Technical info on MPC file format specifications

Hello All-

Does anyone know where to find technical programmer info on the file format layout / specifications for the various MPC file types?

I am particularly interested at this time in what additional data is added to the WAV sample files when the sample has been chopped and turned into a so-called "patched phrase."

I am familiar with and have specs for the chunked RIFF / WAVE file format and have dumped an MPC patched phrase file, but am having difficulty understanding where the PP data (sample offsets for slices, etc.) is placed and how it is structured.

Thanks for any help! Keep those beats coming!

forneau

This may help you:

http://mda.smartelectronix.com/akai/akaiinfo.htm

http://mda.smartelectronix.com/akai/akaiinfo.htm

Thanks _Stilo_for the reply. I've been to that link, but unfortunately the information is outdated (there is a date of March 2000 listed at the top). It has some info on the MPC2000 (which used .SND not .WAV files), but no mention of anything relating to Patched Phrase.

Perhaps the Slice function and Patched Phrase features weren't available back in March 2000. (I'm not an MPC historian... just got my first box last week.)

BTW, the MPC1000's sample files are .WAV files. The 'smpl' chunk in these .WAV files lists the S5000/S6000 as the intended device (!)

Still hoping that there is someone out there who has cracked this, as I've seen other utilities by freelance developers that manipulate or convert MPC files. Maybe I should try to contact those developers.

forneau

forneau wrote:Perhaps the Slice function and Patched Phrase features weren't available back in March 2000.

Haha, no they weren't. I knew the info was older, but didn't see any newer info so far.

forneau wrote:BTW, the MPC1000's sample files are .WAV files. The 'smpl' chunk in these .WAV files lists the S5000/S6000 as the intended device (!)

Sounds like they reused that format from those samplers and just forgot to adapt that part in the code. It's interesting that you can actually save some extended info in WAV files additional to the pure sound data, like an original Pitch of the sample for example.

forneau wrote:Still hoping that there is someone out there who has cracked this, as I've seen other utilities by freelance developers that manipulate or convert MPC files. Maybe I should try to contact those developers.

Would probably be your best bet.