How does a 500 "talk" to a 1000?

I wasn't sure where this should be posted but I selected this forum since the piece in question is an MPC500.

Anyhow, I have an MPC1000. I recently got the pad upgrade and am loving the new feel of my machine. I never gave the MPC500 any serious thought until recently when two things happened:
1. I got a new job that requires me to travel quite a bit
2. I found out the MPC500 has the same FSR pads as the 2500/5000/3000/etc.

I am thinking about picking up an MPC500 for "travelling" purposes but I am wondering how beats/sequences/songs I create on the road on the 500 translate if I attempt to load them to the 1000 (or 2500/5000) when I get home? Or can they even be loaded?

Thanks in advance, peeps...

thaimeezy wrote:I wasn't sure where this should be posted but I selected this forum since the piece in question is an MPC500.

Anyhow, I have an MPC1000. I recently got the pad upgrade and am loving the new feel of my machine. I never gave the MPC500 any serious thought until recently when two things happened:
1. I got a new job that requires me to travel quite a bit
2. I found out the MPC500 has the same FSR pads as the 2500/5000/3000/etc.

I am thinking about picking up an MPC500 for "travelling" purposes but I am wondering how beats/sequences/songs I create on the road on the 500 translate if I attempt to load them to the 1000 (or 2500/5000) when I get home? Or can they even be loaded?

Thanks in advance, peeps...

They can be loaded no problem. Things like mixer settings that aren't on the 500 (I'm talking 1000 jj) won't transfer to the 500, but it won't **** up the rest of it. Everything from the 500 can smoothly go over to the 1000. You can also MIDI them up to make them really "talk" to each other.

I speak from using my 500 with my ex-roomie's 1000jj, I might be wrong on some things but I didn't have any problems.

Indeed, shouldn't give that much trouble. I'm thinking about getting me a 500 as well. I'm a lot on the road too.
I used to have a 500, but sold it a few days later after I got my 1k. I experimented with both machines together a few days.
For me this is the best way to do this: chop it up in the 1k before you leave the house. U can make it a program in the 1000, save it on the crf card and load it up in the 500. Sequencing and some finetuning can be done on the road. Sequence data is identical for both machine. Setting the levels and making a kind of a mixdown is a better job for the 1k.

Honestly, after the new Akai OS for 500, I don't think there's that many extras on the 1000, even with JJ over the 500 aside from 4 outs if you have it. I've used both extensively and I'd rather have the portability than the Waveform editing and a few extras.

The only other problems I can think of - pads saved to A13-16 go to B1-4, but not a big deal. The 500 doesn't save filter settings for some reason, not sure if it can read 1000 filter settings.

But they're hella compatible.

Wow... this is good news!!!

This will definitely remedy boring nights in a hotel room when traveling to small towns that don't have much of a night life.

Thanks for your input, folks.

you will probably run into problems trying to load jjos2 programs into the mpc500, and mpc500 programs into jjos2.

and very briefly...

Honestly, after the new Akai OS for 500, I don't think there's that many extras on the 1000, even with JJ over the 500

i really, really disagree with this. typically i'd not have much interest in offering a contrary position, but since dude is considering going back and forth between the 500 and jjos, it must be mentioned that there is a LOT that will not carry over back and forth...to a certain point it will, but once jjos is used in anything more than a beginner's way the project files will simply not be compatible anymore.

there are tons and tons and tons of extras that jjos2 does that the 500 does not. i am in no way putting down the 500, but this is a kinda dangerous statement to make. overlooking all screen-size related differences (such as grid edit and graphical waveform display) the 500 can't apply a qlink to an entire track, perform bit conversion, alternate-loop samples, perform ADSR, and has no aftertouch. this is a very brief list of extras, and not unimportant ones at that.

in the context of the user's question, this matters a great deal, as such data could prevent the project from playing back correctly in the 500 - or worse, cause him to lose info as he shuffles it back and forth.

The best way to use the 500 with larger MPC (even with the JJ OS) is to use it for scratch pad, beginning an idea or working on something with the intent of completing it on the larger MPC.

