creations into the world before they are “ready” and before they are the “best” they can be.
Immerse yourself in the process (what you can control) and learn from and be ok with whatever the outcome is (what you can’t control). Refine and repeat. Always be a beginner - admit you don’t know everything and you will know more. Nobody really knows what they’re doing, and you don’t need to either!
Here's to seeing what the next 10 years brings us 🥂
We run all of our drum machines through DIs before we hit our consoles' mic pres, to minimize noise (via the ground lift) and balance the audio to a mic level signal.
For our traditional sample packs, we opt for clean, solid state DIs, because they have less noise, and preserve transients. But tube DIs can be a wonderful and fun way to achieve some RMS and harmonics on the way in.
What most people don't realize is - the volume of your *source*, not the volume on the DI, is what affects the amount of saturation.
To demonstrate this, we recorded the 909 (analog, so hits the tubes nicely) cleanly, and at 3 different levels through the (awesome) REDDI DI. Here's a demonstration of the samples:
*Tip* - if your drum machine can't go loud enough, you can run it through the mic or line input of a mixer, crank the volume, and take the direct out to your tube DI.
We normalized each drum voices' samples to the exact same peak level so you can hear the difference in RMS the saturation makes.
Not only do the samples demonstrate this effect quite well, but they're really nice to sequence together in a production - download below!
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Earlier this year, we bought a vintage Lexicon Model 200 reverb that really shines on drums!
Normally we don't print hardware reverbs to our samples - dry sounds give you the most flexibility to create any reverb or space you desire. BUT. There is something really great about 1. Vintage hardware reverb and 2. Printing those spaces to the samples themselves, and loading them into your fave samplers.
So we ran the MS20, Linn LM1, a Siel MDP-40, Yamaha RX5, and a DD1 through the Model 200, and created a range of spaces with varying reverb lengths and pre-delays (which in turn adds a certain amount of rhythm to each hit).
The results are inspiring and fun, check em out ! 🥳
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We have this sweet, vintage Ampeg tube bass amp that adds a lot of character to anything you run through it. It's especially great on drums, so we thought it'd be cool to run the 808 through it and grab some one-hits!
We ran the 808 directly into the normal and bright channels, and took the line out of the Ampeg into a DI, and into our API console.
The output volume of the drum machine determines the overall amount of distortion (from subtle to extreme!), and we further processed everything with the onboard EQs and normal / bright channels.
The results ranged from subtle coloration to extreme degradation 😈. Download the hits for free below!
]]>Welcome to the Sample Journal, my friends! This is a fun little space where the SFM team and I (that's Ryan pictured above) can show you what we're up to in between putting out those massive sample packs that take us all year to make!
The Journal is where we can explore all things samples, processing, audio, stems? - anything really - in a stripped down and informal context. It's a chance to make bitesize, exploratory packs more frequently - essentially the opposite of our traditional products. And we'll always keep the samples here free to low cost (mostly to avoid drowning in bandwidth and service fees).
Everything in the Sample Journal at time of purchase will be included in the everything bundle, too. Like the everything bundle, this doesn't include future releases.
Anyways, we're keeping the format intentionally open-eded and will surely be making some tweaks based on your feedback. Let us know what you think !
Teddy
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