MPC1000/2500 X-Large LCD w/modified JJOS

A quote from the man ...

OS128XL is not the higher rank version of OS2XL.
OS128XL is completed as an original OS for large LCD.
I think that OS128XL is superior to any past OS.
It will upgrade in the future and will become better.

JJ. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OS128XL will be uploaded in July as an OS which Ver1.00 completed.

Coz wrote:The software spec is reliant on the underlying hardware spec.

To a degree it is. I mean, JJ could make an Octatrack clone (well maybe a duotrack lol - cpu would limit that) out of it if he wanted to. Or an 8 track recorder. Or a pseudo-ROM based sound module. And if hardware modification was practical (which to a small degree it is possible with certain peripheral modules - ergo the big screen - of course extensive modification is still impractical), then the only limitation would be imagination and skill. MPCellphone...

So yeah you have constraints, but JJ is sticking to the 'advanced MPC' paradigm because 1. that's what the hardware is best suited for, but also because 2. that's what he wants to do and/or that what he believes his customer base wants. But there are any number of directions he could go with it. I mean he could reserve 16MB of RAM at boot, stuff some 808/909 samples in there, and essentially create an integrated drumsynth. And grab another 16MB and stuff some Moog samples in... So we're not as locked in as you think. And that's what makes this whole thing so fascinating.

So having said that (and from a techie perspective) its always exciting to move forward with the next iteration. The fact that this one comes with a big screen and a clean codebase is a huge plus to me... To me, as an engineer, watching the process is like watching an artist create art. JJ is a talented dude. So I have no doubt that his talent will show with 128XL just like it did with OS2XL.

^^ I can't argue with any of that mate.

I believe the people who are most passionate about the JJOS on here will help refine it into a killer OS... eventually.

I just knew there would come a point when I bought my 'fixer upper' 4k that I would be faced with a dilemma over what machine to roll with. I don't want or need 2 MPC's, so one of them has to go. The big screen/new OS situation has tipped the balance, so my Brother is getting a sweet hand-me-down 2500 and I'm gonna have a stab at mastering the 4k. A fresh challenge at this point will be a good thing for me.

I may be back though...

Well if you look at the 4k as being a MPC with a dead OS, then the 2500 w/a 'dead' OS2XL is still superior. In my humble opinion.

nym, can you please do a video where you crossfade a loop with the xl screen?

in the interest of being unbiased, let me explain the current scheme of things.
SLICE does not exist in TRIM. it appears that GPE CHOP (the new form of NDC) is attempting to take the place of SLICE.

the implementation of CHOP is pretty awesome for quick NDC. however, you still cannot apply loop setting to the individual CHOPS. therefor, you cannot crossfade loop your chops. you also currently cannot create a new pgm from your slices.

while GPE CHOP is great, i expressed the need for a conventional SLICE in TRIM for users who are reliant on LOOPING. i am absolutely one of these users. PGM TRIM in os2xl is an incredibly powerful function. SLICE in os2xl is essential and one of the most acclaimed workflows in all of jjos.

a lot of people will be really happy about GPE CHOP. since i'm interested only in creating destructive slices, this function is not geared to me. i need traditional SLICE, as will many others. i made sure to make this clear.

different loop modes still exist, of course, but since you can't slice to new samples, it's impractical to get to them.

mp3 wrote:Well if you look at the 4k as being a MPC with a dead OS, then the 2500 w/a 'dead' OS2XL is still superior. In my humble opinion.

I see the 4k as having a better sequencer, nicer filters, adat tracking, double the polyphony, 24 bit sampling and various other things that are superior IMO. Those sorts of things are more important to me at this stage of trying to get the perfect setup.

The 4k will never have a completely honed OS unfortunately, but it is more than functional.

Coz wrote:I see the 4k as having a better sequencer, nicer filters, adat tracking, double the polyphony, 24 bit sampling and various other things that are superior IMO. Those sorts of things are more important to me at this stage of trying to get the perfect setup.

I can see where you're coming from, with the exception of 'better sequencer'. In my personal opinion, JJOS is the best hardware sequencer ever made.

