MMT-8 Forum

• sequencing parts
  but is there a way to do it without having a dedicated button pusher for turning the tracks on and off? I want the mmt-8 to start playing with the chorus which starts on step 36. How do I arrange the parts on the mmt-8 to start with 35 steps of silence? Or, is there a way to dump the midi info from the drum machine into the mmt-8 where I can use a sequencer track for all of the drums and add synths on top of that? I don't want to reprogram my drums. thanks so much for responding.
  (brian Slusher, Wed 23 Jul 15:29, Reply)
  
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    I think you could create a blank pattern 35 steps long, then create another pattern to play whatever needs to be played by the MMT8 for your chorus. Then go into song mode and create a song that plays you blank pattern and then plays your chorus pattern. When you then payback your song, the MMT8 will be playing nothing (a blank pattern) for the first 35 steps and then it will play your chorus patterns for you. All automatically no button pusher required. Sorted !
    (Mark, Wed 23 Jul 16:44, Reply)
    
• sequencing parts
  Hello. I have an SR-16 drum machine with a lot of songs programmed into it. I am trying to slave the mmt-8 to be able to utilize the sequencer functions where I can add synth parts to my existing sr-16 songs. The goal is to be able to program the mmt-8 to play right along with the sr-16 when I need the synth parts to come in. The problem is, the mmt-8 seems to want data throughout the duration of the song. How do you tell the mmt-8 when to play the recorded parts to match my songs in the sr-16? PLEASE HELP. MY BAND DEPENDS ON IT! Thanks
  (Brian Slusher, Wed 23 Jul 00:28, Reply)
  
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    If I get your meaning correctly, why not create songs on the MMT-8 that match the ones on the SR-16 (in terms of length and pattern structure), except with the MMT-8 patterns muted whenever it's not required? Then it doesn't matter which is set to master and which is set to slave, hitting play on the master unit will play both and as long as you have the corresponding songs set up on each, it should work perfectly. I do this with two MMT-8s and a drum machine all the time.
    (JonG, Wed 23 Jul 10:56, Reply)
    
• Undo
  Is there any form of Undo in the MMT8 ?
  (Mark, Mon 21 Jul 09:51, Reply)
  
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    Unfortunately, no. Cheers
    (Graham, Tue 22 Jul 07:57, Reply)
    
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      Ok thanks Graham I thought that was probably going to be the case but thought I would ask just on the lucky off chance there was certain set of hidden key shortcuts.
      (Mark, Wed 23 Jul 16:47, Reply)
      
• Q: is this really a black mmt-8?
  this auction is on ebay, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300241760482&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020 I inquired to the seller if this was painted black or not and they played dumbed. What is your opinion? I've compared the pictures to my black mmt-8 and there are some definite differences. I love theses machines and don't want anyone not to get what they think they are getting. thanks for your time, neil
  (neil, Thu 17 Jul 22:00, Reply)
  
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    It looks like a spray job - check the picture from the rear, at the back edge of the hinged lid - they haven't finished the job. You could always taunt them - ask them what OS it has - if they say anything but 1.11 then its a fake. It could still be a fake if they dropped 1.11 ROM in it, but they might be dumb enough not to do that. If they DID say it was a 1.11 (which the grey ones never had), then you could make a complaint to ebay for false advertising hehe! Cheers,
    (Graham, Fri 18 Jul 05:36, Reply)
    
• switching between songs on the fly?
  I've used the MMT-8 for live performance for over a year now and love it. However, I've just now started to fool with it a bit deeper to try more complicated stuff. I enjoy sequencing up complex music through the "song" editor, but cannot seem to "flip" through these like I can with "part" mode. I.e. pressing +/- in part mode lets you jump around, I can't seem to do that in song mode. Please, don't tell me this is impossible to do.... that would be such a waste! Thanks
  (Robert, Sat 12 Jul 21:38, Reply)
  
