We are running up against a wall in RAM- Can anyone help?

Hello. First post. We are using a MPC1000 to create live, continuous (only started at the beginning of the song) "backing tracks" combined out of samples / sequences of various lengths and some Midi files controlling a Nord Lead and Korg triton. We have a 11 song live set of about 4:30 per song. Wherever possible, we have chopped up samples into smaller parts and have eliminated much of the excess samples in the unit. HOWEVER, we seem to be receiving messages such as INSUFFICIENT MEMORY... I have made the Akai 128mb upgrade...

It seems this is too early for this to happen, but if it is true, what can be done to eliminate or offset this problem? Aside from buying another MPC1000 of course. Can an aux. hard drive be connected?

We are reasonably new users, but also not inexperienced with sequenced and sampled music. Are we making some obvious mistake in the way we handle our sequences and files?

Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated. Please post or email. Thanks!

What type of music are you making? Are you using all loops for your songs in the mpc or you programming your loops using single hits? Maybe try converting stereo files to mono if you are using stereo loops.

Thanks for the reply- We are making electronic/organic pop-rock. And in the last few weeks that has gone further towards electronics and therefore, more MPC use. Goto http://www.huronsound.com to hear some sound clips of our stuff- ALL electronic stuff you hear and overdubs- like piano and some guitar- are sampled into the MPC in and triggered continuously. All other things are played live... Additional thoughts?

Sounds like you need the stereo samples...you could also split the set into two and play the instruments live while you load up the next set...some kind of bridge and then kick into the next half of the set...maybe someone else on the forum has come up against your problem.

Well..this seems to be the solution we have come up with as well.

So if I understand correctly, each CF card will hold the contents- samples, program information and sequencing- of approx. 1/2 of the set each. We play the first half of the set, myself and the guitarist do a "non MPC" number while the drummer loads in CF2 and we are done with that number, we are ready for the second half of the set.

The upshot being that the INTERNAL MEMORY is only holding the set information for 1/2 of the set Or whatever is loaded onto it from that card?

Are there any special instructions on how to load in to prevent a conflict? or is this explained in the manual? I wish they just made that Internal RAM bigger... Is this solved by the bigger units such as the MPC2000XL?

Thanks in advance.

how did you save your stuff? if you used the "save all programmes and samples" or "save all RAM" feature you may have unused samples in your set.
Try the PURGE button in EDIT PROGRAM screen. This will get rid of samples in RAM not used in programmes.
Try also in TRIM to discard unused sample data (before start point and after end point) with teh EDIT/DISCARD function.
Then the obvious: do your programmes contain samples not used in sequences? get rid of them.
If you have used a lot of stereo samples you may halve your RAM requirements by converting them all to MONO using any WAV editor on your computer (the MPC1k can't do it). Then in MIXER mode you PAN your MONO samples to recreate the stereo image (somewhat) using two pads in every programme instead of one. this will require some additional programming on your sequences and programmes.
If all this doesn't solve your problem, it means that you really need more RAM. Then you need a 2nd MPC...

Hello Freezerman in Paris.
Thanks for the valuable tips. Hoepfully some others will flow in.
We'll try these tips this weekend and get back on here if they work...or don't... As much as I have my eye on another MPC1000... my new Powerbook also begs my cash...so for now, we need to get creative. We have a live gig in Rotterdam, NL (http://www.nighttown.nl) at the end of the month, so we are getting a bit stressed out. All of this expert info helps!

ComoPark wrote:We have a live gig in Rotterdam, NL (http://www.nighttown.nl) at the end of the month, so we are getting a bit stressed out. All of this expert info helps!

If RAM is your problem, why not buying a second hand S5/6000 racksampler for 400-500 Euro and control it over midi by the 1k. You would gain 256 MB of samplememory and you could load multisampled instruments from the huge amount of AKAI CD's around as well. As an extra, organizing and loading the samples is a breeze by the S5/6000's large and informative display. Much more versatile for less money...

.

Happy Anniversary Berlin! I see you've been on the MPC Forum one year today. Thanks for the suggestion. I will check the Dutch "marktplaats" for this gear. Is this 19" unit(s) stable enough for live use?
As far as the Kingston- I already have the Akai Internal RAM upgrade- so as far as I know there is no more room. Are you suggesting that the Kingston should replace what I have in there now? Cheers.

hi como,

this probably wont be MUCH help but:

128mb is a HUGE amount of memory for a sampler. It may take a bit of work but I'm sure it would be possible to shave your samples down some more and make it work nicely. I managed a 45min live set on 16mb alone with no other instruments (bar my MS20s filter).

Have a re-jig, you'll get there...

Good Luck!

Ps

Are you suggesting that the Kingston should replace what I have in there now? Cheers.

no. if youve got the upgrade thats as good as it gets. should be plenty. And while the sound advice youve been given is true, buying more gear will only COMPLICATE things when perhaps SIMPLYFYING things will make your life easier. Having said all this I havent listened to yr stuff yet as im on dial up. Maybe its all 5min long orchestral samples in which case:

IGNORE ME.

try an AKAI Z8 sampler

it's like the sampler section of the MPC 4000

it has 512MB of RAM when fully expanded

it should be around €1200 brand new in Europe

ComoPark wrote:I will check the Dutch "marktplaats" for this gear.

A-Is this 19" unit(s) stable enough for live use?
B-As far as the Kingston- I already have the Akai Internal RAM upgrade- so as far as I know there is no more room. Are you suggesting that the Kingston should replace what I have in there now?

A: Definetly, many pro's prefer the sturdyness of the S5/6000 over the Z-Series for touring

B: No it's just a money saving tip for those who didn't upgrade already.
The Kingston RAM is tried and tested and costs only 35 Euro.