One of the things that finally got me to stop flipping gear looking for the perfect piece was getting off of features and specs and sound quality as the top criteria. Once I boiled it all down to "which machine enables me to make the best beat the fastest" then the JJ machines came out as the clear winners. For me. Your mileage varies obviously, but I hope it works out for you going forward.

But one thing that's got me a little tho... If you've been on OS2XL for a while, then doesn't that mean that you found it superior to other machines? And if that's the case, then doesn't it continue to be superior to other machines? I mean OS2XL is not going to stop working or regress all of a sudden, it will continue to be what it is. So it must be the idea of active development (i.e. "OS2XL is great now and will potentially be better in the future") right? But if you're in the fold because of the combination of 'what is' and 'what could be', then how can 128XL possibly be off-putting? Because at the very least, you'll still have 'what is'... Its just curious to me...

In other words, you probably could've chosen to go with the 4k 3 months ago, but you didn't. Why not? How do the developments in the JJ world over the last 3 months change that?

mp3 wrote:I can see where you're coming from, with the exception of 'better sequencer'. In my personal opinion, JJOS is the best hardware sequencer ever made.

There's no doubt that JJ has a quality sequencer, but I've warmed to the 4k's sequencer really quickly, and the added resolution seems to be throwing out some interesting results. Realtime quantize is also a bonus, plus the Q-Link recording and editing is powerful. It's also common knowledge to anyone that cares about such things that the 4k's timing clock is the best of any hardware sequencer ever made.

mp3 wrote:Once I boiled it all down to "which machine enables me to make the best beat the fastest" then the JJ machines came out as the clear winners.

Making beats fast is totally not what I care about or have any aspirations towards to be honest.

mp3 wrote:But one thing that's got me a little tho... If you've been on OS2XL for a while, then doesn't that mean that you found it superior to other machines?

Absolutely, but I used the 2KXL for years on end and then switched it up to the 2500 3 years ago. No complaints with the upgrade on the software front, but every time I switch on the damn thing a new tact switch dies! It's depressing.

mp3 wrote:how can 128XL possibly be off-putting?

He's killing off a bunch of features that I like using and I haven't got the appetite to hang around waiting for them to be re-introduced. XL will obviously continue to be a great OS nevertheless. I just fancy a change.

mp3 wrote:In other words, you probably could've chosen to go with the 4k 3 months ago, but you didn't. Why not?

I've only had a working 4k for a few weeks. My only regret is not buying one when they came out.

Coz wrote:

mp3 wrote:Once I boiled it all down to "which machine enables me to make the best beat the fastest" then the JJ machines came out as the clear winners.

Making beats fast is totally not what I care about or have any aspirations towards to be honest.

Understood but that's not exactly what I was saying.

I believe that, while at the end I'm the one making the beat, and so the end result belongs to me irrespective of the machine i used to make it, the process is also important in that it influences the end result in a somewhat intangible way (like, I can tell the difference between the stuff I did on the ASR-X (and not just sound quality wise), even though that stuff still sounds like a beat "I" would do...). So I'm not saying its all about speed (if that was the case then I would have said "enables me to make "a" beat the fastest", or, more likely, I would be using a DAW...), but its a matter of how workflow influences creativity. Its kind of hard to explain, but its just one of those things where, once I got JJ it was like aha!

Coz wrote:

mp3 wrote:how can 128XL possibly be off-putting?

He's killing off a bunch of features that I like using and I haven't got the appetite to hang around waiting for them to be re-introduced. XL will obviously continue to be a great OS nevertheless. I just fancy a change.

But that's precisely my point. He's not killing off anything. I honestly don't see how JJ introducing 128XL and you ditching OS2XL are related... To me, its kinda like how people feel this urge to upgrade their computer and/or software all the time. Just because the new 'ish comes out, it doesn't stop the current one from being exactly what it was the day before.

If you want to change things up for unrelated reasons, then you should by all means go in homie... I've certainly been there before...

