Hence a ‘decay’ of 5 from an older MPC3000 PGM is converted within the MPC5000 to a ‘Release’ of 50 (which unfortunately is not a comparable conversion…)įrom the MPC1000 onwards, Akai implemented a new PGM file format, most likely to help cope with the additional complexity required of the format. For example, the MPC5000 does not have a simple ‘decay’ envelope parameter, instead it has more complex ‘decay, release, sustain and delay’ settings for more control over the way the sample is shaped. However some parameters are sometimes ignored or converted. It looks like JJ dropped support for the MPC3000 format PGM in OS ’XL’ – trying to load one of these produces an ‘unknown file type’ error message.įor MPCs that support the MPC3000 PGM format, all the basic program parameters are carried over, such as sound assignments, tuning, SIMULT settings etc. This type of DRUM program can be loaded into every single MPC on the market, but only if it runs Akai OS. The original PGM format is found in the MPC3000/60. The standard MPC program file format is the PGM file. To ensure maximum compatiblity at, most of our samplepacks include both WAV format and SND fomtat versions of all files. Therefore 16 bit WAV files would be the best option for producers looking to work in both MPC and computer environments. However support for SND files within a computer environment requires specialist software, e.g. Conclusionįor best compatibility with all MPCs, SND files are the best option. The MPC4000 can read 24 bit/96 kHz samples, while the MPC5000 can read 24 bit sounds, although they don’t appear to be officially supported. Most MPCs save audio files in 16 bit, 44.1Hz format. WAV files need to be ‘PCM’ format, which most WAV files tend to be, so this is rarely a concern.
However the MPC2000XL is also able to save in WAV format (although it’s not the default saving format), and the MPC2000 will load individual WAV files (but confusingly it will not load a program of WAV files). Since the MPC4000, WAV files have become the standard audio file format for both loading and saving. All MPCs still load SND files without any problem, although since the MPC1000, it is not possible to save in SND format. The original MPCs used a specialist audio file format called SND.
There are many different models of MPC, and unfortunately they don’t all play nicely with each other! While each newer MPC tends to pretty much support the MPC file formats of older MPCs, the reverse is rarely true, and with the introduction of JJOS, things got even murkier! Let’s try to get to the bottom of it all.