Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
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By Undress Sat Feb 24, 2007 10:54 am
... i still got a little problem.
Maybe someone in here knows how to solve it.

When i press start in Cubase the MPC starts as well. But when i press the "Record"-Button to overdub, the recording stops as soon as the first bar is reached...
So i´m not able to record anything on the first beat (bar), because the recording stops after the (lets say) 4 bars loop... :(

My English isnt really good, i know, but maybe it is possible to understand me. If so: Please help me, i would be very, very grateful.
If not. Please tell me what you arent understanding, so i will try to describe it again.

Thanks a lot!

Bye from Undress from Germany.

P.S.: I´m using Cubase Studio 4 and a MPC2000 Classic.
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By The Machinist Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:03 am
Are you using Midi Clock and MMC, or are you using MTC?

If you're using both MTC and MMC, turn MMC off. You usually don't need both unless you're controlling an ATR (Tape) transport. The MP doesn't accept any MMC commands other than start, stop, and winding commands anyway, to my knowledge. If synced to MTC at the right frames, with both MP and Cubase set to the correct tempo, the two should still start, stop, wind, and sync properly without MMC.

If you have Cubase as MTC/MMC Master and it's in cycle/loop mode, everytime Cubase goes to the start of the zone it sends a start message that may conflict with MTC sync. MMC is not a sync protocol, it's a transport control. Also, you may want to turn Follows Project in you MTC area on and off and toggle this setting to see if it corrects your problem. I'm using Cubase 4, so the terms should be the same.

That's if I understood your question correctly. Maybe someone else knows otherwise. If so, hopefully they'll correct me.

Hope that helps. If not, when I'm actually at the studio I'll try to help.
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By Errupt Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:14 am
I have this problem too. But I found a way around it.... You have to drag the loop function for the whole song, let's say 4 minutes to be safe. Once you do that it will continue to play in your daw.

I do this and I also use mmc and not mtc if that helps
It might not be the right thing to do but I found that it works for me
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By Undress Mon Feb 26, 2007 2:19 pm
Hey Machinist & Errupt!

Thank you very much for your answers!
I will try your advices and if the problem´s still existing, i will post it here again.
Thank you for your kind response.

Greets, Undress.
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By The Machinist Tue Feb 27, 2007 7:21 am
I had to sync to Cubase today for some edits, because of working in a different room at an associate studio, so the settings I used are still fresh in my head. Here's what I used.

Cubase (Master) settings:
Set to internal clock, 30frames.
MMC set to OFF/None.
MTC sent out to MPC port.
Midi Time Code Follows Project Time set to OFF.
Midi Clock set to OFF/None.

MPC (Slave) settings:
MPC recieve MTC from Cubase, ON. 30frames.
MMC recieve, OFF.

Worked perfectly for my needs. Try it. I've also used similar settings in almost all of the major DAW software packages, without flaws. Of course with some of the software, in my experience, it seems to work better with the MPC as "Master". You wouldn't want to do this with a large Pro Tools HD setup though, save yourself the trouble...as it is much more unwavering compared to the MPC (not sure about Le though, as it really isn't the software in the case of HD)....same applies if you're running a DAW on something like an RME, Apogee, or such...using the internal hardware timing! On a side note though, I also had to run Nuendo into an ATR today, in another room...in that case though, MMC actually proved almost non negotiable. In the later case MTC alone wasn't enough, it also needed MMC for real record and tracking control -- in which case other settings under the MMC panel are of importance (ex. Audio Track count, etc). There's been cases where instead of MTC I've had to go with SMPTE or alt WC or such, because the slave either didn't accept the midi protocol or because it proved unstable.

Anyway, try this out, it may work for you. If you still need help, I'll check my actual settings in my studio. I can tell you this though, in Cubase at my studio, I do have different project setup settings than what the studio I was in today used (Offsets, drop frames, etc)....so this isn't an exact thing, it's moreover what proved to work today and what settings I used instinctively/unconsciously/automatically.