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Retroaktiv MPG-50 User Manual Download Page 28

RETROAKTIV MPG-50 USER MANUAL

28

TROUBLESHOOTING

TROUBLESHOOTING

Problem: Notes hanging when playing them through MPG-50

Problem: Notes hanging when playing them through MPG-50

•  This indicates that there is a midi feedback loop in your setup.  A feedback loop happens when 
the MPG-50 receives its own output at one of the inputs, causing a doubling of every MIDI message.  
MPG-50 can deal with this problem easily, by simple having the Unit IN Channel set to a different 
channel than the Unit OUT Channel.  For example, if MPG is receiving notes on channel 1, set the out 
channel on the MPG to channel 2, and set the MKS/Juno to receive on channel 2.  When the MPG 
receives channel 2 data at the input, it will be rejected, because channel 2 does not match the input 
channel, thus breaking the feedback loop.

Problem: Only the VOLUME  and GLIDE sliders work

Problem: Only the VOLUME  and GLIDE sliders work

•  This indicates that the synth is not receiving sysex messages.  VOLUME and GLIDE are both CC type 
messages, which is why those appear to work, but other sliders do not.   To solve this, be sure that the 
SYSEX setting in the Unit 1 & 2 MIDI: Settings page is set to SYSEX, not Send/Translate CC.  If using an 
Alpha Juno, be sure that the SYSEX parameter is set to ON in the MIDI page of the Juno.  

Problem: Every other note is not playing

Problem: Every other note is not playing

•  This indicates that the synth is not receiving sysex messages.  VOLUME and GLIDE are both CC type 
messages, which is why those appear to work, but other sliders do not.   To solve this, be sure that the 
SYSEX setting in the Unit 1 & 2 MIDI: Settings page is set to SYSEX, not Send/Translate CC.  If using an 
Alpha Juno, be sure that the SYSEX parameter is set to ON in the MIDI page of the Juno.  

Summary of Contents for MPG-50

Page 1: ...USER S MANUAL AND REFERENCE GUIDE All rights reserved 2021 Retroaktiv LLC Colorado USA ...

Page 2: ...the shared tones system of saving sounds on the MKS 50 Each MPG 50 PATCH is stored as one object Intelligent patch generator creates new tones and patches at the push of a button Choose from Basses pads bells strings and more CC to sysex translation allows for DAWs and sequencers to record and playback parameter changes on MPG 50 in realtime Each of the 2 layers on the con troller can be controlle...

Page 3: ...n the encoder SHIFT and turn the encoder parameter values will change by larger increments MENU NAVIGATION BUTTONS MENU NAVIGATION BUTTONS The menu navigation buttons are used to select editor pages in the MPG 50 The LEFT and RIGHT buttons are used to move the cursor in the menu pages The ENTER button is used to execute a variety of operations within a menu MIDI PATCHGEN MAIN and ASSIGN buttons ar...

Page 4: ... on its MIDI IN will be immediately processed and passed OUT to the AJ MKS 50 The figure below shows a simple configuration of MPG 50 MKS 50 or ALPHA JUNO MIDI IN MIDI CONTROLLER OR DAW To begin making sound let s start by creating a basic setup Press the MIDI button on MPG 50 and set the MPG 50 MIDI settings as shown below and set the AJ MKS 50 to receive on channel 1 Set Unit 1 to either JUNO or...

Page 5: ...50 can control 2 MKS Juno units independently Users can play the 2 Junos as a STACK where the two synths are layered similar to the UPPER LOWER tone architecture found on synths like MKS 80 and MKS 70 Super JX The two synths can also be daisy chained by using MPG 50 s Multi Unit Poly Mode which turns the 2 synths into a single 12 voice synth effectively doubling the polyphony of an Alpha Juno The ...

Page 6: ...l data on channel 1 on both units It a note comes in on channel 1 then it will trigger a sound on both synths Notice that the Output Ch on Unit 1 is set to channel 2 and the Output Ch on Unit 2 is set to channel 3 MKS Juno Unit 1 is set to receive on channel 2 and MKS Juno Unit 2 is set to receive on channel 3 When playing in STACK mode the VOLUME slider can be used as a CROSSFADE slider Be sure t...

Page 7: ... IN MULTI UNIT POLY MODE When in Multi Unit Poly Mode the 2 units become a single 12 voice synthesizer This means rather than stacking two 6 voice synths over each other we load the same sound onto both and use them as a 12 voice synthesizer The Unit 1 and Unit 2 MIDI Settings are the same as in STACK mode The only change is that MULTI UNIT POLY MODE is set to ON MPG 50 MIDI Settings Unit 2 Multi ...

