The official MPC X & Live Hacks Thread

QuickStrike wrote:I'm just waiting to see if anybody else can confirm if this works with their MPC live or mpc x in older firmware versions. Right now all I hear is crickets from everybody.

It does work in the Live also. The thread below was talking about using interfaces in standalone to use the phantom powered inputs

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=189972

Is there a difference between the “class compliant” modes.

UFX goes right into cc mode the host light pops up but nothing happens, in fact I can’t even play hit play on the sequence like it’s been overtaken by the sound card and there’s no transport controls on the sound card. However i can play the sequence after the live is turned on but still no audio. The midi in light on the live stays lit when connected to this sound card.

Tried my soundcard for the iPad I use, just a cheap alesis but it works nice with iPad. It powers up connected to the live but the same thing I get midi in light lit up.

I don’t think I have anymore devices to check unless the electron stuff I have is class compliant.

I only ask because quick said class compliant CORE audio.

kaydigi wrote:It does work in the Live also. The thread below was talking about using interfaces in standalone to use the phantom powered inputs

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=189972

On that thread, they were using the USB port to power the interface. Not sure if they were trying to pass audio through the interface.

QuickStrike wrote:Okay so it's official. I used a second class compliant Core Audio usb interface.
A behringer monitor 2 controller and it works!!!

I plugged the MPCX directly to the behringer using USB only. I connected the USB cable first and then powered up the MPc x. As soon as the firmware is loaded the audio plays as it supposed to.

Bro what are you talking about? To quote your first video around 20 seconds in: "USB out... straight into the MPC x... into the audient" What does this mean? Like, what's plugged into what? If you were in controller mode first as you said you were, wouldn't you have been plugged from your MPC into your computer? Also, you are making it seem as if you are getting audio over USB to your interface. Is that what this video claims. I call BS on that. It may be exclusive to the X, don't see why it would be though. BTW you got alot of cable spaghetti in your studio

Edit: What firmware are you running on the live?

Why would dude just make stuff up lol. It may be the x only, didn’t work for the two sound cards I used on the live that were class compliant.
Kaydigi said it worked with his live. My sound card and live were both transferring midi to each other, it would even let me start my sequence like the live was slaved to it. It’s prolly not there yet, but I can see this feature being really useful.

As the firmware turns....

JeriKo Jackson wrote:

QuickStrike wrote:Okay so it's official. I used a second class compliant Core Audio usb interface.
A behringer monitor 2 controller and it works!!!

I plugged the MPCX directly to the behringer using USB only. I connected the USB cable first and then powered up the MPc x. As soon as the firmware is loaded the audio plays as it supposed to.

Bro what are you talking about? To quote your first video around 20 seconds in: "USB out... straight into the MPC x... into the audient" What does this mean? Like, what's plugged into what? If you were in controller mode first as you said you were, wouldn't you have been plugged from your MPC into your computer? Also, you are making it seem as if you are getting audio over USB to your interface. Is that what this video claims. I call BS on that. It may be exclusive to the X, don't see why it would be though. BTW you got alot of cable spaghetti in your studio

Edit: What firmware are you running on the live?

Lets not make this difficult. I just plugged the device (id22) into mpcx. Then i turned on the mpcx and it works. Thats all.

QuickStrike wrote: Lets not make this difficult. I just plugged the device (id22) into mpcx. Then i turned on the mpcx and it works. Thats all.

What firmware are you running on your X?

EDIT: Shut my mfkn mouth! I can confirm it works on my Live running 2.6
Question: Are you powering your interface from the X or from a power supply?

What did it work on Jericho?
Couldn’t get it to work on two of mine.

Cockdiesel wrote:What did it work on Jericho?
Couldn’t get it to work on two of mine.

Arturia Audiofuse and Zoom U-24 both powered via external power supply and not the MPC USB port. Interface needs to be ON when powering up the MPC.

I also have a Zoom L-12 which I haven't tested yet. The L12 has 8 XLR combo Jacks and if they can be routed directly 1 - 8 to the audio tracks that's crazy. The MPC essentially behaves as the host for the interface just like a computer would.

JeriKo Jackson wrote:

Cockdiesel wrote:What did it work on Jericho?
Couldn’t get it to work on two of mine.

Arturia Audiofuse and Zoom U-24 both powered via external power supply and not the MPC USB port. Interface needs to be ON when powering up the MPC.

I also have a Zoom L-12 which I haven't tested yet. The L12 has 8 XLR combo Jacks and if they can be routed directly 1 - 8 to the audio tracks that's crazy. The MPC essentially behaves as the host for the interface just like a computer would.

Right on..... Keeps us updated.

Hmm... maybe I need to mess with my sound card some more. It was going into host mode instead of the mpc.

Let us know if it gives you more inputs and outputs.

Hmm interesting stuff!I'll drop some tests of my own on this..

Can you check if that works if you plug it in after start-up? I can't get my Zoom mic to work, but since it's bus powered, it doesn't get "attached" until after power up.

But that's consistent with what I think I know is happening. The thing is, the internal audio and MIDI on the MPCs are also connected via USB. When the MPC boots up, it probably just picks the first USB sound card it finds.

Unfortunately I think having only two pairs of outputs is hardcoded into the MPC - and AFAIK you can't record on multiple audio tracks at the same time anyway. So no multitracking for us with a firmware update from Akai (that they probably won't do.

Koldunya wrote:This person seemed onto something, and smarter than the average bear:
https://niklasnisbeth.gitlab.io/mpc-internals/

Reading it... something can be done, I think. But other than rumors of JJOS or the like, I've not seen anything else.

Author here, thanks for that - if I was smart as a bear I'd probably be out in the woods, but alas I am just human and I stare at computers all day

I don't think much can be done a la JJOS. The Linux on the MPC has the same relation to the MPC software that Windows or macOS has to something like Cubase running on a computer. Even if you had full access to the Windows source code and were able to replace it with what you like, you wouldn't be able to add many interesting new features to Cubase. The musically interesting parts of the MPC are all in one application. We can replace it, but we can't really change it... and if I wanted to write new software from scratch, I probably wouldn't target an expensive platform under someone else's control like the MPCs.

I hoped for a while it'd be feasible to run something alongside the MPC software, but unfortunately it takes over the screen completely, and getting anything else on there would mean killing the MPC software, kind of like quitting one desktop application and losing all your work to open another. It doesn't seem like a very promising endeavour, so I'm just using the MPC as it is right now. It's pretty good already.

CharlesRandolph wrote:

kaydigi wrote:It does work in the Live also. The thread below was talking about using interfaces in standalone to use the phantom powered inputs

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=189972

On that thread, they were using the USB port to power the interface. Not sure if they were trying to pass audio through the interface.

We were, it was passing the audio.