MPC 5000 OS 2.0 Bug Thread

Could you give us specific questions to what you need to know to trace the problem?
Since everybody has their individual setup, a lot of things may vary, but maybe if you can pinpoint some things
to look for maybe we can eliminate whatever could be making it out of sync.

I like thank everybody for being diligent about the glitch or what I found to be a glitch.

It all shows the love for the MPC...

I just want my keygroups....

Update on the quantize. Just tried and could not reproduce the off timing after quantizing with 70 and 80% strength. Only tried on 3 sequences. One thing is the MPC was on for a long time when the glitch happened before. Don't know if that was all or some other variable. Maybe it's just random. Hopefully it's not really an issue.

After spending more time with the 5k I must say I was impressed overall with the sound quality and new features in OS2.0 aside from a few missing features and quirky GUI. Akai needs to bring it home with another update or come with the XL

As i've said a couple of times before:
AKAI should concentrate on the OS: rockstable it should be.
The GUI is quirky for the moment, so AKAI please instruct your software developpers to concentrate and bite into this issue! The MPC is all about WORKFLOW; for the moment my workflow is beeing interrupted by some lousy firmware programming.
And please no OS3.
I'm happy to have some 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and so on untill the machine really rocks!

1.load the same loop on 2 pads (single shot).
2.play the 2 pads at exactly the same moment in time (eventually correct the timing in the step editor and set the times exactly the same).
3.the loops play exactly synced, but from time to time, they desync and you get a kind of phasing effect.
4.for me this means there is a timing problem
5.did not have this issue with os1.02 (although i did not have much time with os1.02, as i upgraded directly to os2 as it came out)

could someone try to reproduce this

Askia Shaheed wrote:You must have missed the part where I said it was being looked at. A lot of work went into testing 2.0. Obviously, if this is a problem, it was missed during testing. Since I read about some users here having problems with sync, I tested it myself. I can't find a problem with syncing. If you give specific details, that would go a long way towards confirming this potential bug and getting it fixed.

4dahaterz wrote:

Askia Shaheed wrote:If you actually read my posts in this thread, you will see that I am not dismissing anything. But no one has yet to provide specific details about the sync problem although I made numerous requests. This is what will delay this bug being fixed..if it is a bug.

There is no specific way... what details do you want... Its happening in most ways of being used as slaved(to me and alot of others)... whether you use it as MIDI and/or the samples in it.

Here is what you do...
1. Make a beat with the MPC 5000, make about 15 tracks, 8 Bars
2. try to track the beat out into your DAW(about 16 bars... so you let it go around twice)
3. Make sure you are slaving the MPC using MIDI Beat Clock

Alot of others have not given any details and we are just going around in a circle.

So what happens exactly happens when you do the steps above?

oh Sorry...
5. It goes Haywire.... sounds start playing all out of sync, i killed 3 hours wednesday with Midi Beat Clock and MTC, because the MPC 5000 was trippin, while the MPC 2000XL cooperated properly, but finally, after the MPC got adjusted, in finally started working right.

here's a bug to check out:
load the synth patch "Halo", open synth window and select VCO, the LFO>Vco1 is set to Zero, play the sound, change the value to a higher one and reset it to zero, the slight modulation heard in original patch is now gone. any value you set yourself will be generate a much deeper modulation that the factory setting. I reported this earlier, but this patch comes with mpc5k, so it's easy to hear what I meant.
/jocks

My only complaint with the OS 2.0 is the lack of sensitivity on the PLAY/START Button.
I like to have a sequence going, and be able to stop and start it it, constantly going back to the "1", by using the PLAY/START button. This is particuarly useful in creating a break sound.

anyway with the 1.02 OS it was very accurate. now with the 2.0, it is inconsistent / much less accurate / often a fraction of a beat off, late, whatever. Does anyone else have this problem?

This is actually the 2nd 5000 I have owned, and it has done it with both.
Can this be fixed?

OR, IS THERE A WAY TO PROGRAM A SEQUENCE TO A PAD? And I can just do it that way.

Thanks

Same thing with most the operations with os 2.0 There is lag between the time you change a parameter or do something and the time the MPC decides to do it. It is random and sometimes it's worse than others. It's like the processor is being strained and can't keep up. This happened on 1.02 on ocassion but is much worse in 2.0 It's a bug that effects pretty much all operations. No word from Akai if they even intend to fix it or just leave it like this.

Yo, I'm psyched!

All you have to do is go into the Q-LINK mode, and the PLAY/START button is on point!! Its very responsive. I LOVE IT!

If I go back into the MAIN screen, it's way off.

TRY IT YOURSELF!

kinda wierd.
kinda ironic i just happened to stumble upon it like i did.
especially a day after I put up a post about it?!?