• midi echo problem
  I have somewhat of a unique midi echo problem. I'm using an Akai mpd24 drum pad to trigger sounds from my speak and spell with a highly liquid midi circuit installed (highlyliquid.com). So basically the mpd24 is triggering speech fragments within the speak and spells rom. When I plug the mpd24 directly into the speak and spell, everything works as it should. So I plug the mpd24 into the mmt8 input and plug the speak and spell into the mmt8 output. When I have recorded sequences, the sounds trigger just fine and everything works well. When I try to use the midi echo and trigger the speak with the mpd24, the data sent to the speak and spell must not be strong enough or perhaps it's truncated but all I get is junk noise instead of the predictable speech fragments I was getting before. When using midi echo with my drum module, it works well but I can't figure out what to do when I'm trying to record patterns with the speak and spell. The only solutions I've been able to think of include using a midi solutions splitter to go from the mpd24 to the mmt8 AND the speak and spell simultaneously. I would then have to switch cables on the speak after recording. Otherwise, perhaps I can install a switch that directly routes the incoming midi signals on the input jack to the output jack and use that switch instead of midi echo. Let me know what you think.
  (jordan s, Fri 20 Jun 01:55, Reply)
  
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    are you using rom mode or keypad mode to control the speak and spell?
    (smst, Fri 20 Jun 03:33, Reply)
    
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      rom mode
      (jordan s, Fri 20 Jun 09:20, Reply)
      
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        Are you sending bank select? I'm thinking this may not be echoed properly by the mmt8.
        (smst, Fri 20 Jun 21:32, Reply)
        
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          yes, as a matter of fact, i am. i have a few saved presets on my mpd24 that utilize specific banks in the speak and spell. perhaps when i use the midi echo, it's sending to the wrong bank? when i record sequences, i make sure to make a control change event at the beginning and specify the bank to be used. is there any way to use the midi echo to send to the correct bank? would my idea of installing a switch to hardwire the points on the midi input jack to the midi output jack work?
          (jordan s, Sat 21 Jun 00:19, Reply)
          
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            Question: if you send a bank select using the mpd24, will it be recorded by the mmt8? Try recording some beats and taking a look at them in edit mode to see if you can find the CCs (#0 and #32) for bank select.
            (SmST, Sat 21 Jun 16:46, Reply)
            
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              After some investigating, I think I understand the problem more clearly and also am more confused. The mmt8 is receiving bank info from the mpd24, bank info is being recorded properly with all notes and all info is clearly interpreted through the thru port. However, the individual notes, although assigned to the proper channels on the mpd24 are randomly recorded and echoed to the wrong midi channel by the mmt8. Oddly enough, this only seems to occur on the mpd24 patches I have programed myself, even though all pad assignments have been checked to make sure they are routed properly. Assigning a whole track to a specific channel does rectify this problem but only in playback. Even if this were a solution, it would mean each track on the mmt8 could only send to one channel. To make things even weirder, trying to record to ch 16 makes the mmt8 go totally wacky. Sometimes notes completely stop recording, sometimes notes seem to trigger playback but then freeze the mmt8. So you would think that the fault is with the Akai mpd24, right? Well, when using the mpd24 without the mmt8, everything works flawlessly and all info is read and routed appropriately. Calling all geniuses.
              (jordan s, Thu 26 Jun 09:51, Reply)
              
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                What version software is your MMT8? It shows it when you switch it on for a few seconds. Version 1.11 is the latest and has the least bugs. Anything back before and including 1.08 have some erratic bugs. I don't know specifically that this is your problem. It's just a suggestion. You can upgrade your MMT8 to 1.11 by kindly asking a few people on this forum to sell you an upgrade chip. They're not expensive. Even if it isn't the problem in your case, its worth doing. Cheers,
                (Graham, Fri 27 Jun 03:54, Reply)
                
