The future of humanity is so f***ed. 'HAL is there a problem

THE FOLLOWING IS A CONVERSATION I HAVE HAD WITH AKAI's 'CONTACT SUPPORT A.I.'

I have the MPC XL 3.9OS. When I delete bars from the beginning of a sequence, any automation that I have written does not seem to move along with the notes. Has this been noted as a bug?

Hi Alan — I can help with that.

From our current MPC XL guide, Delete Bars is documented as removing a selected bar range from the arrangement, but I don’t have any official note here confirming this as a known bug in 3.9.

What I can confirm is that MPC has separate event/automation editing behaviors in some views, so it’s worth checking:

whether the automation is track automation or step automation
whether you’re deleting bars in the arrangement/sequence rather than clearing events
if the issue happens on all projects or only one project


A quick test:

Create a new blank project.
Add notes and a small amount of automation.
Delete bar 1 from the sequence.
Check whether both notes and automation shift together.


If it also happens in a new project, I can help gather the details and raise this to support. Please tell me:

which automation parameter is affected
track type involved
whether it happens in every project

I wanted to set punch in and punch out points on my XL. I tried various button presses but finally consulted the online manual. Am I right in thinking that the points have to be set as the manual instructs, using the jog wheel to physically enter the location points? Can I not set these on the fly by letting the machine run in play and press the record button to set the in point and then take it out of record or press stop to enter the out point? I'm sure I could this type of operation with most analogue tape recorders 40 years ago!
I couldn't even find a way of using the six locate points and pasting these into the IN and OUT points.
This really needs an update ASAP if you ask me. When using the machine like a DAW, this type of punching in and out needs to be quick. In fact, other machines I've used in the past, updated the Punch IN and OUT points every time you pressed the RECORD button and I would suggest AKAI should adopt this practise when either the 'OVERDUB' or RECORD button is pressed to register a new IN point and whenever the STOP is pressed, or RECORD or OVERDUB is disengaged to set a new OUT point

Hi Alan — from the material I have, Punch In/Out is set by defining the location values in the MPC workflow, and I don’t have any official reference showing on-the-fly punch point capture by pressing Record/Overdub/Stop during playback on the XL.

So, based on our current documentation, yes: it appears the punch points must be entered/set explicitly, rather than learned live like a tape machine.

I also don’t see an official note confirming that locate points can be copied into Punch In/Out.

Your feedback is very clear, and I agree it’s a sensible workflow request. The official route for this is the MPC feedback form:
https://forms.office.com/pages/response ... e=shorturl

If you want, I can also help you word this as a feature request, or we can continue with your earlier automation-shift issue and gather reproduction steps for escalation.

Reference: https://support.inmusicstore.com/en/sup ... -questions

I just tried entering the punch in suggestion at the link you provided above, but it takes me to a FORCE beta suggestion page. Is the correct page for reporting XL bugs?

Hi Alan — good catch. No, that Force beta page is not the correct place for MPC XL bug reports.

For MPC XL / MPC feedback or bug reporting, please use this page instead:
https://forms.office.com/pages/response ... e=shorturl

The Force article in the knowledge base is specific to Force 3.5 beta, so it isn’t the right route for your XL issue.

If you want, I can help you write a short bug report for either:

Punch In/Out workflow limitation
Automation not shifting when deleting bars


If the automation issue is reproducible in a blank project, that would strengthen the report. Please send:

affected automation parameter
track type
exact steps to reproduce

I'm sorry I haven't got the time to conduct an in-depth examination of the 'automation not shifting' problem. Is this something AKAI could set you on to investigate? I will send my findings on the Punch in problem to AKAI at the link you have given.

Hi Alan — no problem at all.

Yes, if you don’t have time to investigate further, I can raise this with support for you so our team can review the automation-not-shifting issue. Since we’ve already tried the initial triage, the main thing I need now is the serial number of your MPC XL.

Please send the serial number exactly as shown on the unit. If possible, also include these short details:

OS version: I have 3.9 noted
whether it happens in one project or multiple projects
the automation parameter affected, if known


Once I have the serial, I can create the ticket.

And yes, for the Punch In workflow suggestion, the feedback form is the right route for product feedback.

Reference: https://support.inmusicstore.com/en/sup ... -questions

You have given me the same link that leads to FORCE related problems. Can I have the link to report problems and suggestions to MPC 3.9.0 OS please?

Hi Alan — thanks for flagging that again. The official knowledge base I have for MPC XL / MPC 3.9 points to this feedback form for bug reports and suggestions:

https://forms.office.com/pages/response ... e=shorturl

I appreciate that you’re seeing it route to a Force-related page. I don’t have a different official MPC 3.9 link in our resources to replace it with.

If you want, I can instead raise a support ticket for the automation-not-shifting issue here in chat. For that, I’d just need your MPC XL serial number.

References: https://support.inmusicstore.com/en/sup ... -questions, https://support.inmusicstore.com/en/sup ... c-beta-faq
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So are you asking? For a request to add and or why are we seeing this?

Heads up! If you are also an NI customer you have now the pleasure to talk to bots discussing issues with NI products. Unconfirmed sources have it that inMusic laid off the entire customer support staff of NI.

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That actually seemed like a normal and helpful conversation . What am I missing?