Akai MPC's "JJOS" and Translator

March 23rd, 2016 - To those of you that are old enough to remember the Ensoniq Mirage (we are!!), the OS was legible and hackable enough for non-company personnel to create variants of the operating system, offering new, different, and reorganized functions. The Mirage had a number of alternative operating systems for sale, offering MIDI VOlume control, or one called SoundProcess that heightened the programming ability of the Mirage.

Now, with the Akai MPC - many different ones - comes "JJOS", developed by a former Akai Japan engineer. There are many different JJOS variants for different MPC's, and due to some misinformation and language barriers, we've gotten a number of inquiries if Translator and other Chicken Systems products support JJOS.

Here's the answer: we don't because there's nothing to support.

There's some printed material on the Web and elsewhere that implies or just flat out says that JJOS has a new INST file format where the MPC Program is a chromatic instrument instead of one that just uses Pads. And there are other things being said.

The truth is that there is nothing like that. What JJOS DOES DO is includes lots of functions from the front panel that aid in the composition of chromatic instruments. (We define chromatic instruments as those MPC Programs that are playable via MIDI as tuned instruments up and down the keyboard - the pitch is higher when you go up the keyboard, lower as you go down.)

The problem on a Pad-based drum machine like the MPC is that each Pad represents one MIDI note, and it always plays it back the sample at unity pitch. That works great for drums and percussion, but what is you wanted to program an Electric PIano on a MPC? You have to:

• Place the appropriate sample on one pad per key on the keyboard
• Adjust the TUNE parameter of that pad to simulate the pitch offset away from it's Root Key

This is a pain in the neck! But JJOS comes to the rescue by adding some automatic functions to assist in building this type of program. (NOTE: From the MPC5000 and the new MPC Renaissance, this is not necessary because both actually HAVE a new type of program format called KEYGROUP. But the MPC 2500, 500, 1000, 2000, and 3000/60 do not.)

BUT - JJOS does NOT write a new type of .PGM file. It merely writes the same one, but based on the automatic programming it does. It's the same type of file that the regular Akai OS writes.

So, Translator doesn't have to support JJOS, because the file format isn't any different. Any further questions: email us at [email protected] or call us at 320-235-9798 - 800-877-6377.