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                  My version is 1.09. I did some more messing around with things today. I can only come to the conclusion that the mpd24 and the mmt8 simply don't get along. I tried using an average m-audio midi controller instead and everything worked flawlessly. I then tried running the mpd24 into my HR16 and taking the HR16 output into the mmt8 and it somehow filtered the data and everything worked flawlessly. I then tried running the mpd24 signal through my midi solutions thru box and that was completely unusable. Coming from the thru box, the mmt8 sees all note on/off from the mpd24 as program change messages on a different channel. Ugh. I think I will just run it through the hr16 for now until I come up with a better work around. How can I upgrade my mmt8 and who can help me out? Send me an email at jordanthegreat@gmail.com if you can help a guy out. Thanks.
                  (jordan s, Fri 27 Jun 05:01, Reply)
                  
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                    Have a look at the MMT8's MIDI input filter options - maybe you can block unneccesary info coming into the MMT8. Hold down the MIDI FILTER button and use the page up/down buttons to find the options. Cheers,
                    (Graham, Fri 27 Jun 06:15, Reply)
                    
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                      I already tried filtering everything except note on/off messages. Didn't do the trick. I'm still interested in an upgrade if anyone can help me out.
                      (jordan s, Mon 30 Jun 18:46, Reply)
                      
• Buttons
  My MMT8 seems to have the barely working button syndrome. So I looked around and found I can buy a Keypad Repair kit in the UK for about £15. It appears to be a liquid which you coat the conductive pad of the buttons and claims to restore the conductivity of them. Not sure if anyone else has tried this but I plan to try over the next week. It claims to remain working for 500,000 keystrokes ! I'll post back and report if it works out.
  (Mark, Wed 18 Jun 12:49, Reply)
  
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    I have done 2 grey MMT8s with the keypad repair kit that were basket cases with the buttons before hand. They both still work absolutely flawlessly 6 months after fixing them! I highly recommend the stuff. My particular repair kit was made by Circuit Works, but I'm sure other brands are the same thing. Cheers,
    (Graham, Thu 19 Jun 00:09, Reply)
    
    • Button Fix
      Wow ! Done the button fix, used the same product you mentioned 'Circuit Works'. Easy to do and has made every button work like new and they were very very bad. I now just have to remember not to lean on them with all my weight anymore ! I also took the opportunity to fit a new backup battery, the old one had 12/87 stamped on it, it was still working but surely not for much longer! Anyone else with the infamous button problem I highly recommend this fix. There was enough in the product to probably fix 4 or 5 MMT's but it has to be binned after 3 days. I got it (in the UK) from CPC for about £16 I also got the battery here too.
      (Mark, Fri 20 Jun 16:23, Reply)
      
• newbie help
  i am trying to sequence an emu xk6..got it to work once, but.. when we record our second track, it changes the voice on track one... could i please get a step by step instructions!! thanX so much for your time! (black mmt8 V1.11)
  (electronichicka, Mon 9 Jun 17:27, Reply)
  
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    Do you mean track 2 on the MMT plays the voice for part 1 on the EMU? If I think the MMT8 records the midi channel that you played into it when recording. So it may have data on track 1 and 2 both on midi channels 1. Before you record to track 2 to on the MMT try setting the transmit channel on the EMU to 2. I'm a newbie myself to the MMT so if anyone else has any ideas ?
    (Mark, Sat 14 Jun 17:57, Reply)
    
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      Or you could just force track two to output on channel 2 using the Midi Channel button on the MMT. By default is sends out on the channel/s it recorded it on.
      (Mark, Sat 14 Jun 17:58, Reply)
      
• mmt-8 or something else
  Would anyone recommend this command center over others to start doing live PA?
  (Bryan, Sat 7 Jun 19:17, Reply)
  
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    The MMT8 excels in live performance, especially because of the immediate access to muting tracks on the fly. Add to that the convenience of retained memory, you just switch it on and your work is already there. It is most sought after for these reasons. Cheers,
    (Graham, Tue 10 Jun 00:55, Reply)
    
