MPC2500 Sequence Starts off beat...

I don't know why my post got moved to the Newbie section...I wanted to ask the MPC2500 owners so here it is again...

Here's my original posts...

Sequence Starts off beat...
I just set up my MPC2500 with a MicroKORG keyboard for testing...I recorded drums on track 1 and recorded a bassline on track 2 with one of the bass sounds from the MicroKORG...Now...When I use PLAY button, everything plays back fine...but when I use the PLAY START button, the first note of the bass line comes in late...off beat...When it loops back around after 2 bars, it's back on beat...Anybody else experience this? Am I doing something wrong? Or is this a bug?

HELP!!!
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zs941 replied...

it may be because you have a program change happening. in the pgm field of the track sequencing your bass scroll the jog dial to the right until you see something like "Pgm:No. #" where # is some number (probably 1 if you haven't changed it). Everytime you restart a sequence by pressing the Play Start button the MPC will send a Program Change on the channel of the MIDI track which will cause that system to load that patch and can cause a slight delay because the receiving machine has to reload it. To turn off the program change highlight the "No." section and press Window. Next, set "Transmit Program Changes in this Track" to "No". Restart the sequence and see how it goes. If that "fixes" your problem read up on MIDI Program Changes and figure out A) if you need them for what you're doing and B) if so, how to do it in such a way that your track won't skip a note or delay start like that (may involve playing a short sequence or unmuting a track that only sends program changes for your tracks, etc. search around the forums for clues on that before posting)

Hope that helps!
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jacey714...

Thank you so much...Shutting the program change off did get rid of the offbeat note...But how is it that when I push the PLAY button it works okay when it's starting immediately just like when it's played with the PLAY START button?

I would assume after making the sequence I would need to create an empty bar at the beginning and add all the program changes there so it won't affect the timing of the first note...

I heard from a friend of mine today that some people had timing problems with the MPC4000 and it was fixed with a new version of the OS...Is this something that will be fixed or is it something that everyone accepts as an inevitable MIDI flaw?
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zs941...

quote:
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Originally posted by jacey714:
Thank you so much...Shutting the program change off did get rid of the offbeat note...But how is it that when I push the PLAY button it works okay when it's starting immediately just like when it's played with the PLAY START button?

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not sure i understand that question. are you saying that the track for the bass seems to always start at the beginning of sequence no matter where in the sequence you actually are? that doesn't make sense to me so i think i'm just reading it wrong.


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quote:
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I would assume after making the sequence I would need to create an empty bar at the beginning and add all the program changes there so it won't affect the timing of the first note...

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yeah, that'd work, too. i tend to work in loops with track mutes for live performance so i use dedicated tracks that i unmute for a few beats while all my gear loads patches. sometimes i do a blank bar, sometimes i have a whole little "setup" sequence. just depends on what i'm doin...


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quote:
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I heard from a friend of mine today that some people had timing problems with the MPC4000 and it was fixed with a new version of the OS...Is this something that will be fixed or is it something that everyone accepts as an inevitable MIDI flaw?

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i use my 2500 to control lots of outboard gear and i don't have any timing issues with it at all. if you're having timing issues check out your setup and make sure it's configured in a way that's optimized for performance and make changes there.

good luck
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jacey714...

The thing that I don't get is...whether you use the PLAY button or PLAY START button, the sequence starts at bar 1...then why is it that when I use the PLAY START button the program change data makes the first MIDI note lag? and not when I use the START button at the beginning of a sequence? I been using MOTU digital performer for almost 17 years...and I never had that problem...and that was using a computer...I thought these hardware sequencers had quicker responses...

it got moved to newbie because it doesn't really fit in here but i see your point. this is just basic mpc stuff. in any case, here goes my two cents...

1. when your press 'play start' Program Changes are sent which will cause the sound module to reload the patch and depending on the module this may 'cause it to lag (i've said that before)

2. when you press 'start' it should start at the point in the sequence where you last pushed 'stop'. if you keep pushing 'stop' at or near the beginning of the first bar or the end of the last bar in your loop (if you're loopping the sequence) then you'll probably think that it's starting at the beginning. if you did go back to bar 1 and press play it sould not send the program change. i just verified this on my 2500. check the 'Now:' field and see where you are when you stop. then press 'start' and watch it pick up at that point. it's sorta like a 'pause' button...

It's starting to make sense to me...I guess when I use the PLAY button while in LOOP mode it's like pausing and starting from bar one...and the program change data has already been sent out and it doesn't send it out everytime the phrase loops around...where as PLAY START starts the sequence at the very beginning everytime and it sends out the program data...am I making any sense? hehe...

Thanks a million!

Jae...

now you got it

jacey714 wrote:I don't know why my post got moved to the Newbie section...

LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL