Share your knowledge on these two classic MPCs
By ntalec Thu Sep 19, 2013 7:16 pm
14minus9 wrote:also, it seemed like the seller didn't care at all if the chips were pirated.


Why would they when more than likely they paid for them?
Things like this always go unnoticed for the most part.

You would be supprised how many 60's have pirated v3.10e chips in them.
I guess half the cost was a driving factor but they also became hard to get so the burning began.
By ntalec Thu Sep 19, 2013 8:32 pm
soundtech wrote:
ntalec wrote:You would be supprised how many 60's have pirated v3.10e chips in them.


How do you know?

I think i bought one with them btw

Because I have owned 2 60's that had them and seen at least 5 people who had them as well.
This is known by knowing where the chips came from not because you could tell a difference.
By 14minus9 Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:38 pm
something else to be considered:

since all "legit" chips of vailixi seem to be burned to UV erasable eproms, they would be susceptible to "bit rot", which means that they eventually just die on you. eproms are said to have a shelf life of >10 years, so in 1-2 years, defective original chips might start appearing.
By soundtech Thu Sep 19, 2013 9:50 pm
ntalec wrote:This is known by knowing where the chips came from not because you could tell a difference.


Yeah i gotcha, i've got two 60's myself. One's got the originals and the others are copied, they have stickers with some hand writing on them
By ntalec Thu Sep 19, 2013 10:53 pm
soundtech wrote:
ntalec wrote:This is known by knowing where the chips came from not because you could tell a difference.


Yeah i gotcha, i've got two 60's myself. One's got the originals and the others are copied, they have stickers with some hand writing on them


Interesting the ones I know of were printed somewhat similar to the Linn chips but not quite the same.

At least Linn went back to supplying them again so people who want them can still get them.
By MPCHunter Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:37 pm
14minus9 wrote:something else to be considered:

since all "legit" chips of vailixi seem to be burned to UV erasable eproms, they would be susceptible to "bit rot", which means that they eventually just die on you. eproms are said to have a shelf life of >10 years, so in 1-2 years, defective original chips might start appearing.


The danger of "bit rot" is not limited to machines that have a Vailixi upgrade.

All MPC 3000s and many others (60, 2000XL as well as Akai samplers) irregardless of OS version have at least one EPROM separate from the OS chips installed when the machine was assembled at the factory.

Yes, at some point the chips will degrade, but until then it's not something to worry about. I have some gear that is much older than the MPCs with EPROMS and they have not shown any signs of bit rot yet (knocking on wood).

I've made backups of the original operation/voice EPROMS of my personal machines in case they become defective. And as I have the receipt for my MPC 60 OS upgrade from Roger Linn I would suspect he would replace my original chips if they became defective due to bit rot.