Glad you found a workaround. Maybe this info will help them narrow down the sluggish response bugs. I wonder if this will help stop midi clock drift that some are experiencing?

my workaround is putting OS1.02 back on the machine and waiting vor 2.1..
machine is much more responsive and stable for the moment

I had a heart-attack while jogging this morning. It must have been my new running shoes. I never had a heart attack before, and as soon as I got these new shoes ... look what happened. When's Adidas gonna fix this?

Guys, v.2.0 made absolutely no changes to sync. This has been confirmed elsewhere on this forum. If you're seeing a difference, then it's being caused by one of the 1000 other things that can go wrong with sync...

...Most notably, it seems like most posters are using MIDI Clock to sync. MIDI Clock (as opposed to MIDI Time Code, MTC), is very inaccurate to begin with, and prone to drift. This has nothing to do with what software or equipment you're using. If you're synching with MIDI Clock, you're setting your self up for a problem (or at the very least, poor timing) ... and your just lucky it hasn't happened all ready or more often.

Please stop with the ...it didn't happen with my 2k... threads. This is just nonsense and misinformation, and it's a shame so many people get their 'trusted information' from threads where many of the posts are based on incomplete testing or misunderstanding.

I guess this is just the nature of forums, where everyone has a voice. However, as forum readers, it's important for each of you to turn on your "BS" filter when you're scanning these posts. Many of the discussions here cover topics for which there are very few experts. Thanks to all the individual posters who have taken time to test things themselves. It's clearly made a difference in the release of v.2.0. In a lot of cases, however, there are posts which are like 85% correct, followed by multiple replies which are each 85% correct etc. The effort's impressive, but there's more drift in this thread than there is in the 5k's synch.

Many talented people who make 100% of their living off their music make mistakes in their technical setup, or might not know everything about synchronization ... that's ok. However, if you're going to post in a Bug thread, do your best to fill in all the holes in testing, and be as much of a scientist as possible about it (again, not to diminish all the hard work and time taken posting by all here).

My best advice is to use MTC (MIDI Time Code), buy good MIDI cables which are as short as possible for the application. Follow the instructions on the new synch guide Akai posted: http://www.akaipro.com/tipsmay09. Synching equipment reliably (’reliably’ is the key word) can be tricky, and studio consultants get paid good money to help full-time lead-engineers at major studios to get it right.

As a MPC5K user, after looking through this thread, the GUI Lag bugs seem to be the only ones that have been sufficiently documented. There are a lot of feature requests in this thread, and a lot of posts based on misunderstanding how certain features work. Maybe the thread could be cleaned/split up so that we have a BUG thread that contains only verifiable, reproducible behaviors? It might have to be one that only the moderators can add to...copying and pasting from the general thread.

I just feel bad for the newcomers who look to this thread for accurate info.

nyahmusic wrote:
Please stop with the ...it didn't happen with my 2k... threads. This is just nonsense and misinformation, and it's a shame so many people get their 'trusted information' from threads where many of the posts are based on incomplete testing or misunderstanding.

I guess this is just the nature of forums, where everyone has a voice. However, as forum readers, it's important for each of you to turn on your "BS" filter when you're scanning these posts. Many of the discussions here cover topics for which there are very few experts. Thanks to all the individual posters who have taken time to test things themselves. It's clearly made a difference in the release of v.2.0. In a lot of cases, however, there are posts which are like 85% correct, followed by multiple replies which are each 85% correct etc. The effort's impressive, but there's more drift in this thread than there is in the 5k's synch.

Many talented people who make 100% of their living off their music make mistakes in their technical setup, or might not know everything about synchronization ... that's ok. However, if you're going to post in a Bug thread, do your best to fill in all the holes in testing, and be as much of a scientist as possible about it (again, not to diminish all the hard work and time taken posting by all here).

My best advice is to use MTC (MIDI Time Code), buy good MIDI cables which are as short as possible for the application. Follow the instructions on the new synch guide Akai posted: http://www.akaipro.com/tipsmay09. Synching equipment reliably (’reliably’ is the key word) can be tricky, and studio consultants get paid good money to help full-time lead-engineers at major studios to get it right.

Im pretty sure the MPC 2000 sync is pertaining to me... and you putting your BS filter on must have missed alot of points of the comparison of the MPC 2000 sync compared to the MPC 5000. The comparison was to prove to those technical experts(which im not or have ever claimed to be... i am a musician/producer full time, not a tech expert at nonthin) that its not the tracking equipment or software. And its not just with MIDI Beat Clock, it was an issue as well with MIDI Time Code.

But apparently we must deal with it, because Akai representatives such as yourself dont see the issue. But its crazy how many of us others users do. And people see sync working better in older OS'es then in the latest one. What could we have changed or done differently if i load some other OS'es that i have, and they lock way better, but i load 2.0 and it loses control.

And this pissed me off, because I tried a total of 4 different ways(2 Midi Beat Clock and 2 Midi Time Code, swapping both up as the slave and master) and it would not lock correctly for some hours. Since you dont want me to talk about the other MPC's, I could load up another OS, and no problem syncing.

