MPC60 - OS 2.14 with SCSI? Questions.

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a mk1 MPC60. I was all set to buy the upgrade OS3 and the SCSI board from Roger Linn.

I decided to open it up first and have a look inside. It clearly has a board fitted bottom central just left of the floppy drive that has wrote on it "SCSI interface for Akai MPC-60 - Marion Systems Corporation"

Yet the OS is 2.14. Linn's web site states you require OS3 to be able to use SCSI so why would this 60 have it fitted?

Also, Id still like to upgrade to OS3, will this rev 1.1 card (as wrote on the SCSI card) work with OS3?

As Clint points out in this thread... viewtopic.php?f=4&t=139647&hilit=mpc60+SCSI+os+2.14
2.14 was a late Akai OS that enabled the SCSI board to work, though few MPC60s seem to have had it.

Superb! Saved me £200

Yup.

MPC60's with OS 2.14 were the only one to leave the factory with SCSI installed.

Rare as hens teeth, was the last official Akai OS created for the machine.

CTM wrote:Superb! Saved me £200

You saved money on the SCSI board ...... sure ! ( early SCSI board REV shouldn't be an issue )

MPC60 OS 2.14 is not as flexible to use when compared with Roger Linn Designs 3.10e version.

Not sure how 2.14 runs in terms of SCSI access/reliability/device support either.

Maybe you can tell us

Rohan.

Just thinking perhaps Rodger Linn should stop saying on his site you NEED OS3 to enable SCSI when this isn't the case.

I do understand he wont make any money of people buying OS2.x though. Still, no need for fibs Roger. (Sure OS3 is well worth it for the other additions and I have ordered it.)

CTM wrote:Just thinking perhaps Rodger Linn should stop saying on his site you NEED OS3 to enable SCSI when this isn't the case.

I do understand he wont make any money of people buying OS2.x though. Still, no need for fibs Roger. (Sure OS3 is well worth it for the other additions and I have ordered it.)

well because the os 2.14 is rare as hell... so you probably couldn'y buy it anyways. lets say you had a 60 with 2.12.... the only way you can get scsi working is getting the scsi interface and you know you aren't finding the ep rom chips for 2.14 so 3.1 is the only real option.

If I were to guess I'd say...

Akai OS 2.14 was the last official OS for the machine, it was used on the last run of 60 mk1's and possibly some early mk2's.

OS 2.14 machines left the factory with SCSI installed, but this idea was scrapped by Akai to keep the production and retail costs down in the face of still competition from Ensoniq and others. Roger wasn't happy about this cost-cutting as he developed the product and his fledgling relationship with Akai began to sour.

From this point on, further 60 mk2's left the factory with the previous OS 2.12 which did not support SCSI. Akai later tried to compensate by shipping these with the memory expansion fitted. The 60 mk2 was discontinued and replaced by the 3000 in 1994.

Some time after designing the MPC3000 and parting company with Akai Roger decided to capitalise on this by working with Marion Systems* to develop the 3.10 OS ported from the MPC3000 and SCSI upgrade he has sold. Roger only owned the rights to the software, Marion Systems owned the rights to the SCSI hardware. I believe Marion hit the wall in the mid 90's so when Rogers supply of SCSI board ran out, that was it.

That's my opinion of how it went down, knowing what I know.

*Marion Systems was run by Tom Oberheim (yes Oberheim) who also made a 12 bit to 16 bit upgrade for the Akai S-900 sampler.


http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1994_ar ... rheim.html

that is interesting. When I heard about the 12 to 16 bit expansion for the 900 I wondered if that was actually true.

yup.


lucky cop the 2.14 is with the scsi intact. that is the most expensive expansion for the 60...




i have an s900 with the marion systems 12/16 bit toggle... you load/toggle bit length with a startup disk... the same 900 has the atari hd interface installed also... ive got one of the 2 models of atari harddrives that works with it too... was gonna try to build an atari cubase or notator DAW with the 1040STf and the s900, but tracking down that midi schit for the ataris is kind of a quest...


gearwhoring is cool.

fobedafied wrote:yup.


lucky cop the 2.14 is with the scsi intact. that is the most expensive expansion for the 60...




i have an s900 with the marion systems 12/16 bit toggle... you load/toggle bit length with a startup disk... the same 900 has the atari hd interface installed also... ive got one of the 2 models of atari harddrives that works with it too... was gonna try to build an atari cubase or notator DAW with the 1040STf and the s900, but tracking down that midi schit for the ataris is kind of a quest...


gearwhoring is cool.

honestly, I would rather do it the lazy way and sequence the 900 with the 60 over using an atari tracker.

do you have the drum trigger input card for your 900?

mr_debauch wrote:

fobedafied wrote:yup.


lucky cop the 2.14 is with the scsi intact. that is the most expensive expansion for the 60...




i have an s900 with the marion systems 12/16 bit toggle... you load/toggle bit length with a startup disk... the same 900 has the atari hd interface installed also... ive got one of the 2 models of atari harddrives that works with it too... was gonna try to build an atari cubase or notator DAW with the 1040STf and the s900, but tracking down that midi schit for the ataris is kind of a quest...


gearwhoring is cool.

honestly, I would rather do it the lazy way and sequence the 900 with the 60 over using an atari tracker.

do you have the drum trigger input card for your 900?

same here. the 60 is a beast. but it could have been a cool project, if i hadnt lost the lust...

i dont, but my friend recently copped an s900 with the ASK-90 drum trigger board installed.

fobedafied wrote:

mr_debauch wrote:

fobedafied wrote:yup.


lucky cop the 2.14 is with the scsi intact. that is the most expensive expansion for the 60...




i have an s900 with the marion systems 12/16 bit toggle... you load/toggle bit length with a startup disk... the same 900 has the atari hd interface installed also... ive got one of the 2 models of atari harddrives that works with it too... was gonna try to build an atari cubase or notator DAW with the 1040STf and the s900, but tracking down that midi schit for the ataris is kind of a quest...


gearwhoring is cool.

honestly, I would rather do it the lazy way and sequence the 900 with the 60 over using an atari tracker.

do you have the drum trigger input card for your 900?

same here. the 60 is a beast. but it could have been a cool project, if i hadnt lost the lust...

i dont, but my friend recently copped an s900 with the ASK-90 drum trigger board installed.

****... that ask-90, at first I didn't get the point of it... but now I really want to get one (likely it will include another 900)

I have not seem something quite like that on another piece of gear before. I think it may be a good way to bridge the gap between some non midi related live instruments if the resulting trigger actually can be used to send a midi signal too... not sure if it would do that but that would be insane.

got a me35t drum trigger too...