Just create the elements then save them to a CF, then go to work on the 500.
Even before you get on a JJ machine the larger MPC's have functions that have to be shaven off for the 500.
When you get on a JJ machine you have functions that the same machine in non-JJ form can't adhere to so that's actually 2 levels of functions the 500 will have problems with.

While the 500 is a good machine and with a few tweaks ( and some debugging and a MIDI filter ) could be even better, you have to really use the JJ OS to understand how much further it takes things.

Sovereign wrote:While the 500 is a good machine and with a few tweaks ( and some debugging and a MIDI filter )

I'm curious what a MIDI filter is for and why would you need it with an MPC. I google searched it but came up with many different things that didn't seen to jive in context with the other hits.

True, I know I didn't scratch the surface of some of JJ, and I think it was JJ1. I shouldn't have spoken for it.

I should have reiterated that going from 500 to 1000 isn't a big jump on a project - you won't lose anything on the jump, you will just be limited on options before the jump. You can still go from 1000 to 500 to trim up samples while getting an idea of what your song will sound like, then bringing it back. Yes, the 500 would be just a sketch pad.

al-Zarqawi wrote:

Sovereign wrote:While the 500 is a good machine and with a few tweaks ( and some debugging and a MIDI filter )

I'm curious what a MIDI filter is for and why would you need it with an MPC. I google searched it but came up with many different things that didn't seen to jive in context with the other hits.

In it's current form the 500 has a tendency to receive and sometimes try to interpet MIDI messages that it has no understanding of.
It can cause little funny glitches when using a DAW or hardware sequencer with the 500.
You can see anything from voice switching, note dropping, sequencer tempo changing or jumping, as well as MIDI buffer overflows.

You need to be able to tell the 500 what to ignore or respond to.

I think it was one of the many things overlooked becames they looked at the unit more as a portable go between instead of thinking maybe people would do real work from a 500.

Again... thank you for everyone's input. It's nice to hear it from other users rather than some guy trying to hustle you at Guitar Center.

My intention was to use the 500 as a "scratch pad" while on the road. Just something to throw some ideas down on and then "flesh them out" when I get home. Nothing fancy.

I still haven't even really looked at the 500 itself. So, I don't even know how the thing really works. Obviously, it is going to have standard MPC features but, for example, I realized the screen is only 2 lines tall... how are samples displayed? I am assuming they not wave patterns on the screen but are possibly displayed numerically like on my ASR-10??? (I love my ASR!!!)

I know I will probably catch a whole lot of comments for this one, but I don't even have any of the JJ Operating Systems. I haven't really made the time to purchase them. I have been doing just fine with Akai's OS 2.11. I haven't experienced any troubles with it at all and have been able to make everything the way I want to so far.

Anyhow, I appreciate all your input.

Samples are displayed numerically. You can even change it by one digit and get it exactly where you want it.

I tap a pad really quickly while adjusting the sample start point until it starts exactly where it needs to start.

Sovereign wrote:

al-Zarqawi wrote:

Sovereign wrote:While the 500 is a good machine and with a few tweaks ( and some debugging and a MIDI filter )

I'm curious what a MIDI filter is for and why would you need it with an MPC. I google searched it but came up with many different things that didn't seen to jive in context with the other hits.

In it's current form the 500 has a tendency to receive and sometimes try to interpet MIDI messages that it has no understanding of.
It can cause little funny glitches when using a DAW or hardware sequencer with the 500.
You can see anything from voice switching, note dropping, sequencer tempo changing or jumping, as well as MIDI buffer overflows.

You need to be able to tell the 500 what to ignore or respond to.

I think it was one of the many things overlooked becames they looked at the unit more as a portable go between instead of thinking maybe people would do real work from a 500.

Oh ****!

Read my other post here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/for ... ?t=2138311

This isn't good news. Thanks for taking a minute to respond to my question though.

al-Zarqawi wrote:

Oh ****!

Read my other post here: http://acapella.harmony-central.com/for ... ?t=2138311

This isn't good news. Thanks for taking a minute to respond to my question though.

What you discribe in that post isn't exactly what I was referring to, I was talking more along the lines of the 500 accepting control info from the DAW or MV etc.