Holy Crap!

Damn, Akai really needs to address this issue with projects being so big and saving duplicate files and things like this. I use the same drum samples in every project almost, so all those files get copied every time I make a project and it eats away my hard drive. I just realized my mpc projects were taking up 33 GB. I think this comes down to the purge feature maybe, we need to be able to purge sounds that are not used in projects, not purge sounds that arent in programs. That's the point of purge, to eliminate every useless file.

Is there any way around this?

I questioned Akai about this issue months ago and I was told on there forum that its the way it is designed. I use the same drum program for my beats so if I make 1000 beats that drum program will be saved on my hard drive 1000 different times. This sucks it does not save in a similar fashion as the zip and floppy drives of the older MPC's. I purchased an external 3 TB drive just for my MPC sounds.

the way it is designed? more like lack of design at all.

this alone is biggest let down of the whole debacle and people need to know about this.

it is absolutely poor coding - there is no way this should be acceptable, and i imagine rewriting the software to work in an intelligent, or even just logical way, could be a pretty huge ordeal for them.

i'm sorry guys, but the rush to get it out and add 'non-destructive-chop' (you can't even call it that - its just copying files repeatedly) feature was a huge oversight.

I dont get what you mean.. I'd want it to make copies each time i start a new project.. so that each project is contained in its seperate space/folder with those files/sounds used residing in there with it How many drum files are you loading each time?? Are you defaulting to load the entire mpc drum library in ram/project when you start? as a sampler this is how i'd expect it to work...

short one shots dont really take up that much space..(especially the amount you actually use for a project even if layered)

Long whole songs/samples that you load up to chop will take up the majority.. And plugin sample files that are multisample keygroup patches..(like strings and pianos with multiple samples key velocities)

If it worked your way you would have to have one working sample directory where every sample from every project(including the ones you sample externally) is just lumped in.. That would mean every single sample created must have a unique name... imo its a house keeping mess... At its current design , i can backup the project folders and not worry about missing samples... I can sort certain projects into an album master folder for another mpcuser to work with ... or easily take it to their studio to work on..

But in saying that it may work better for you so maybe they should add the option to have a sample working directory option....

one designated folder where all samples are stored for all projects

or

samples are copied to project folder ...

thought this one of the first fixes they put in....

I bet it was the mpc expert who said it was designed that way like many other flaws

tapedeck wrote:the way it is designed? more like lack of design at all.

'non-destructive-chop' (you can't even call it that - its just copying files repeatedly) feature was a huge oversight.

peace

33 GB is way too huge just for a few beats. Copying samples should take at least a couple kBs or nothing.

My MV works with 512MB of RAM and I copy and paste all day. It has 40GB HD, but its used only for Mixdowns and Mastering.

33GB beat file

i don't even have flash cards that large for my MPCs...

InspectahEX wrote:Damn, Akai really needs to address this issue with projects being so big and saving duplicate files and things like this. I use the same drum samples in every project almost, so all those files get copied every time I make a project and it eats away my hard drive. I just realized my mpc projects were taking up 33 GB. I think this comes down to the purge feature maybe, we need to be able to purge sounds that are not used in projects, not purge sounds that arent in programs. That's the point of purge, to eliminate every useless file.

Is there any way around this?

It's not a Purge issue. It's a file management issue. Take Maschine for example, when you load sounds, it loads the sounds from the memory location of the original sound. It doesn't actually make a copy of the sound when you save the session, unless you specifically tell it to save the project with samples. The only downside to this is if that original file get's lost or corrupt, then EVERY project that uses that sound file will not be able to load that sound. This is why I always save projects with samples. Akai does this by default and does not give you an option like Maschine to not save the samples with the project and therefore you end up with tons of duplicate sounds. However, I ALWAYS save my projects with samples to avoid shit like that. So for me, the MPC method is preferred even though it comes at the expense of more space used and this is the same way I save with Maschine, and my hardware MPC's. Hope that explains it!

it is definitely a fine line to walk between saving hard drive space and saving headaches from files getting moved around, etc. however i think ignoring it like it wouldn't ever be an issue is the wrong way to handle it.

i think the problem is from the collision of trying to make new technology work like an 'old' mpc, which was never designed with todays computing power in mind.

you can't just take linn's exquisite design, fake it in a laptop, and think it will work the same.

tapedeck wrote:it is definitely a fine line to walk between saving hard drive space and saving headaches from files getting moved around, etc. however i think ignoring it like it wouldn't ever be an issue is the wrong way to handle it.

i think the problem is from the collision of trying to make new technology work like an 'old' mpc, which was never designed with todays computing power in mind.

you can't just take linn's exquisite design, fake it in a laptop, and think it will work the same.

Nah, I don't think this is the case here. InspectahEx has been using the Ren a lot for the past year and has made a lot of beats. Being on a computer, we tend to not realize the lack of a ram limit and we just load endless amounts of sounds into our projects. Make a bunch of beats a week using those same sounds and watch hard drive space disappear. Plus there's the factor of how long the samples are, stereo or mono, and the fact that the Ren samples at a higher bit rate/resolution than hardware. Shit adds up!

Lampdog wrote:why quote the poSt directly above you when it'S exactLy what your rEplying to?

peace

ps. I never do this.

mcroepster wrote:

Lampdog wrote:why quote the poSt directly above you when it'S exactLy what your rEplying to?

peace

ps. I never do this.

Because as you near the bottom of the page it's hard to tell if your comment is gonna start a new page or not!

Yeah being first on the new page with no quote for context is the worst.

Yeah like Hellfire was saying most any software is gonna reference the original HDD location and then usually have a save with samples command separate, some even allow a 'bundled' save like Reason for sharing/use on other systems. Reason's is especially nice as you can tell it to skip the stock library stuff and only bundle your user sounds.

33 GB is really excessive to rack up in under a year.

My 10+ year old folder containing all my projects, stems and works in progress is only 42 GB.