So what else could it be if all of these scenarios are pointing to this particular OS? We have counted out that the MIDI is setup correctly in all other equipment, and even other MPC 5000 OS'es, but in 2.0 we have this issue... What could we be doing wrong in 2.0 that maybe throwing the MIDI off?

4dahaterz wrote:Im pretty sure the MPC 2000 sync is pertaining to me... and you putting your BS filter on must have missed alot of points of the comparison of the MPC 2000 sync compared to the MPC 5000...

...And this pissed me off, because I tried a total of 4 different ways(2 Midi Beat Clock and 2 Midi Time Code, swapping both up as the slave and master) and it would not lock correctly for some hours. Since you dont want me to talk about the other MPC's, I could load up another OS, and no problem syncing.

4dahaterz, I didn't mean to single you out, or to imply that you were behind the 'tone' of the thread in general. You've made more posts that most, and from what I can tell, mostly positive, helpful, and from the heart.

I realize I'd just be part of the problem myself if I just posted without offering help, or making a positive difference.

Rather than stifle the sync conversation, I was hoping to help focus it...to help folks like your self who keep on workin' despite all the difficulties have a clear place to start from with better likelyhood of success. That you haven't given up, that you keep posting with constructive suggestions is a great example to everyone.

So, if you're still in synch-hell, set aside MIDI Clock alltogether if your setup allows, and focus on getting going with MTC (even though it hasn't worked well for you yet). While the Akai guide might not be perfect (http://www.akaipro.com/tipsmay09), it's a good place to start. Scrutinize your MIDI cables too. If you've through all this, and still have a problem synching, hit up this thread again.

While I'm getting good synch in the setups I'm involved with, it sure is possible that there's something going on that the group here could help bring to Akai's attention. The best way to do that would be for anyone having trouble synching, to do the above.

I'd love to see alot of these synch posts moved to their own 'general synch help' thread. Then, if we can gather people together who've been through the general thread, and can legitimately, "Hey, I followed the official instructions on your site, used high-quality short MIDI cables, and used the more-reliable MTC, and it didn't work well." ... A list of posts like that here in the Bug thread would be more powerful and convincing (I think) than including the discussions and suggestions here.

Thanks again 4dahaterz for replying constructively, and pointing things in the right direction ... I'd love to see the discussion carried on separately in a discussion thread, and to see this thread be thinned out to contain concise, well documented, reproducible bugs.

nyahmusic wrote:

4dahaterz wrote:Im pretty sure the MPC 2000 sync is pertaining to me... and you putting your BS filter on must have missed alot of points of the comparison of the MPC 2000 sync compared to the MPC 5000...

...And this pissed me off, because I tried a total of 4 different ways(2 Midi Beat Clock and 2 Midi Time Code, swapping both up as the slave and master) and it would not lock correctly for some hours. Since you dont want me to talk about the other MPC's, I could load up another OS, and no problem syncing.

4dahaterz, I didn't mean to single you out, or to imply that you were behind the 'tone' of the thread in general. You've made more posts that most, and from what I can tell, mostly positive, helpful, and from the heart.

I realize I'd just be part of the problem myself if I just posted without offering help, or making a positive difference.

Rather than stifle the sync conversation, I was hoping to help focus it...to help folks like your self who keep on workin' despite all the difficulties have a clear place to start from with better likelyhood of success. That you haven't given up, that you keep posting with constructive suggestions is a great example to everyone.

So, if you're still in synch-hell, set aside MIDI Clock alltogether if your setup allows, and focus on getting going with MTC (even though it hasn't worked well for you yet). While the Akai guide might not be perfect (http://www.akaipro.com/tipsmay09), it's a good place to start. Scrutinize your MIDI cables too. If you've through all this, and still have a problem synching, hit up this thread again.

While I'm getting good synch in the setups I'm involved with, it sure is possible that there's something going on that the group here could help bring to Akai's attention. The best way to do that would be for anyone having trouble synching, to do the above.

I'd love to see alot of these synch posts moved to their own 'general synch help' thread. Then, if we can gather people together who've been through the general thread, and can legitimately, "Hey, I followed the official instructions on your site, used high-quality short MIDI cables, and used the more-reliable MTC, and it didn't work well." ... A list of posts like that here in the Bug thread would be more powerful and convincing (I think) than including the discussions and suggestions here.

Thanks again 4dahaterz for replying constructively, and pointing things in the right direction ... I'd love to see the discussion carried on separately in a discussion thread, and to see this thread be thinned out to contain concise, well documented, reproducible bugs.

wow... thanks, seriously... you got me reconsidering alot of my posts on here now, when i try to defend those needing help, but trying to fight off the attackers... seriously thanks

maybe we can start a sync thread, ill try too later since i have been kickin online a few hours today(which i havent done in a while since trying to help someone else with something).