USB 3.0 on an MPC One? - Plugins too slow via USB 2.0

Domas wrote:... My plan is to add the missing socket and have a 1GB SSD on the "One" working 8 x faster.

That‘s an entirely different story and doesn‘t compare to USB pen drives/SD cards.
The internal controller of these devices and the type of memory make the difference.
Usually SSDs have much higher quality in that regard than mobile plugin media.

File organization (as Tutor mentioned) also plays a significant role.
(make some tests with files of various size, in a single folder versus a deep folder hierarchy)
I used to have a test scenario with 30 folders of 1000 files (2GB), that transferred in 2 minutes to a reference pen drive (USB2). That stick was $80 for 4GB back then...

Telefunky wrote:

Domas wrote:... My plan is to add the missing socket and have a 1GB SSD on the "One" working 8 x faster.

File organization (as Tutor mentioned) also plays a significant role.
(make some tests with files of various size, in a single folder versus a deep folder hierarchy)
I used to have a test scenario with 30 folders of 1000 files (2GB), that transferred in 2 minutes to a reference pen drive (USB2). That stick was $80 for 4GB back then...

Just so you know I'm not a newbie with regards to filing systems etc I used to work with a 1TB "drive" that cost over $1,000,000 (don't ask).

The file system is THE SAME whether over USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 circuitry.
The Fabric XL plugin on the MPC One is accessed over USB 2.0 not 3.0.

It's curious that there's a difference between the models, but I can say with 100% certainty that it's not about USB2 vs. USB3. The processor in the MPCs has neither USB3 nor SATA, everything is connected with USB2. The SATA port on the bigger models is behind a built-in SATA->USB2 bridge. The external USB3 ports are purely for the sake of controller mode, when the storage device gets connected to your computer. (And, probably, to make the specs look better.)

There can be a big difference between various SD cards and USB sticks, but it's not about USB3. I haven't dug into the architecture of the MPC Keys, but as far as I remember it comes with the plug-ins, so it's possible that it's loading them off the internal storage, either eMMC or the internal SD card, which might be connected via SDIO... as opposed to a USB stick. I do think you're quite right that USB2 would be the bottleneck with most modern storage options, although of course there are many factors.

(Source: RK3268 datasheet, p. 21)

interesting insights @rvense

rvense wrote:There can be a big difference between various SD cards and USB sticks, but it's not about USB3.

(Source: RK3268 datasheet, p. 21)

Thank you for the datasheet. So the USB 3 blue ports on the Live II are kind of cosmetic? If I add those to the MPC One I will only get USB 2 speeds?

I had no issues on the MPC Key 61 where Fabric Piano XL was installed to main memory. It's the MPC One with Fabric Piano XL installed on an external SD card. I've a Live II coming tomorrow so I'll experiment.

PS Thanks to everyone for setting me straight before I got the soldering iron out! I'll start a new post "Fabric XL Piano on MPC One" ...

Domas wrote:PS Thanks to everyone for setting me straight before I got the soldering iron out! I'll start a new post "Fabric XL Piano on MPC One" ...

No need a for a new thread keep it all here & if you had the synths on the Keys61 which have more RAM & internal memory, that may be why it was faster. Did you test putting the synths on the One's factory drive to see its faster than on the USB?

B-Wise wrote:No need a for a new thread keep it all here & if you had the synths on the Keys61 which have more RAM & internal memory, that may be why it was faster. Did you test putting the synths on the One's factory drive to see its faster than on the USB?

For the MPC One I have them on the SD Card. On the MPC Key they were on internal memory and factory installed. I have actually just sold the MPC Key ... I couldn't live with the keybed ... so it is hooked up to a real weighted hammer action keyboard.

The plugins are too big to fit on the MPC One's internal memory but ... I purchased a Live II today and it has enough space. my MPC One Retro is headed to Ebay before I perform heart surgery on it

Got you. Hopefully the Live have a stronger heart

B-Wise wrote:Got you. Hopefully the Live have a stronger heart

I may have to ditch my Liberace aspirations and stick to DX7 piano

Domas wrote:

B-Wise wrote:Got you. Hopefully the Live have a stronger heart

I may have to ditch my Liberace aspirations and stick to DX7 piano

That's not what he would want, but OK.