MPC 4000 Misconceptions

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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By MPCWeapon1 Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:37 am
JAH wrote:A CDRW drives was installed in mine but it didn't work so I replaced it with a DVD Rom drive I had. It works great to including recording audio directly from CD (analog) but the sound isn't clean as I expected to be. I was then able to install a CF card drive and it seemed to work fine. But then loading from DVD drive now causes my LCD screen to go haywire. I unplugged the CF card drive and now the DVD drive works fine.

So I am assuming its the Master/Slave settings for these drives. The CF drive doesn't have a Master/Slave setting that I could easily determine so I assumed it was a slave and set the DVD to master. Since this is not working, I will set the DVD drive to slave and try again.

I have been reading threads regarding Aksys and compatibility with various operating systems. I am currently using OSX 10.7.4.



CD drive needs to be connected to the S/PDIF expansion board to digitally sample CDs.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By Coz Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:29 am
Blue Haze wrote:Ask Coz or some others for installation.




My knowledge of the internals is pretty basic. All I know is when I bought it the inside was quite sparse, and when I got it back from repair it had numerous additional cables and worked! Installing the ADAT option was simple though.

I've just got a CD drive in mine which works well. As part of the repair they put in a 'new' 80gig Seagate HD, so I use that for storage. Being able to use the "no spin" function is a bonus to keep the noise down. I've also got a 16gb USB stick for extra backup.

AKsys works a treat in Lion using VMware Fusion and XP. If you look around you can find a 200mb XP install that gets the job done. :wink:
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By Blue Haze Mon Aug 27, 2012 3:36 am
My unit is the same it came with 80Gb HD and CDRW standard with 8 analog outs. When I needed repairs or new installations I did the same and sent it in. Yeah I knew about fusion just to lazy to try it.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By JAH Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:03 am
MPCWeapon1 wrote:CD drive needs to be connected to the S/PDIF expansion board to digitally sample CDs.

I will just have to be satisfied recording CDs via internal analog. As I probably won't use this function much in the near term to justify an added expense.

Ripping/loading songs directly from CDs is certainly one of the good features added to later MPCs like the 5K/2.5K.

Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By MPCdawk Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:39 am
If you were interested in the SP/DIF option board MPC Stuff were able to get one last time I checked. I'd picked up a used one after them telling me there were no more of these boards, then they suddenly got back to me saying they could get one.

I find the board very useful because it also gives you an SP/DIF in and out on the normal RCA sockets. Great for external FX units and for sampling any other gear you may have that offers a digital output.

I have a 60Gb SATA SSD in my 4K hooked up via a Kingwin SATA to IDE adapter. It's really nice having a silent drive with no spin up time. Doesn't offer anything extra in terms of load/save times, but it works great and uses current drives.

Hope you're enjoying being back on the 4K! :)
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By Coz Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:54 am
I thought the S/PDIF board was standard on the blue 4K... :hmmm:
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By JAH Mon Aug 27, 2012 11:38 am
I just spent over an hour trying to configure the 4K so it works with both the CF card drive and the DVD Rom drive...no such luck.

The CF card drives works perfectly except that it isn't hot swapple like it claims on the box. Turn on the 4K without a card in the drive or remove the card while the 4K is on and it will freeze up. And while the CF drive is installed, I can play audio CDs...but can't load from CD Roms. As soon as a replace the CF drive with the original hard drive...everything works perfectly.

I might have to go the SSD route as well. I don't feel like trying to find a more compatible CF card drive.

By the way.....are there internal SCSI connectors inside the 4K? Also...the blue 4K I have doesn't come with SPDIF. I do remember that the 4K was sold in different configurations in Japan. Or perhaps the original owner took it out.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By dabmeister Mon Aug 27, 2012 12:16 pm
JAH wrote:I do remember that the 4K was sold in different configurations in Japan.


Yeah, the 4k was sold here in the states as well with 2, 3, or maybe even 4 different config choices from what I remember.

I def remember a "studio D" version as having both the spdif/word clock & adat cards installed.

"Studio C" was just the spdif/wc version, "studio B" was the basic joint, & "studio A" had the analog 8 outs.
Last edited by dabmeister on Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By Ian Canefire Mon Aug 27, 2012 1:54 pm
I have the Blue MPC 4000. I bought it used but the previous owner did not add or remove anything.
Mine did not come with analog outs or the SPDIF. I added those from my Akai Z4. it is a very simple procedure.
I do not recall any internal SCSI connections in the MPC4000. It just has it on the outside. The internal connections are for the Harddisk Drive 40pin IDE, the SPDIF, the Analog expansion , and the Adat.
I have been able to take information from CDs in the drive and store it on the machine. Those were cdroms. I have not tried to play a WAV file and record it from a cd in the drive. (I only sample records and from mics, or through the SPDIF) I never actually looked to see if my CD drive was capable of buring a CD because I do all of that(mastering/mixdown) in other gear.
The masterstroke by Akai was putting the two usb ports on these machines. That has made them future proof.

Cheers,
Ian
PS I actually have a SCSI cdrw drive somewhere, I used it once or twice with my Yamaha A4000 and SU700 samplers. I hate SCSI.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By dabmeister Mon Aug 27, 2012 4:30 pm
Ian Canefire wrote:I actually have a SCSI cdrw drive somewhere, I used it once or twice with my Yamaha A4000 and SU700 samplers. I hate SCSI.


Same here. You'll probably hate the scsi cdrw more so for it's first/second gen of read & write speeds too.

:idea: That reminds me, I need to remove the adaptec scsi card from my pc since it's serving no purpose at all & obviously will free up one of my much needed & scarce pci slots.

Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By rogue scrunt Mon Aug 27, 2012 8:34 pm
I had an ide to sd adapter working.
removed all spinning drives from mpc, and lots of heat source at the same time.

I power down the sd card hangs out the hole when the dvd drive was..
I remove the SD card, and plug into my printer. easy transfer, however no hot swap is supported

be careful
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By JAH Tue Aug 28, 2012 10:57 am
What about USB CF card drives? Anyone have any luck with these? My thunb drives work perfectly by my USB CF card reader/writer doesn't work.
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By dabmeister Tue Aug 28, 2012 12:40 pm
JAH wrote:What about USB CF card drives? Anyone have any luck with these? My thunb drives work perfectly by my USB CF card reader/writer doesn't work.


viewtopic.php?f=2&t=115047
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By Ian Canefire Tue Aug 28, 2012 1:59 pm
"KINGSTON 16GB 133x elite pro"

I started pricing all of the parts necessary to take out the HDD and start using Compact Flash cards (CF). The cost of memory just doesn't seem to be worth it. The 16gb card above costs $29. The recycled PATA HDD's for sale at Microcenter (in the Washington DC metro area it is in Rockville) can be had for anywhere from $5-$30 and you get anywhere from 40-80gb. I went searching through the bins and saw Seagate barracuda drives, the quiet ones.
So I've started collecting them. I have tested them to see how quiet they are and they work fine.
CF has the advantage of making the unit lighter, quieter and less hot(thus you can unplug the fan, and yes you can remove it and put it in your computer, but to me I don't see the value. note I only have one mpc so I am not switching samples between multiple units.
One seems better served to use SATA drives. Though I am waiting for them to drop further in price.
Cheers,
PS"funny to be complaining about $30 here and there after often spending hundreds if not thousands on gear."
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Re: MPC 4000 Misconceptions

By JBM Tue Aug 28, 2012 2:55 pm
Welcome back to the 4000 club JAH, but Man bypass all that technical stuff with the guts in the MPC4K just use a external hd via the usb port. Use that time to create new beats on your re found love of the MPC4K.
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