Page 8: ... To return to the MAIN screen at any time press the MAIN button in the navigation console Pressing MAIN repeatedly will cycle between editing the MAIN AUX or BOTH synths SHIFT MAIN will also toggle the layer The encoder and arrow buttons are used to navigate menus and change settings The SHIFT function refers to the switch on the encoder knob To engage the SHIFT function used for double button com...

Page 9: ...OSE OCTAVE UP PATCH GENERATOR SHORTCUTS PATCH GENERATOR SHORTCUTS SHIFT PATCHGEN Generate a random tone PATCHGEN Mask all sections Unmask all sections MIDI MIDI SHIFT MIDI MIDI panic ASSIGN ASSIGN SHIFT PATCHGEN Clear all assigns STORAGE STORAGE SHIFT PATCHGEN Delete bank SHIFT CHORUS Increment bank USER CC USER CC SHIFT PATCHGEN Delete current CC map SHIFT CHORUS Load a new USER CC MAP SHIFT ASSI...

Page 10: ...To navigate to the PATCH PARAMS menu press MAIN to return to the MAIN screen and press the RIGHT button The PATCH PARAMS menu will be displayed based on which type of unit MKS or JUNO the currently selected layer is set to Alpha Juno PATCH PARAMS menu contains Key Mode Key Mode Mono Poly Chord These can also be toggled using SHIFT GLIDE Bend Rng Bend Rng Sets Alpha Juno bend range MKS 50 PATCH PAR...

Page 11: ...CH objects Or 12 banks of 64 PATCH objects on expanded units It is important to understand what each object type is composed of Below is a diagram showing what each object type in the MPG 50 consists of PATCH UNIT 1 PATCH UNIT 2 PATCH SETUP STRUCTURE SETUP STRUCTURE A SETUP is a snapshot of all of the current settings on all layers in the controller A bank of 64 setups on the MPG 50 contains 128 p...

Page 12: ...C Users can create their own CC maps for controlling other equipment with MPG 50 STORING AND RECALLING OBJECTS STORING AND RECALLING OBJECTS To store and name an object To store and name an object Press SHIFT ASSIGN STORE and select thetype of object and the location that it will be stored Press ENTER and the storage dialog will appear Enter the new name of the object to be stored When naming an o...

Page 13: ...t PORT 2 is currently set as a MIDI IN port The Chan Chan for the output port determines which MIDI channel the MPG 50 will transmit data received at the UNIT 1 IN PORT on as well as any slider data on UNIT 1 For example if MIDI INPUT PORT is set to CH1 and MIDI OUTPUT PORT is set to CH2 then incoming notes on CH1 will be transmitted out to UNIT 1 on CH2 The synth on UNIT 1 must be set to receive ...

Page 14: ...cts MIDI GLOBAL SETTINGS MIDI GLOBAL SETTINGS This page contains global settings that affect how Unit 1 and Unit 2 will behave The MIDI Global Settings Page MIDI Port 2 MIDI Port 2 This sets the direction of the MIDI IN OUT jack which we are calling PORT 2 If this setting is set to INPUT then the IN OUT jack will function as a second MIDI IN If this is set to OUTPUT then the IN OUT jack will act a...

Page 15: ...nts Chord Mode will allow 8 notes to be on at one time Depending on the size of the chord and how many notes being held the MPG will not steal voices It will instead play the chords with any available voices Chord Mode Parameters Program Change Program Change MPG 50 can handle program change messages in a variety of ways There are 4 different Program Change Modes on MPG 50 Block Block When a progr...

Page 16: ...erations are possible using the SYSEX utility Send and receive a bank from MKS 50 or Alpha Juno 1 2 Send and receive Alpha Juno 1 2 or MKS 50 patch Send and receive bank in Retroaktiv format Send and receive any PATCH USER CC SETUP or ASSIGN in Retroaktiv format System backup of all stored object in internal and expansion memory When importing objects from Alpha Juno 1 2 or MKS 50 bidirectional co...

Page 17: ...pha Juno Select the unit destination Select the unit destination Select which AJ unit to import from and select the bank to import to Press ENTER to begin importing Press ENTER to begin importing You will receive the prompt On Juno Hold DATA TRANFER and press 1 button Do this and the MPG 50 will display Receiving Sysex Data message Success Success MPG 50 will display Success message when the objec...

Page 18: ...o Unit Unit This is the MKS 50 unit that the bank will be imported from MKS 50 bank select MKS 50 bank select Select bank A or B to be imported To import bank fromMKS 50 Select the unit destination Select the unit destination Select which MKS unit to import from and select the bank to import to Step 1 3 Receive PATCH A or B Step 1 3 Receive PATCH A or B You will receive the prompt On MKS 50 Press ...

Page 19: ...imply navigate to Fn Receive MKS 50 Patch Fn Receive MKS 50 Patch or Fn Receive Juno Patch Fn Receive Juno Patch press ENTER on MPG then do a program change on the MKS Juno The patch will be received by MPG 50 and will now be in the MPG 50 edit buffer You will need to store the PATCH in MPG 50 memory using the normal STORE procedure SEND AN MKS 50 OR ALPHA JUNO PATCH SEND AN MKS 50 OR ALPHA JUNO P...

