Convert To Sequence

Disclaimer: I have read the manual, searched the forums and googled

I don't know if this is a JJ OS bug/problem or user problem, but I've been successful at converting song to sequence before. For some reason though, it's been eating my lunch for the last two days and I can't get a handle on it.

The problem is not in the conversion, it's in the program change.
I'm using this application for live performance and each of my sequences are sliced drum loops (done in Recycle), assembled together as a song, then converted to one sequence. Then I go to step edit and add program changes as each sequence change... make sense?

Like I said, I've done this several times but have upgraded to OS 4.9 a couple of days ago and since then, using the method above will render no program changes in the final converted sequence. The midi (seq) changes, but not the programs.

I'll add that when playing back a previously converted song to sequence, the programs change like they're supposed to.
And to be honest, I'm very unclear about the options of 'Referenced to 1st sq' and 'Merge on midi ch'. I couldn't find any of this mentioned in the user manual or from search results here.

Help?

Have you tried assigning a program change number to your programs?

If you press window on the program name at the top of the screen in GPE(mode pad11) or in OPE(mode pad7), it'll bring up a list of all the internal programs. Here you can assign a pc change to each program.

Also you can insert the PC events into step edit before you convert down into one sequence.

it definitely works too cause i just tried it!

also this is from the akai manual,you can use this for the JJOS for any features which aren't changed (anything which isn't referenced in the JJ online manual):

[quote]REFERENCED TO 1ST SQ :
The setting data (such as MIDI output, Mixer
setting, Tempo, etc) of each track in the 1st Sequence
of the Song will be used for all tracks in
the following sequences.
MUTE TRACKS IGNORED :
The muted tracks in the sequences of the Song
will not be converted.
MERGED ON MIDI CHANNEL
The track in the sequence of the Song will be
merged to the track according to the MIDI output[ channel/quote]

Thanks for your reply, mikolo.

Yes, I have assigned PC #'s to the programs and respectively entered them in step edit.

Thanks for the definitions.

If only song mode had a loop or repeat feature...none of this would be needed and life would be so much easier!
I wonder if JJ would script this in?

so is it working for you now? Im using 4.98 at the moment. earlier i assigned the program numbers to two programs.I made two quick sequences each with a program change imbedded into step edit at the beginning,then converted the song (which was seq1>seq2>seq1) and the program changes worked fne.

Another method you could use that should give a similar sounding result is to have your midi parts and programs all on differenet tracks repeating over and over. Make the sequence long, and then record track mutes in were you want the changes to be.

yeah it would be good idea if song mode could loop round.

Not the most important thing for me but a cool feature nevertheless would be if we had a "real time convert" , so you could play along switching existing sequences,hitting pads, messing with q links and it turns it all into one long sequence.

Well, yes *and* no.
I've tried changing up PC numbers, entering the PC # via step edit in each individual sequence as you suggested (GREAT tip, by the way!) and every thing else I could think of for naught.

Strange thing is, it's only problematic on this particular program. I created another song using a different program (one that's worked in the past), converted to seq and it switches progs as it should.

I've run out of ideas as to what's going on. I've looked at every place in these particular sequences and programs that could be causing the problem, compared them to working seq's and programs and can't find anything strange.

What I wouldn't give for song mode with loop feature, tap tempo, and tempo change simply with the data jog, like sequences, instead of having to arrow to tempo> window> fix> jog tempo> do it. You should see me try to do that on stage with a guitar in my hands.

Well, several days and stiff drinks later, I've got this narrowed down a little.
It seems that 25 is a cut-off mark for number of programs?
I have JJ OS 4.9 which I know supports 99 programs, and I currently have around 40 loaded up. Each will play independently and in its own sequence, but when using song mode>convert to sequence, any program over 25 doesn't work. What I mean is when playing the converted sequence back, it doesn't switch programs.
Anything under 25 works perfectly.

Is this a bug or a limitation of the MPC?
There *has* to be an easier way to accomplish what I'm after here.

Thanks for any help.

good find, bump for this, I wonder if Nym knows anything about this?

yeah this sounds like a bug too me too, well spotted! I won't be able to test it till quite a bit later, it'd be good to check and report to JJ.It looks like this one might go back all the way since 99 programs was introduced.

Hey, i just checked this out. I created 26 programs (1more than 25!) and the programs change without any problems before and after converting song to sequence. I tried it again with 68 programs and still no problems.Im now using the latest 4.99.