808 (X0X) style programming

My suggestion is for MPC1000 JJ OS2XL, but I guess it would work as well for the MPC2500.

The MPC1000 with JJ OS is extremely close to having a TRX0X-style programming option. I'd love to see this feature added. The addition of TRX0X-programming style would make MPC with JJ a real supersequencer.

The key to this would be an additional variant of the Grid edit>Pattern>PatternEDIT.
Have a look at the pattern edit screen:


The main editing row is very similar to the layout of of TRX0X-machine.
It's a one bar loop.
It's a - one "button" per 16th note layout.

The difference is that you have to use the cursor to move to various positions in the 16th note row and that velocity (and consequently on/off) is set with the data wheel.
On a TRX0X machine there are 16 buttons to turn notes on/off, that's extremely convenient.

The MPC1000 has 16-buttons.

All JJ needs to add is the possibility to turn notes on/off using these buttons! Additional feature for velocity needs to be implemented too.

Here's my suggestion:


This screen would be for programming/editing one bar in a pattern and it's reached from grid edit similar to the way one reaches "pattern" and "pattern edit".

- Selection of pad to program is selected by SHIFT+PAD.
- Selection of velocity (accent) is selected by F3 F4 F5 (I think three is enough, maybe data wheel could be used to alter the latest entry too).
With this setup the 16 pads could then be used for turning the 16 notes in the grid on and off. Velocity and pad is easily changed using F3 F4 F5 and SHIFT+PAD.

F1 and F2 could be used to jump one bar left or right in the pattern perhaps.
S (time shift) and D (duration) may be kept and reached using cursor buttons.

Programming TR-style this way would be a breeze, JJ OS would take even one more leap making the MPC the best hardware sequencer on the planet.
MPC-owners would never need to look at another sequencer (like the TR-style "Europa" from Analogue Solutions) again.

Wouldn't it be great?

more or less. i'm not sure about the velocity buttons if they are really needed, since it is already there currently. i do like the idea about being able to shift+pad to select a different pad (its annoying how you can change the pad with pattern edit, but it then wipes anything you programmed for another pad and you start from the beginning).

what i really want to see brought back to O2XL is the x0x style of drum programming where each pay represented a 1/16th step. why the hell was this dropped! if that could be done, along with what you are suggesting i'd be very happy.

(...and then JJ can really start developing the sequencer! tracks with different signatures/lengths, reverse pattern, real-time swing/shift, random, copy and paste that can move up/down as well as linearly. it could be such a strong sequncer if he wanted to go that way)

torsig1969, check out reg OS 2. I think it basically has what your looking for is already in the LOOP edit function that was removed for ver. 2xl...

Check out this recent post of mine and watch the videos that are linked to it. I'm a huge fan of the LOOP EDIT mode. I'd love for it to be expanded just a little bit to make it work just a bit more like a groovemachine or an old analog sequencer... This link will explain what I'm talking about. Peace.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=126241

yep. this already exsts in os 2 loop edit mode.

another reason why OS 2 is better than 2XL.

Damn I miss loop edit mode. I wish jj could put that back in xl somehow. put me down.

The two X0X modes should be, as describet in the first post, incorporated with the features in JJOS2XL. It's alot of work, but maybe it could be the new JJOS3?

wudsiba wrote:torsig1969, check out reg OS 2. I think it basically has what your looking for is already in the LOOP edit function that was removed for ver. 2xl...

Ah, yes I used OS 2 a short while. Maybe there's where I got my idea from. I'm not sure I want to go back though, for other reasons I've forgotten by now.

rarara wrote:more or less. i'm not sure about the velocity buttons if they are really needed, since it is already there currently.

How would you like to enter velocity? Using only the wheel wouldn't be as fast as using a couple of fixed values.

rarara wrote:what i really want to see brought back to O2XL is the x0x style of drum programming where each pay represented a 1/16th step.

Exactly, obiously I'm reinventing the wheel. It would be even easier for JJ to do this then, since he's already done it once.

But perhaps his main focus now is that sequencer thing or whatever...

torsig1967 wrote:Wouldn't it be great?

This is one of he reasons I stick with JJOS2 on my 2500.

T7 wrote:
This is one of he reasons I stick with JJOS2 on my 2500.

Is there any other reason for sticking with 2? I can't remember exactly why I moved to XL immidiately other than the new midi note/pad concept. That was a mess on OS2.

torsig1967 wrote:

T7 wrote:
This is one of he reasons I stick with JJOS2 on my 2500.

Is there any other reason for sticking with 2? I can't remember exactly why I moved to XL immidiately other than the new midi note/pad concept. That was a mess on OS2.

Other reasons I stick with OS2 are stability and I have no need for features like Chords and the Arp in XL.

...What MIDI note/pad concept?

T7 wrote:...What MIDI note/pad concept?

Which midi note each pad sends. It was kind of messy when working with imported midifiles and also sending to external midigear. Can't remember the details though. I believe it's still a bit complicated and it has to do with the fact that MPC:s (and OS2) have their midinotes assigned to pads according to General Midi, whereas it's chromatic on OS 2 XL.

In which cases did you have stability problems on OS 2 XL? I haven't had that yet, but I had problems with OS 2 instead....

My OS2 would bog down on me at times. I was a noob back then, so it could of been user error. (too much going on, samples, effects etc)

XL always seemed a little bit more stable IMO.

I'll track out some old OS2 beats today, but I'm willing to lose a function (arp, chord, pattern:?) on XL for loop edit.

There really aren't that many things lost with 2 xl, but the little things were enough for me. In the trim page, you can easily change from loop off, loop on, to alternate loop all from the f4 button. Not a big deal of course, but I use alternate looping a lot and love to be able to toggle in real quick especially when working with the program mode enabled. Saves a lot of time. Also, and this really is a big one for me, the TUNE adjustment in pattern mode was removed. In the line of what this post started as, I really like to use my Mp in a groovebox style. It's something new to me in the sence that it is not at all how I write, but it offers an entirely new way to work with these machines that can often help me to create something I never would have without these options. Finally, version 2 just seems more stable to me. I think XL could have gotten to that level, if JJ had stuck with it.
I download every new update for all three versions. I pretty much stick with version 2. I keep all of the XL updates and may use them on specific projects for the arpegiater or the chord fuction, but if I do I'll just make sure to have XL in the title. That way I can go back to version 2.

I would love it def.

On Os2 vs XL, i esp. like xl´s quantize strength. I think there were a few other things but right now i dont know the differences too well. Though OS2 is more powerful indeed, it crashed on me recently (froze with a blank screen on the track mute screen, while un-/muting tracks..). This is my top concern, i´d go back to akai os immediately if there were any issues but xl is playing rock solid on my machine since a few versions ago.