I scored a MPC500’s 2500 today from and estate sale. It has the memory upgrade and DVD rom. It also has jjos 3.56 and came with the jjos manual printed… my question should I print out the original manual or does jjos make it obsolete?
Hello,
I had a 2500 with JJOS and never had to read the orignal os manual. Please don’t loose time, money or ink to print the Akai manual.
Read JJOS and it will be OK. This stated, the JJOS assumes that you already know the basic MPC functions. These are not complicated and will be reveal to you by little use of the gear. Nothing criptic, or complicated.
IMHO, go to JJOS manual.
Have fun
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If you want to check the original manual, why not go to AKAI and download the PDF?
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Thanks for the reply… I have a DN and now the 2500… still haven’t had a chance to play around with the 2500 yet… curious sequencing wise, which one is supperior? Just wondering which unit to use… for seq… dn or the 2500?
It depends … it may sound silly, but Elektron sequencers are superior at Elektron stuff and MPC at MPC stuff. Both are very different. I wouldn’t want to miss the strenghts of one in a setup.
Elektron sequencers are “step-sequencers” and the MPCs have “linear-sequencers”. An Elektron pattern can have up to 4x16 events (64). We can chain up to 16 of such patterns, if we need more events.
Linear sequencers allow more flexibility regarding timing and quantity of events. MPCs can also be programmed like a step-sequencer, but sequences are not strictly limited to a particular amount of events or bars. Well everything has a limit and a sequence can only use as much RAM as is available of course 
MPCs have also more tracks than Elektron boxes. My MPC 5k has 64 tracks per sequence and - I guess - a capacity of 99 sequences 
Technically speaking MPCs have been designed from the beginning to be a center piece of a studio and taking control over many things inside and outside the box. Elektron boxes with a midi sequencer can do a similar job in a similar way. But my OT and DN have one DIN midi-in and one out port, my MPC 5k has two DIN midi-in and four midi-out ports (the MPC X has even 8 CV/Gate outputs … )
My workflow with MPC in combination with Elektron units is that I use the MPC as a master, but use the sequencers of the Elektron instruments too. Elektron sequencers are excellent in getting all the functionality inside an Elektron box to life. I don’t waste time, to make a central sequencer to command all those features. For me it seems much more efficient, to use the strength of each unit in parallel. Hence my MPC is more or less responsible for synchronising the Elektron boxes to the track, controlling other external devices like synths, and doing inside the box all the typcial MPC stuff
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I love my 2500 & I think it’s an amazing sequencer, I love the workflow, but like Soundrider says the sequencer on the 2500 & the Digitone are different.
If I was you I would play with both sequencers, try a bunch of different workflows, signal chains & use them in different ways so you get a feel for all the possibilities. By doing this you’ll find a way to combine the strengths of both with a workflow you like best.
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I agree with all the above. Also, I’ve found it easier to get a nice swing going on the MPC than my Elektron boxes
This is an EXCELLENT post!
I have my MPC Live set to master also but tend to use the OT’s, DT’s and A4’s sequencer mostly when playing live due to their immediacy & hands on control.
The MPC sequencer is great for eg melodic lines that exceed 4 bars - anything linear and longer basically.
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Let me ask this just too see if understand you correctly I’m pretty new to this…
So is this what you are doing? You might use your DN own sequencer to program as bass line. Then use your MPC own sequencer to program a drum beat. Than have both synced with midi clock?
Again this just a basic example. Just want to make sure I understand correctly.
Yes exactly this. I use the midi clock of the MPC as well as the start and stop commands.
Sometimes I control a synth with the MPC and do a recording of that synth with the MPC. This gives me new samples.to chop and to process in the MPC …
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I’m using the 2500 as master… I have the MPC communicating with the digitone through midi… everything seems to be working right… but I’m having one issue.
I have three drum patterns recorded usisng the MPC sequencer… pattern a, b and c I call them… I have two bass lines programed with the digitone sequencer… One pattern is in pattern bank 1 the other is in pattern bank two… now when press play on the mpc, the digitone works as it should, playing back the bass line perfectly in sync.
when I watch DN screen the pattern change is comming late from the MPC
But when I make a program change… using the MPC… so when I’m playing drum patter A and B, I want to play bank 1 on the digitone and when I play pattern C on the mpc I want to play bank 2 on the digitone… again everything plays in sync properly… but when I do a sequence change say from pattern A to C on the MPC, the digitone doesn’t change patterns untill the 2nd bar of the MPC drum track…
Any suggestions?
also note if I set the program changes on the MPC pads and press the pads, it changes correctly how I want… why won’t the auto changes work, they’re always 2 bars behind… yet the pad changes work.
Ah the mpc 2500…
What a machine. I really miss having one.
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It’s awsome but this pattern change sending to my DN is driving me nuts:)
I have a MPC 5k, which runs on the original AKAI OS 2.0 (there is no jjos for this machine AFAIK). This said, the following might not be the same on your machine - but there is a chance that it’s similar
Each track can be used to send or not-to-send program changes. In my OS the program of a track is in the main window. I can select “No,” for the program, hit the windows button and get the “Program Change” dialog.
A track can send program changes at the start of the track once or every time it loops.
I can also define program changes anywhere in the event-list using Step-Edit mode.
I would suggest to use a “new” program, make it the program switcher for the DN, and use an “empty” track to do the work. Be sure that the DN is set to “PROG CH RECEIVE” in the SYNC dialog and that the MPC sends to the defined “PROG CH IN CH”, which receives the program change messages.
Maybe this is of some help 
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I’m much closer… I have my three drum patterns a, b and c… they are looping… but now the program change doesn’t happen until the first four bars are played, once it starts looping after the 4 bars, the bass pattern kick in on time and in the right bank… hmmm?
Even when I put a program in the event menu it comes 4 bars late… but if I put my OT on pattern 1, and in the invent menu instert an event for pattern 4… and it hit play in the invent menu, it imidiately switchs to right program on the OT
It changes programs perfectly when I use the data wheel, and manual change PC… i’m not getting it why it would do it automatically probably.
Curious… this maybe a work around… my mind is going in circles… don’t have the manual handy… but on the DN… is there a song mode similar to the OT? Where you can tell it to play patterns one after another?
No; only temporary pattern chains.
Ok going to have to find a work around then, on how to get my MPC and DN to work together better, but I guess it could do the pattern chains manually that isn’t an issue… just hard to play guitar, and do the changes manual 
What about a foot controller like Behringer FCB1010? There are others too, which can send pgm-change …
Good suggestion… going to try once more to get these program changes to work automatically… they seem to start a few bars late… if no go I’ll get a foot controlleer😀