MPC is changing program on external keyboard when it shouldn

I've slaved an M-Audio Venom to the MPC. At the moment I'm just trying to get them to bpm sync. The Venom is syncing tempo but it also will change to it's default program bank whenever I hit play on the MPC (program 000).

I figured I must have a program change message somewhere but I checked the step editor and there is nothing there. I also have the Pgm field on the main screen set to "off".

Is it possible that there is a program change message hidden somewhere else that I'm missing? I have the venom on channel B2 and I know that none of the other MPC tracks are assigned to B2 so I'm at a loss here.

I've heard the Venom is pretty buggy so it's possible the problem lies there but I'm pretty confused.

you are on the right track so far. Set it to OFF on main screen and check sequencer for any errant PCs hidden in there.
That hidden PC could be from other gear as well sending it through to your active track with out it being seen, as well as the PC being just on another track as well.
Start with a totally clean slate. Erase every sequence, and program, then try. This way you can be sure it is not in the sequence as every thing is erased.
Also the venom might be in omni mode, though I do not own one so check the manual, and this means it will respond to every midi channle regardless and means it is getting a PC from other midi channle.
Hope that helps. I run a few synths from MPC with JJOSXL, and it works great, PCs included, so it is something that you have not set up or maybe what I described above is the problem.

First, make sure that you performed the system reset after upgrading the OS. POWER ON and hold ERASE untill you see the screen contrast reset to default.

Then, I'd recomend starting from a clean slate as blip said... In fact, start by making sure that both the PC and MIDI fields in all tracks are set to OFF. If you still get the problem, check the MPC midi ouput with a computer app or standalone midi monitor (you could use the MPC itself in monitor mode, just make sure all the midi through functions are set to OFF before you connect input to output).

Now, if you still see a PC message being sent out with both fields set to OFF that shouldn't be happening. However, it is possible you will not see a PC and still get the problem. There has been a bug that keeps getting squashed but occasionally returns in certain software revisions that seems to cause the MPC to send some garbled bogus transmisisons down the midi line when the sequencer is started. These are not legitimate midi commands so you won't be able to see them on a midi monitor unless the monitor has a filter toggle option to see "illegal" instructions. The mac midi monitor has this.

The recieving device should ignore these messages, but some may misinterpret them as PC or possibly a midi system reset command. I had exactly this problem with an old DSI Evolver.

If you run into the problem described above and the MPC factory default reset doesn't solve it then the only thing I can recomend you do on the MPC side is try a different version of the JJos. I think I got past this problem by reporting it and dissabling certain commands on the synth until the next software revision came out.

That's all assuming it's on the MPC side. No experience with that paticular M-Audio product but I know that gennerally their stuff does tend to be a bit cheap and wonky. Definetely check through the midi section of the manual thou to make sure that's all set up correctly. Even if the MPC is sending out bogus signals the synth should be able to ignore them -- if that's what's happening then it's actually both machines at fault.

elektrik_muz wrote: There has been a bug that keeps getting squashed but occasionally returns in certain software revisions that seems to cause the MPC to send some garbled bogus transmisisons down the midi line when the sequencer is started. These are not legitimate midi commands so you won't be able to see them on a midi monitor unless the monitor has a filter toggle option to see "illegal" instructions. The mac midi monitor has this.

The recieving device should ignore these messages, but some may misinterpret them as PC or possibly a midi system reset command. I had exactly this problem with an old DSI Evolver.

this is the first mention i've seen of this bug and i'm glad i did, because i thought i was going nuts!

it happens VERY randomly and very rarely but it will cause a program change on my gear, which is a real pain if you are in the middle of editing a patch you haven't saved yet.

Yeah it's a really annoying one. A similar bug can occur when pressing STOP three times to silence all sounds. Like I said though it's only certain software revisions and certain synths that seem to be affected by this.

Thanks for the tips everyone. I found a workaround but not a solution.

For the moment I disabled the Venom from receiving PC message; problem solved. I'm still curious about what was causing it though.

I'm using the free JJOS so I don't have the ability to monitor the MIDI input with the MPC itself. I have a program called MIDI Monitor for mac that should allow me to see "invalid" commands so I'll look for anything out of the ordinary. Any idea what an invalid MIDI command might look like?

Also, I'm sure this has been covered before but what does the system reset accomplish? Can I do that at anytime without loosing data?

ianmgull wrote:I'm using the free JJOS so I don't have the ability to monitor the MIDI input with the MPC itself. I have a program called MIDI Monitor for mac that should allow me to see "invalid" commands so I'll look for anything out of the ordinary. Any idea what an invalid MIDI command might look like?

Simple -- any message that doesn't follow the midi standard. It may not look like the same message everytime, either. It'll be pretty obvious on the mac monitor because if it's there you won't see it unless you disable the illegal command filter. From what I remember that program shows the "bad" messages with a different colored font and they usually look like mostly random giberish so it's going to be pretty obvious.

ianmgull wrote:Also, I'm sure this has been covered before but what does the system reset accomplish? Can I do that at anytime without loosing data?

You mean you didn't do it? HUGE suspect right there. The default factory reset is a mandatory part of the upgrade process as it clears away residual memory settings left over from the last install that can corrupt the functions on a newly installed system. The only thing you loose when you do it are the basic global system settings which you will have to reconfigure. It does absolutlely nothing to any saved program data (thou obviously you don't want to do it in the middle of an unsaved project).