But anyway, we're going OT so my apologies to everyone who's getting annoyed with me

mp3 wrote:I honestly don't see how JJ introducing 128XL and you ditching OS2XL are related.

It's only related in the sense that the 2500 had one foot out of the door anyway, and I was just waiting to see what was happening with the new screen and OS.

In that respect I'm underwhelmed, but I'll happily buy back into it in the future if everything goes well.

Nym wrote:

nym, can you please do a video where you crossfade a loop with the xl screen?

in the interest of being unbiased, let me explain the current scheme of things.
SLICE does not exist in TRIM. it appears that GPE CHOP (the new form of NDC) is attempting to take the place of SLICE.

the implementation of CHOP is pretty awesome for quick NDC. however, you still cannot apply loop setting to the individual CHOPS. therefor, you cannot crossfade loop your chops. you also currently cannot create a new pgm from your slices.

while GPE CHOP is great, i expressed the need for a conventional SLICE in TRIM for users who are reliant on LOOPING. i am absolutely one of these users. PGM TRIM in os2xl is an incredibly powerful function. SLICE in os2xl is essential and one of the most acclaimed workflows in all of jjos.

a lot of people will be really happy about GPE CHOP. since i'm interested only in creating destructive slices, this function is not geared to me. i need traditional SLICE, as will many others. i made sure to make this clear.

different loop modes still exist, of course, but since you can't slice to new samples, it's impractical to get to them.

ah ok, thanks for checking. it is something that i would really want. i couldent see myself buying it if it didnt have that, although i do have faith that it will continue to get better with every update. im just gonna wait and see, in the meantime ill be happy with my os2xl

damien907 wrote:

Nym wrote:

nym, can you please do a video where you crossfade a loop with the xl screen?

in the interest of being unbiased, let me explain the current scheme of things.
SLICE does not exist in TRIM. it appears that GPE CHOP (the new form of NDC) is attempting to take the place of SLICE.

the implementation of CHOP is pretty awesome for quick NDC. however, you still cannot apply loop setting to the individual CHOPS. therefor, you cannot crossfade loop your chops. you also currently cannot create a new pgm from your slices.

while GPE CHOP is great, i expressed the need for a conventional SLICE in TRIM for users who are reliant on LOOPING. i am absolutely one of these users. PGM TRIM in os2xl is an incredibly powerful function. SLICE in os2xl is essential and one of the most acclaimed workflows in all of jjos.

a lot of people will be really happy about GPE CHOP. since i'm interested only in creating destructive slices, this function is not geared to me. i need traditional SLICE, as will many others. i made sure to make this clear.

different loop modes still exist, of course, but since you can't slice to new samples, it's impractical to get to them.

ah ok, thanks for checking. it is something that i would really want. i couldent see myself buying it if it didnt have that, although i do have faith that it will continue to get better with every update. im just gonna wait and see, in the meantime ill be happy with my os2xl

Version one completed and ready for release without these features is a little troubling in the direction of the new O.S.

Nym wrote:...so there WILL be bugs that we will need help finding upon release. this is the burden and privilege of the early adopters. i can attest that being a beta tester can put you in an influential position regarding workflow fixes, FRs, etc.

Very interesting comments...I couldn't have said it any better as this is how I look at any new software.

JAH wrote:

Nym wrote:...so there WILL be bugs that we will need help finding upon release. this is the burden and privilege of the early adopters. i can attest that being a beta tester can put you in an influential position regarding workflow fixes, FRs, etc.

Very interesting comments...I couldn't have said it any better as this is how I look at any new software.

I agree. As a beta tester for the 5000 OS the last few years I've noticed the influence of the user is apparent.

Ok im an IT Engineer coding is not my specialty so I cannot argue the clean OS. I can however say why not package or Q/A the users on the forums to what feature they want the most in the new OS.. $185 to drop for a nice screen well as far as the pictures go. and a base OS they puts your creative juices back 4 years is crazy.. Now I love JJOS and hate the bugs but having saying that at least he supports the OS with upgrades.

I cannot see buying the screen without some of the top features that made us all jump from AKAI garbage OS...