edit: MPC to MPC stereo line connection problem + ANOTHER F!

Greetings, mates.

I decided to switch from mpc 1k to 3k and ve just begun the work with my new baby.
I'm a bit confused about two issues and I hope these questions ain't silly.

1.) What's the average time of formatting and saving sounds on standard floppy disks?
It takes me hell of a time to format a simple 1,4mb floppy - about 1 minute I think. And saving snd's on it it's like 20 s for a 1 second sample. Is this a normal time of floppy drive processing or the floppy disk drive needs to be exchanged?

2.) I wanted to re-record some samples from my 1k. When I connect my mpc 1k via stereo out with mpc 3k stereo in i can hear a loud buzz in my headphones (currently not working on monitors - I can't tell is the buzz also be heard in big speakers). What's more: when I sample a sound this way, the buzz can also be heard ON a sample. It happens only when I connect the samplers with each other. When I connect turntable or korg via stereo in no buzz can be heard. (P.S. The buzz occurs even when 1k is turned off - it can be heard as soon as I plug the line cables in to stero in of mpc 3k)

Thanks for the feedback straight away.

nu-comer wrote:Greetings, mates.


1.) What's the average time of formatting and saving sounds on standard floppy disks?
It takes me hell of a time to format a simple 1,4mb floppy - about 1 minute I think. And saving snd's on it it's like 20 s for a 1 second sample. Is this a normal time of floppy drive processing or the floppy disk drive needs to be exchanged? .

Lol, that is normal.

nu-comer wrote:2.) I wanted to re-record some samples from my 1k. When I connect my mpc 1k via stereo out with mpc 3k stereo in i can hear a loud buzz in my headphones (currently not working on monitors - I can't tell is the buzz also be heard in big speakers). What's more: when I sample a sound this way, the buzz can also be heard ON a sample. It happens only when I connect the samplers with each other. When I connect turntable or korg via stereo in no buzz can be heard. (P.S. The buzz occurs even when 1k is turned off - it can be heard as soon as I plug the line cables in to stero in of mpc 3k)

.

Sounds like a ground issue. Do you have different cables to try ?

Yep, I've just tried them and it's the same. The buzz occurs as well. Got completely no idea what's wrong.

Thanks for the respond. I surely need to get use to floppy disk saving option. I was wondering about zip drive but I've heard that zip disks are prone to crush at any time.

nu-comer wrote:Yep, I've just tried them and it's the same. The buzz occurs as well. Got completely no idea what's wrong.

Thanks for the respond. I surely need to get use to floppy disk saving option. I was wondering about zip drive but I've heard that zip disks are prone to crush at any time.

Zips aren't as bad as floppies, which can also die at anytime. Some people (like me) have been using zips for years with no problems, while others seem to get a lot of failures. I guess it's just luck. Always make back ups of your data and you should be fine.

Thanks for the advice, mate. I'll try the zips then in the nearest future. Need to save some money for the zip drive and zip disks.

The only problem I had was my MPC60 will not recognise a 100mb zip disk in a 250mb drive.
250mb disk in 250mb drive and 100mb disk in 100mb drive is fine.

Thanks, Acid.

Does anyone has a clue what about the buzz which occurs during the connection between these two samplers?

did you know that you can adjust the sampling volume? you have a switch at the back of the 3k which lets you to adjust the gain (low / mid / high). i use myself the low gain. maybe this is the problem...

Yes, mate, I know that very well. Even if I got it on the 'lo' level the buzz occurs. As I've mentioned before: the buzz comes up as soon as I plug in the cables to stereo in at the back of mpc 3000 (EVEN when the mpc 1k is off). I think it's an issue which has something to do with power tension. Got no clue.

Thanks for the response.

Does the buzz vary in loudness when you adjust the input sensitivity?

Yes, it varies as I adjust the 'record' and/or 'volume' level.

The problem is: even if I adjust it to the lowest level just to let the sounds from 1k pass through the recording threshold, the buzz will still be on the sample.

Ground loops are a pain to figure out. I'm assuming that you are using unbalanced cables and they are not long enough to resonate power line frequency.

Are both MPCs plugged into the same outlet?

Are you certain that the ground in the outlet is connected?

Are there any other cables plugged in? Remove those as they may be causing the ground loop.

You can try a ground lift adapter.

I've checked the connections and what I did:

I pluged both samplers to the same outlet and pluged off rest of the equipment. But the buzz still occurs.

Yes, I'm sure that the outlet is grounded and connected.

Damn, I might need to buy a new, 'pro' ground outlet in a professional music shop I recon. I won't do it in the nearest future, because I'm out of money right now. There must be something with the power tension, that's for sure.

Anyway: thanks for the feedback mates.

Just some points I'm confused with or that I recommed or whatever...

1.) 20 seconds for a 1 second sample is to long. It might take 10 seconds but not longer.

2.) If you don't like floppys Zips are not the only alternative. As you might have heard from others there COULD be a problem sooner or later called "click of death". As soon as this happen 128MB (one zip) is definitly gone. If you put in another zip to the drive chances are good you'll loose another 128MB piece of work. BTW: to loose the same amount of work with floppys you need to treat a whole floppybox with 100 disks really bad (magntism, extreme heat/cold, very high air humidity, thowing out of a window or stuff like that ). My recommended alternative is called MO drive and MO disks. search for it on google and you'll see how safty they are. If you decide to go with that you should use 128MB or 250MB (I don't know if the 3000 could handle more)

3.) what is the exact cable like (balanced or unbalanced, any adapter, what exact plugs are on the end etc) that you used for the connection?

4.) can you upload the noise. best with and without a recorded sample .

5.) any dimable lampls in your household? have you tried to disconnect the fridge and sample then?


peace

As far as the buzz is concerned --

You could try one of those cheap iso transformer-built-into-a-stereo-cable thingies. I got a heap of these at Radio Schlock ages ago. You can also get better shielded pro iso boxes but they cost more $$$.

Other options that requre a bit more tecnical expertise: "Star ground" (look this term up) the units together, or lift the ground lug on ONE of the two MPC power cables. These two options can be risky if you don't understand EXACTLY what you are connecting/disconnecting so be sure to read up on grounding first, or leave it to a professional.

It is also possible that the ground loop could be caused by some bad internal solder connections in which case the above may not help. Somebody would have to go in there and re-heat the solder points.