Forum to discuss all matters relating to the MPC1000 and MPC2500 operating systems created by 'JJ' (all versions).
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By Rafik Tue Apr 15, 2008 5:42 pm
hi there

anyways, lets hope i wont make everybody hate me right away, i did some searching but i'm still not a 100% sure. need answers about two issues that i am hoping to solve by buying the JJ software serial for my mpc 1000.

here's the deal: i want to sync cubase and my mpc 1000 (cubase as master off course). but it is for a live performance and i want to be able to record loops in the mpc while an arrangement is playing in cubase (kinda like a mini semi playback).

now i got an mpc 2kxl (the orange one), if i sync it to cubase and press start in cubase, the mpc will start off course. now for the detail: if i press stop on the mpc, the mpc will stop while cubase keeps playing. and if i press "play start" afterwards, it will jump in right back into sync with cubase. now, the 1000's OS does not do that, nore does JJ 3.08. do JJ1 + 2 do this?

my other question is about the behaviour of the mpc if you change sequences. my old 2kxl cant change sequences after recording into a seq, yet the JJ 3.8 OS can. but at least on JJ 3.08, the sequence changes the very instant you turn the wheel - which is not on time or in sync or whatever...
how do JJ 1 or 2 go about this? it might be a weird issue, but really it would be the key reason for me to get the OS since i use the 1000 more for live and working while not at home.

thank you very much, any help is appreciated even if it's just a link ;)
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By mikolo Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:38 pm
Hey rafik your a good dj i believe :wink: !
Ill answer your second question first: upto JJ 4.91 you can change sequences after recording if and only if you set it immediately start or immediately play. From what you describe it sounds like you have it set to "immediate start" but it'll work more to your liking if you switch it immediate play. I can't remember if 3.08 has this setting, but it works up til 4.91 but not on 4.99 or OS2 (although i might bring this to JJ's attention at some point.)I use the 1000-for live stuff and producing too and this can be very useful...With immediate play you have to turn the dial just before you want to switch e.g. switch on the last 16th of beat 4 and the next 16th will be from the next sequence.You can't set it change automatically at the end of the sequence unfortunatley but at least it stays properly in sync.

To answer your second question..im not sure, i use cubase too,so i'll try it in a few minutes and let you know.

Anyway congrats on the dope djing, seriously seriously wicked mate. Ive done dmcs myself, a few uk finals and that ,but no gold turntables yet for me though!

anyways ...ill check the cubase thing and post back.
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By mikolo Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:38 am
ok ive tested the cubase mpc thing a little, using midi clock (because midi time code has no tempo info).I set up the mpc to recieve only midi clock and all other sync settings mmc etc i turned off(mmc in/out might be JJ only)

firstly,you can set up the mpc to start in time with cubase.
secondly the mpc does run at the same tempo.
the important bit is this: if you hit stop on the mpc, the mpc stops and cubase will carry on running,if you hit playstart on the mpc it will run at exactly the same tempo as cubase .I had cubase set to 120 and my mpc seq set to 100, as soon as i hit play start the mpc tempo field changes to (ext) and the mpc played back at 120bpm.

What it doesn't do is play in sync beat for beat, bar for bar, you have to hit play start right on the beat, otherwise it'll run at the right tempo but be out of sync a little, and consistently out of sync,i.e.you won't be able to adjust it back in time by tweaking the tempo. This might be a limitation of midi time code itself, and might be like how it worked with your 2000xl. If this is the case it might work with your current setup too. This is from the 1000 manual :
Note: The MIDI clock signal has tempo information. The slave
device will follow the master device’s tempo regardless of its original
tempo.
Note: The MIDI clock signal does not have time information. If
the time settings of the master and the slave are different, they will
still play in sync but their time position display may be different.


Otherwise i can't recommend th JJos highly enough.One feature which might help you as an alternative is qlink to tempo on the JJOS,as it suggests you can use the qlink to nudge the tempo of tracks around if you want to mix them into other sources. Ive used this idea with my rc50 loop pedal to good effect, without any midi sync, for those times when im not as on point with the playstart button, (..maybe its a fluke of those machines that their tempos seem to match so well just by setting them to the same value)
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By Rafik Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:32 am
wow, thanks a lot mikolo! for the effort as well as for the compliments ;)

so that ideed sounds like i'm going to get that OS. its a shame it doesnt play in sync if you hit play start (after stopping the mpc before while cubase keeps playing), but hey, what you say is fair enough i guess.
a bit of nudge might do the job eventually. but if you are in touch with these JJ dudes, let em know it would be a cool feature to bring back the 2kxl midi sync behaviour.

btw, i see you are doing similar things! i also got a boss rc 50... and i believe you do some scratching?

thanks a million again mate,
raf
User avatar
By mikolo Fri Apr 18, 2008 6:07 pm
I should of mentioned that i used Cubase SE to do this,but can't imagine that the full version will work less well than this though.

As for the scratching yeah ive being doing that for some years now. My name as a DJ and Producer is Mike-L, i couldnt use that as my login name here cause someone else had that name first. The last Uk finals i did was back in 2004 now.

Might be heading down to watch the heats in manchester this year, are you doing any of your mpc w/djing stuff down there?
User avatar
By Rafik Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:18 am
just got that os1! thanks a lot for that 4.91 advice, i would not have found out.

now in 4.91, i can switch the sequences after recording, and no matter when i turn the wheel, the sequences are in perfect sync. booyah. however, the only mini issue is that you manually have to start everything that is synced to the mpc. but in my case its the rc 50 and i can kick play whenever i want and it will be in sync to the mpc.

now for the cubase syncronisation thing, i couldnt find that nudging function in the mpc but anyways the results were pretty okay. only thing that would suck is if you would start a long sequence in the mpc that has to be in sync with a background in cubase... i would not know how to handle that situation. but its not hell on earth either.
anyways i discovered that syncing stuff with cubase might not be my best bet since i need to get more outputs first. this might sound really stupid, but i run vst instruments through my dj mixer (effects etc) and off course they are on the same output like the "playback arrangement". so if i put a filter on the instrument, the playback will be filtered too. gotta solve that now... hehe

anyways, i don't think i will be ready to do some real stuff with that kind of setup by the time the uk heats start off, but i might bring the mpc to play around while playing (since i play for an hour and i can't do 60 mins of routines)

let me know if you want to come through! i owe you some britneys.
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By mikolo Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:58 pm
If you press window on the tempo readout this screen appears where you can set the tempo range of the qlink.

Image

As far as syncing up with the rc-50 ,you can set up the mpc to recieve start and stop messages from the rc. Although i dont think you can only recieve start messages,so the mpc would stop when you stop the rc also.

anyways i discovered that syncing stuff with cubase might not be my best bet

yeah if your using your computer anyway, ableton live is worth looking at.Its really flexible,and you'd be able to control the computers start and stop with midi notes from the mpc along along with loads of other things.

Looking forward to seeing your scratching routines, yep 60 minutes worth would be pretty hardcore !