Page 20: ...ge To restore MPG 50 memory contents navigate to Fn Storage Restore Fn Storage Restore Press ENTER on MPG 50 so MPG is waiting to receive the backup file Send the file to the MPG from your DAW PC A Success message will be displayed when complete Storage Restore will overwrite all of your objects Be sure you have backed up all of Storage Restore will overwrite all of your objects Be sure you have b...

Page 21: ...ng ENTER when in the User CC Map menu will cycle through all sliders that have active CC routings Pressing ENTER when in the User CC Map menu will cycle through all sliders that have active CC routings making it simple to see which sliders in a map are active making it simple to see which sliders in a map are active The Default state of the User CC Map feature is OFF A User CC Map can only be used...

Page 22: ...n channel 1 would affect UNIT 1 patch parameters CCs on ch 3 would affect UNIT 2 patch parameters This table shows the implementation of the MPG 50 MIDI CC to SYSEX translation This table shows the implementation of the MPG 50 MIDI CC to SYSEX translation Saw Select 15 Pulse Select 14 PWM Rate 26 PWM Depth 25 Sub Osc Select 16 Sub Osc Level 18 Noise Level 19 DCO Env Select 11 VCF Env Select 12 VCA...

Page 23: ...ch generator menu Sections shown in the menu correspond to the sections labeled on the front panel DCO Pitch Mod VCF Filter Mod VCA Amp Mod LFO Envelope Times Envelope Levels and Chorus Setting a section s ENABLE to OFF prevents the patch generator Setting a section s ENABLE to OFF prevents the patch generator from randomizing any of the parameters in that section when a new tone is created from r...

Page 24: ...LFO modulation Percussion Percussion All All Randomly selects synths from any of the following sub categories Drum Drum Kicks snares tom Cymbals Metal Cymbals Metal Cymbals hi hats etc Dance Dance All All Hoover and classic house patches Piano Piano All All Randomly selects pads from any of the following sub categories Ac Piano Ac Piano Bright pianos synth pianos El Piano El Piano Tine EPs Harpsi ...

Page 25: ...es CTRL A Slider CTRL A Slider CTRL B Slider CTRL B Slider Expression Pedal Jack Expression Pedal Jack Aftertouch Aftertouch CC Source 1 Any CC 0 127 CC Source 1 Any CC 0 127 CC Source 2 Any CC 0 127 CC Source 2 Any CC 0 127 CC Source 3 Any CC 0 127 CC Source 3 Any CC 0 127 The CTRL A and B sliders are located in the ASSIGN section of the MPG 50 front panel The Expression Pedal source is connected...

Page 26: ...weeps the Filter Cutoff down from 75 to 50 then INVERT can be selected All of the 5 destinations within each ASSIGN can be routed in this way to any parameters on the synth This allows the user to create complex real time modulations which would normally require many hands or many overdubs to accomplish in a single movement To deactivate an ASSIGN layer simply select NONE as the destination in a l...

Page 27: ...IFT button when finished The PARAM MIN MAX and INVERT information will all be automatically entered and INVERT information will all be automatically entered MPG 50 ACCESSORIES MPG 50 ACCESSORIES MPG 50 MEMORY EXPANSION MPG 50 MEMORY EXPANSION The MPG 50 memory expansion card gives users an additional 128kb of on board storage This card can be installed by the user and requires no soldering or spec...

Page 28: ...s breaking the feedback loop Problem Only the VOLUME and GLIDE sliders work Problem Only the VOLUME and GLIDE sliders work This indicates that the synth is not receiving sysex messages VOLUME and GLIDE are both CC type messages which is why those appear to work but other sliders do not To solve this be sure that the SYSEX setting in the Unit 1 2 MIDI Settings page is set to SYSEX not Send Translat...

Page 29: ... unit can always be restored to an operating state with the successful load of a firmware update If you receive one of the following errors cycle power enter the bootloader and try again BOOTLOADER ERROR CODES BOOTLOADER ERROR CODES 2 blinks 2 blinks Didn t receive 0xF0 at beginning of message This indicates a fundamental problem with the syx file or MIDI communication This means that a non sysex ...

Page 30: ...ver happen unless there is a hardware problem WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS WEIGHT AND DIMENSIONS The MPG 50 is 7 pounds and the enclosure measures 14 5 x 5 75 x 3 5 The enclosure has 4 heavy duty screw on rubber feet for no slip tabletop use The MPG 50 can also be rackmounted using optional rack ears or the Alpha Juno Mounting Stand both of which can be purchased at www retroaktivsynthesizers com THANK Y...

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