Straight from Akai rep end of 4k support

AWW_NAWW wrote:IT ALL SOUNDS LIKE DUBBLE TALK BULLSHT TO ME

I agree. Also,

The 4000 is our code and why would we release it to our competition! Who would.

Yet they release the JJOS to the "competition"?

Nym wrote:

I never thought of the 4k as being "complicated".

yeah man, if you've got time, interest and a manual, you can figure anything out.

i hate this "you'll be programming in 5 minutes" mentality
like there's nothing to learn
it's a fkin musical instrument, of COURSE it has a steep learning curve, of COURSE it's gonna take time, effort and cause some sort of stress

you guys are cool, i wish you the best in this

lol yeah jeez
NEXT WEEK, 400 YEARS AGO:
DESIGNER: we've got this new product! It's made of wood! It takes about 5 years to learn to play any way decent (although you could spend your life on it)! It can only play 4 notes at a time (although usually only one). A good one will cost thousands of $$.

SUITS: we can't sell that! what's it called anyway
DESIGNER: er, I was thinking of calling it a "violin"
SUITS: get outta my office!

feline1 wrote:lol yeah jeez
NEXT WEEK, 400 YEARS AGO:
DESIGNER: we've got this new product! It's made of wood! It takes about 5 years to learn to play any way decent (although you could spend your life on it)! It can only play 4 notes at a time (although usually only one). A good one will cost thousands of $$.

SUITS: we can't sell that! what's it called anyway
DESIGNER: er, I was thinking of calling it a "violin"
SUITS: get outta my office!

lmao, but at the same time you hit the nail on the head, instruments like the violin have evoled over centuries by people tinkering with the design to suit their needs better, this should happen with the 4k also. i'm gonna keep my eye out for an MPC4000SE (Stradivarius Edition)

i guess you guys will now have to pay hackers to infiltrate akai hq and steal the source code.

we need teh A Team...

I posted what I thought were two reasonable solutions to the issues at the bottom of http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php ... &start=150 - but I think it got lost in all the noise :-/

1. Get the UK AKAI software guys to do one last run through the code, paid for by users, OR get JJ to sign a NDA and give him the code to update + sell

2. Give feline the documentation files so he / we can update them.

How hard can that be?

since ive joined mpc forums on my old username from like 3 years ago, yall still havent gotten anywhere lol

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

McSmooth wrote:I'm also looking forward to what the Linn Drum II has to offer... but it doesn't look to be an MPC replacement by any means, just a badass drum machine. No sampler and not sure what the external sequencing abilities will be (only one midi out). As a drum machine, this thing will most likely be boss. I'm hoping for something in between an Xbase and a machinedrum and on steroids.

Hi McSmooth,
The LinnDrum II definitely has a sampler.

The LinnDrum II that Roger is putting out (not the Analog version) that's all it is, is
an ALL sampling based drum machine.

The Analog version adds a 4 voice Analog engine
to it. The Digital and Analog versions will have nearly the same signal and modulation path--including modulated filters and resonators--as shown on the LinnDrum II Analog panel.

So it's not necessarily designed to be a "Music Production System". But you will be able to sample with it, as seen with this statement:
"Stereo inputs for sampling, audio processing or triggering sounds" and it has been indicated that it will be able to resample the main out's, so that you can resample the crazy Analog drums that you create with the Analog side.

I'm sure they will be alloiwng one to sequence external instruments, but that's not going to be it's main emphaisis, as you said it only has 1 Out. It's going to be something that you put next to your MPC...

But if you check Roger's site, you'll see that they are trying to hire an embedded DSP and an embedded C programmer, so it will still be a while until they get this finished....

Dave

I guess you guys will now have to pay hackers to infiltrate akai hq and steal the source code.[/quote]

OR - have a disgruntled employee of nuakai "accidentally" copy/email the code to someone (apparently JJ) who could continue to improve on it...

It really is a shame that the "New Akai" suites don't see the benefit for one last software upgrade for the KING of the MPC line, the 4000!!! It would definitely take away a bad taste in the mouths of people who purchased the 4000 with the promise of additional features never realized. I do understand that there is only so much that could be done with the 4000's hardware, but that's not the point. My thinking would be to do a software upgrade that would utilize the FULL potential/ability of the existing hardware. (This would bring back customers who will ultimately look elsewhere for their musical instrument needs)

The reason for NO upgrade is simple. The new company (or almost any company for that matter) is only interested in one thing, THE ALMIGHTY DOLLAR!!! If they cannot make a profit there is no reason to do it. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW - Just like an auto manufacturer, they could make a car last as long as an aircraft but why would they when they can sell you a "NEW" car every five years. The only problem with the "New Akai" is that they apparently seem to want to totally abandon what the original company started which was making samplers - NOT JUST BEAT MACHINES for the musically illiterate (sorry if I offended anyone).

What can you expect from the new company which sells DJ equipment and budget effects units to do with Akai? In my opinion, not much.

feline1 wrote:

Andy of Akai wrote:The 4000 is our code and why would we release it to our competition! Who would. Akai is a heritage brand we are protecting and making sure every effort goes into giving the end user the products they need for today and tomorrow.

Eh?
So the *users* who bought the thing are the "competition"?!
And they won't release the code because they are making "every effort" to "give us what we need"?!

WHAT - EVAH

seriously, feline....
if we get a hold of the code, roland etc would too and yeah thats the competition. stop being so stupid and get over it. you dont seem like a dumb man at all but youre soooo frustrated about all this. just let it go

All this official BS from Wakai still doesnt explain why they wouldnt let the PREVIOUS independent coders FROM THE UK THAT ALREADY HAVE THE CODE to continue. Even if we, the users PAID for it. They could just have a meeting with the coders making them sign a contract about not letting the code out. This is a matter of a 2-3 hour effort on Akai's behalf, and theyre even in the same country as the coders.

* It wouldnt hurt Akai, instead it would make them look better.
* It would stop 4000 owners from giving Akai a bad rep.
* It would regain alot of peoples trust in Akai as a brand name.

But its like talking to a wall.

We all know the 4K is a beast, with the Intel Strongarm chip powering the unit there is no telling what the full potential is. AKAI knows that. And that is what they are afraid of. They have a 6 year old unit that could potentially kill the 5K before it is released, thus, losing millions of dollars.

Attention AKAI, the company is dying. Software samplers are taking over. Sad, but true. Multi Track Recorders have become a small market, hardly profitable, same for the EWI's. The MFC filter was abandoned years ago. And it also seems that the guitar effects pedals were abandoned as well. All you really have left is MIDI controllers.

renegadebliss wrote: The LinnDrum II definitely has a sampler.

My bad, I've read the little info thats out there, I was thinking more of the lines of not quite like a full sampler, probably more like the X-base 999 and machinedrum UW. On the other hand, I'm sure it will be able to do things to those samples (and external ins) that haven't been heard before.

I feel what you are saying. Can't replace the MPC in the studio... but possibly could on stage (I hate hauling the 4k out). The analog looks sick, can't wait to hear its potential.

feline1 wrote:I still don't see why the couldn't update the MPC4000 documentation -
unless they've lost the FrameMaker files as well as not having any hardware!

Documentation got lost with the transition from old to new akai.
But there is something like PDF to Word conversion? (would be more work, but doable?).