MPC4000 MIDI Implementation bugs?

Gah!
Why is that nearly ever bloody time I find something interesting
in the MPC4000 manual, and think "oh, I must try that out",
it turns out not to actually bloody work?!?

On pages 110-111 of the MPC4000 User Guide,
there's standard MIDI implementation charts, for the sequencer
and the sampler sections.

The one for the sampler lists half a dozen MIDI continuous controller
messages which are "hard wired" for programs (i.e., you don't
need to set them up in the Program Modulation Matrix)

One of these which does work fine, for instance, is cc7 for "volume" -
I can send this fine from my controller keyboard, and it changes
sample amplitude - you don't have to manually set up a mapping
of cc7 >> amplitude in the Program Mod Matrix.

However, it says cc65 toggles on/off portamento, and cc84
changes the portamento time.
These don't seem to work for me at all!
I have the MIDI routed directly to the sampler section,
and the MIDI imput monitor tells me it can see the messages coming in.
But nothing happens!

You can't select portamento on/off or portamento time
as modulation destinations in the Program Mod Matrix,
so there's no way to set these up via that route -
the only way is to fiddle around by going to PROGRAM mode,
selecting the MISC page, putting the cursor on Portamento
and then pressing WINDOW to get to the rate control
(not exactly the thing you want to be doing in the middle of a live synth
solo)


Can anyone else confirm this as a bug?
I'm on OS 1.71.

I can't remember if this *used* to work,
it's so long since I last tried it.

A very simple thing, bloody nuisance that it doesn't work,
really scuppers a very basic performance feature if you wanna play
the MPC4000 sampler live as a sound module.

Actually scratch that.

About 10 minutes after I typed that, suddenly cc65 *did* start turning portamento on/off
Hmmm. I dunno what I did but it just started working!

Also, according to the MIDI spec, it's cc5 that is supposed to do Portamento *RATE*, not cc84...
http://www.midi.org/about-midi/table3.shtml
(I dunno what cc84 *is* supposed to do, it just says "portamento control" in the MIDI spec)

Anyways, it's not documented in the MPC4000's MIDI spec chart,
but I'm finding that if I send cc05, it *does* change the portamento time
(it appears to be added to the Program's existing portamento time
as a positive offset, rather than replacing it)

I dunno wtf cc84 is supposed to achieve...
Any ideas?

Seem to work for me ok....are you using a mono voice?

Oops! replied before I saw the second post.....

Yeah, it's odd - I sometimes get things like that with the MPC4000 -

I'll be tweaking away at something, and it just doesn't bloody work,
until I switch out of (say) Multi mode back into Main and then Program and back to Multi, and suddenly it works!

There's definately a documentation error there (no mention of cc05),
and I have no clue what cc84 is meant to be about...

it looks like those japanese dudes actualy were on crack

well they sure weren't spending their money on meticulous testing...

easy there Mr. Dictionary


Meticulous ultimately derives from Latin meticulosus "fearful" (from metus, "fear"). The present sense stems from French méticuleux "overscrupulous." In present day English, the word usually carries a more positive connotation and is synonymous with precise and punctilious.


Main Entry: me·tic·u·lous
Pronunciation: m&-'ti-ky&-l&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin meticulosus fearful, irregular from metus fear
: marked by extreme or excessive care in the consideration or treatment of details <a meticulous researcher>
synonym see CAREFUL
- me·tic·u·los·i·ty /-"ti-ky&-'lä-s&-tE/ noun
- me·tic·u·lous·ly /-'ti-ky&-l&s-lE/ adverb
- me·tic·u·lous·ness /-n&s/ noun

Maybe some European dudes will get on board and program/test the MPCs properly (there are European beta testers..no?)

No definition was really needed for meticulous, but I can understand why some people (or individual) would think its a really big word.

yeh a foreigner more particularly

I find it funny that just when I think I know all of this things tricks
someone pops up with some new shht
I have know Idea what you all are talking about

I'm talking about when you're using the MPC4000 basically as a sound module, playing keyboard parts from a MIDI controller keyboard.

The sampler section has some "hard-wired" modulation settings,
which you don't need to set up using the Program Modulation Matrix.

They're just standard MIDI 'continuous controller' messages, as defined in the MIDI spec (from http://www.mma.org ):

cc0 - ("bank select") - switch multis (you can configure how this behaves)
cc7 - volume (ie. sample amplitude)
cc10 - pan (for keygroups? zones?)
cc64 - sustain pedal
cc67 - soft pedal (set this up in Program mode MISC page)
cc68 - legato (ditto)


However it also says
cc 65 - portamento on/off - which works
and cc84 "portamento control" - which doesn't

I dunno what cc84 is supposed to do.
But in fact cc5 works for portamento rate instead.

I will try it out later today, I am finally going to sometime to use my Emu Xboard, I hope.

Ah!
some helpful person reminded me what the MIDI spec intends cc64 be used for:

It's particularly intended for polyphonic portamento (which quite often is a mess) and it is used to set the note where you glide *from*
(obviously, the notes you play on the keyboard determines where you glide *to*)

The way old monosynths used to work, generally you just portamento-ed from the last note you previously played.
But perhaps you can change it with this cc84.

I'll try it tonight!

(Actually, someone had a question on this forum about precisely that effect -
they wanted to control where their portamento began from.
Maybe this was the answer.
Or maybe it's just a typo in the user guide.... wouldn't be the first one

Here is another one that I can't get to work:

the MIDI Implementation Chart in the User Guide says that the sampler
should respond to cc68, for Legato.

I presume you are meant to toggle between sending it data values of 127 and 0 (or more than 64, less than 64), and it should set the Program mode MISC page "MONO LEGATO" parameter between "OFF" and "PITCH".

But it doesn't
Not a sausage.