MPC 3000 - Card Reader

From what I've read, a card reader seems to be a good way to go for the MPC 3000 as far as modern storage -- and backing up on my computer sounds great.

From what I've read, though, it's hard to know whats actually compatible and whats not.

so a couple questions:

1) Whats a good source for card readers? And how do i know they are compatible?

2) when i search ebay, i find a lot of results by mpcstoragesolution. Are they legit? Seems pricey...

3) I have a new macbook pro (within the last year). It has an SDXC slot. I've never actually used this, but is this a flash card slot, that would work with the same cards I could potentially be using with a 3000?

4) People talk about needing MPC editor to format the cards right. Is there a similar solution for mac?

dtirer wrote:From what I've read, a card reader seems to be a good way to go for the MPC 3000 as far as modern storage -- and backing up on my computer sounds great.

From what I've read, though, it's hard to know whats actually compatible and whats not.

so a couple questions:

1) Whats a good source for card readers? And how do i know they are compatible?

2) when i search ebay, i find a lot of results by mpcstoragesolution. Are they legit? Seems pricey...

Yes. I got one from them. Pricey yes, but they build them for you and guarantee them to be compatible.

3) I have a new macbook pro (within the last year). It has an SDXC slot. I've never actually used this, but is this a flash card slot, that would work with the same cards I could potentially be using with a 3000?
No. You will need to get a USB CF card reader, at least I did with my 13'' from last year. Only like $15 off Amazon.

4) People talk about needing MPC editor to format the cards right. Is there a similar solution for mac?

Yes. RS-16X is great. You can create programs, convert .wav to .snd (vice versa), etc and load them onto your card. I think it's $10-15.

Hope this helped!

RS-16X is $34.99 at the Mac App Store lately and is the same price direct from the vendor. I went with the App Store version for easier future re-downloading/re-installing.

Even at the higher price it's still a great app.

OK great good to know!
So i wonder these card slots on the mac are for anyhow!

PSP's, cameras stuff like that. MPC XL-MCD can use them, but they were not reliable on that machine so no one uses them. Probably bad implementation on the XL. Those work great on anything else I've used them for.

BTW - RS-16X can load samples and be triggered by external MIDI. So you could make PGM's on it but also run it in tandem with your MPC if you like.

Oh I see.
Yeah I was just checking out the app and saw that one could prob do that, which is cool.
thanks!

Metatron72 wrote:PSP's, cameras stuff like that. MPC XL-MCD can use them, but they were not reliable on that machine so no one uses them. Probably bad implementation on the XL. Those work great on anything else I've used them for.

BTW - RS-16X can load samples and be triggered by external MIDI. So you could make PGM's on it but also run it in tandem with your MPC if you like.

If anyone finds a drive similar to the MPC 1ooo drive that's compatible with the 3k, let us know. Hot swap or not, I don't really care about that part.

dtirer wrote:OK great good to know!
So i wonder these card slots on the mac are for anyhow!

Mine is an SD card reader. The card reader for my 3k is a CF card. Much bigger than an SD.

Metatron72 wrote:BTW - RS-16X can be triggered by external MIDI. So you could make PGM's on it but also run it in tandem with your MPC if you like.

Really?

Can I double check this?! I was never sure.

sensei wrote:

Metatron72 wrote:BTW - RS-16X can be triggered by external MIDI. So you could make PGM's on it but also run it in tandem with your MPC if you like.

Really?

Can I double check this?! I was never sure.

I just checked and it responds to incoming MIDI from my MPD32 and my 2500. Appears to be a older style MPC layout or a GM Drum map, not chromatic ascending from note 36.

I'm just triggering the RS-16X pads here, sorry if me writing tandem implied a fully MIDI synched situation. Even with clever IAC and audio routing I still figure there's no way to lock to the transports.

For a while I didn't even know RS-16X would accept MIDI controllers so I just meant that, sorry for any confusion.

dtirer wrote:1) Whats a good source for card readers? And how do i know they are compatible?

2) when i search ebay, i find a lot of results by mpcstoragesolution. Are they legit? Seems pricey...

3) I have a new macbook pro (within the last year). It has an SDXC slot. I've never actually used this, but is this a flash card slot, that would work with the same cards I could potentially be using with a 3000?

4) People talk about needing MPC editor to format the cards right. Is there a similar solution for mac?

The non-hot-swap external drives are probably a SCSI-IDE bridge, with a cheap IDE-CF adapter, in a (usually excessively large and ugly) external case.

You can buy them ready made like that, or possibly DIY a little cheaper.

DIY might be a little more stuffing around, getting the right cables/etc., finding adapters that work with the MPC, an external case or mounted internally with re-routed external SCSI/internal power, etc. If you want hot swapping of memory cards in the MPC, it can be a lot more trial and error to find card readers that actually work as hot swap in the MPC3000.

I am not sure if any of the multi-card readers work with their SD slot and the MPC, or if you can use some sort of adapter to use an SD card with a different type of reader (CF/PC Card/etc.). Going with one of the currently available solutions would probably mean using CompactFlash memory cards, and an external USB-CF card reader for your MacBook.

I seem to be having some promising initial tests with a SCSI-SATA bridge, and SATA-CF reader/writer, in an MPC3000 and MPC60. The MPC60 seems to recognise a swapped CF card as soon as you go into the disk screens, but the MPC3000 (OS3.11) needs the SCSI drive to be re-activated in that MPC disk menu/option before it correctly shows the contents of the newly inserted memory card. This solution also seems to be less picky about the memory card type, compared to some of the currently available IDE/ATAPI drives that I have tried.

If this SCSI-SATA/SATA-CF configuration works OK, it is possible that a SCSI-SATA/SATA-SD card reader, if it supports hot swapping, 'might' work just as well with the MPC. Then you 'might' be able to use the MacBook SDXC slot to directly swap cards/files with the MPC (if the SDXC reader in the MacBook handles SD or whatever memory card formats that a possible MPC SD card reader might support). Even if it doesn't work hot swap, I think that a non-hot-swap SD card reader in the MPC should be possible, but might take some trial and error with different SD card readers and SCSI-IDE or SCSI-SATA bridges.

I think that Mac OS X can possibly access the first MPC disk partition without needing additional software, but you need the software to translate the MPC .SND sound file format to a .AIF or .WAV sound file format, and back, if you want to do that. Some of the software also allows setting up of the MPC programs in the computer, as well as translating the sound file formats. If you only wanted to backup the MPC files onto the computer, and not work with them in computer editing software, and not transfer existing files into the MPC, for long term storage for example, you would not need the software.