MPC60 compatability?

Well as I'm sure most of y'all know,
the MPC4000 cannot read Akai MPC60 files.

Akai have said in the past that this just isn't feasible,
as there's too much difference in the architectures.

I always thought this was a bit of a shame -
if they're both "MPCs", they oughta be able to talk ....

And moreover, whilst the MPC4000 forever teeters on the
brink of white elephant status, there must be THOUSANDS (?)
of MPC60s out there still being used to make music every day,
and they still fetch very healthy 2nd-hand prices....
(And, there's probably tons of sample libraries for 'em too)

However, I've never used one or even seen one up close,
so I've no idea what the architecture really is like
(doesn't it still have programs and samples and sequences
all the same? what types of files does it deal with?)

Maybe someone familiar with BOTH machines could give
a better opinion on whether or not Akai are indeed being
sensible when they say that the MPC4000 just couldn't be
made to read MPC60 files?

(Thing is, on the hard drive that came pre-installed in my MPC4000,
there is a folder labelled "MPC60_DISKS" that has a whole bunch of stuff in it!)

(well, at the risk of having a conversation with myself, but....)

I'm reading the MPC60 user manual on Roger Linn's site.

First off, it's breathtaking to read such a good user guide compared to the Akai MPC4000 documentation!!!

I see one hurdle with the MPC60 is that it used a proprietary (?) 720kB floppy disk format? So obviously, you couldn't directly get that into the MPC4000, as I presume even a USB floppy drive today could (plugged into the Akai's front USB port) couldn't read those disks? (or am I wrong?) Would you somehow first have to get you MPC60 files off its own type of disk and onto a hard drive or ISO CD-ROM?
(I'm sure MPC60 owners with gazillions of floppies for their machines would love to be able to load them straight onto an MPC4000 using a USB floppy drive, though!)


Then, the sound sample format is a proprietary 40kHz 12bit (non-linear) one, so that would have to be translated to the MPC4k's WAVs
(surely that's not rocket science though?)

Initially, the MPC60 used ".SET" files, which kinda bundled all the sounds and the settings in one file
...but Roger Linn issued a new 3.10 OS for it in 2002 (?),
which lets it use the more familiar .PGM files, with all the samples saved separately as .SND files.

I tried to load one of those MPC60 .PGM files into my MPC4000, and it actually worked fine - it was just the .SNDs that it choked on.

Roger Linn's v3.10 MPC60 OS could convert .SET files to .PGM & .SND files? So it can't be rocket science.... but I guess he owns the code and Akai wouldn't want to be bothered licensing it from him?
They surely could have a routine to convert the old MPC60 .SND files? The MPC3000 already can do that - they surely own that code?

Anyways, I was playing about with some of the MPC60 sounds that cme pre-loaded on my MPC4000's hard drive, and bottom line is that they kicked ass

Bloody hell,
the more I read Roger Linn's MPC60 manual,
the more great features I recognise that the MPC60 had,
which were missing on it's so-called super-successor, the MPC4000!

Most of these have subsequently been retrofitted back onto the MPC4000 due to the clamour from old MPC users
(16 levels, drum mixer, etc) - not having used an MPC60 before, I wasn't aware of how much was missing!

Hilariously, for instance, the MPC60 stored its device names etc in Flash memory .... sthg which was only added to the MPC4000 last week!

Goddammit,
the MPC60 even responded to the MIDI System Common "Song Select" message.

I've been asking Akai to implement that in the MPC4000 for about 3 years now.

Time to ask them again .....

Hi David, having fun?

I vaguely remember the existence of a .snd to .wav converter tool. Didn't the original mpc2000 use .snd files as well? I think the tool was written for those users.

Question: Since you have those MPC60 sounds already loaded on your HD, why need conversion software? Obviously someone already did the job?

Btw, I also didn't know the mpc60 was so 'complete' back then. Imagine the shock it must have caused in those days...

well as I thought I made plain,
I don't have, and have never had, an MPC60!

I was just interested!

I understood you didn't have an mpc60. I was just curious I guess.

I own an mpc 60 mark II with the roger 3.10 upgrade... it wa s and is a monster... i recently gave into an mpc 4k 1 yr 6mo's ago,, omg i hated it and still do.. but i do try to use it...

i had initially copped the mpc 60II when it first droped for $3000, needless to say i wa s really happy w it and the roger upgrade.
but as the yrs went by it got old tattered and doesnt work as it used to..display is dim even with replacement... the sounds are distorted now due to air and noise comin from the 8 outs... i still love her tho! even in teh closet... i wont part just yet..

eventually i moved on.. copped a mpc4k. the problem was gettin 14 yrs plus worth of material into my 4k... omg what a disaster.. it took me inventing a scsi connection from 2 old syquests to create a dumping mechanism to get the files into my pc in order to convert them into a format that the 4k would acknowledge. whenever i connected the syquest to the pc it would spit it out... eventually i got thru it.. i wish there were an easier way tho... ( any suggestions?)

still i have many more sounds to convert, i just gave up.... yes the mpc 60 II with the 3.10 upgrade was simple but yet so effective with a akai s950 that i stil own... i feel my mpc4k is an incredible machine... but the learnin curve coming from mpc 60 is just a lil difficult.

you know i figured that when i upgraded the mpc 60 to 3.10 and it behaved as a mpc 3000 it would also use that format in reverse... not so.. yes it read mpc 3000 disks on occasion but not always , and it also used .snd format files but they were very different... i belive i used AWAVE to convert the files.. im not sure how i did it... lol

***so if anyone can figure out for to get those pesky mpc 60II with the 3.10 upgrade files (snd.) to be read by an mpc 4k (with minimal work) please let me know!***

(mac or pc no matter, i have both and can usb the files into the 4k thru there, all my files are on these retarded but then* usefull scsi syquest disks not iomega zips....)

feline big ups for aknowledging that trusty old mpc 60...

dude... what exactly is that? im really curiosu now!

(Thing is, on the hard drive that came pre-installed in my MPC4000,
there is a folder labelled "MPC60_DISKS" that has a whole bunch of stuff in it!)

The thing that I really like about the 60 is that you can adjust the volume of each track separately not just each pad and program. I wish the 4k had this.

So two tracks on the MPC60 using the same program, triggering the same sample, can do that at different volumes? Nice.

ONE wrote:The thing that I really like about the 60 is that you can adjust the volume of each track separately not just each pad and program. I wish the 4k had this.

you should RFE AKAI on this. i miss this function too. i saw an mpc60II with Linn upgrades for sale locally for pretty cheap. i'd like to pick it up but i can't justify having two MPC's after just getting the 4000 like a month and half ago.

peace

actuel

i could be wrong.

but couldnt you load the 60 files into a mpc2000, then save as a wav?

cyrus wrote:i could be wrong.

but couldnt you load the 60 files into a mpc2000, then save as a wav?

no doesnt work

Scheme wrote:

cyrus wrote:i could be wrong.
but couldnt you load the 60 files into a mpc2000, then save as a wav?

no doesnt work

What about the XL? Pg170 xl manual.