    • muting tracks
      How would it stand against an E-mu xl-7, MPC 1000, or RM1X? I have an mmt-8 shipping to me and I cant wait to start to use it.
      (Bryan, Thu 12 Jun 04:29, Reply)
      
      • 
        Ok... I hope you didn't buy the MMT8 on the assumption that it has its own sound in it. It doesn't. It is only a sequencer, not a sound module as well. I may have misunderstood your asking about the comparisons - I thought you were asking about its sequencing capabilities to the others, not its overall sound capabilities. Sorry if I gave you wrong advice - can you still send it back if you don't want it? If this isn't what you were asking, but simply comparing the sequencer comarisons, I don't know about those other machines, but I wouldn't think their sequencers are as flexible live as the MMT8 - that's why people are snapping up MMT8s and running these machines off the MMT8 instead of their own internal sequencers. In any case, you could always still keep the MMT8 and then also get an MPC or EMU and run it using the MMT8. Cheers,
        (Graham, Fri 13 Jun 00:43, Reply)
        
        • MMT8 v others
          I currently have an MMT8 (fairly new to it) also have a EMU PX-7 (same as XL7 but different sound rom), I have also owned an RM1X, MPC1000 and an RS7000. Firstly the big differences as explained above, the MMT8 is the only one that does NOT have any sound source built in at all. The second big difference is the MMT8 is by far the cheapest and oldest of all these so you gotta bear that in mind. I will try keep this brief ' ish. RM1X Songs (as in MMT) remain in memory all the time, some useful real time controllers on the front panel, fairly good screen, patterns can be assembled into songs and songs have full linear tracks. Seems tough built. Downsides are sound engine quite weak. Phrases (edit jobs in pattern mode refer to the phrase number and not the track number which gets confusing). Edit jobs accessed from a long job menu which is a bit laborious. RS7000 - Same as above really including the stupid phrases. The sound engine is very similar to RM1X but noticeably more detailed and punchy as it has better DAC's. Many patches the same as the RMX but they all sounds much better coz of the DAC's. There are also a lot of new patches and a sampler. The sampler is very hot on phrases, cutting up loops and chopping them into drum kits but not very good on pitched melodic stuff. The quality of the sampler audio ins is very poor but ok if you load wav's or sample thru the digital in. The sequencer very similar to the RM1X but has many important improvements for example you can create a pattern chain real time, instead of stepping thru stating what pattern you want on each step you can simply hit record and select the patterns in real time. Thats a nice feature for song creation. Personally I quite liked th RS, much better than the RM1X. Is does not retain the songs though on powerdown BUT it does have a smart card slot (and SCSI) and can autoload stuff on power up. To be fair though this is far more expensive than an MMT8. Quite good in a live enviroment for pi**ing about on the fly. AKAI MPC1000 - Nice and quick to get you recordings, very slick at capturing your ideas and it does really seem to have something special about its timing. BUT some areas of it are seriously retarded ! There is an alternative OS for is (JJ OS) which sorts out a lot of these issues. For example naming and saving stuff is far harder than it should be. Editing the midi tracks is also not very strong. Songs are not retained but it has a compact flash slot for loading very quickly. Again a lot of money, overall I preferred the RS. Muting tracks is okay live buy its only got a couple if assignable sliders which does not really match all those on the RS. Its a very good sampling drum machine and basic sequencer. EMU PX-7 Mute buttons are quite nice, not shared like so many other bits with the keys/pads. Not the easiest bit of kit too master. Songs are retained on power down although you do have to save them to its internal memory so its not much different to the others that have memory card. Sound engine is pretty weak even though you can plug in up to 4 emu proteus series rom's its still a bit bland. It is quite good in live use thought with its deictaed mute buttons and real time controllers. For what ever reason and these things don't always follow logic, I just do not enjoy using this. Some bit sof kit (like the MMT) are just a pleasure to use and it makes you get the most out of them. The EMU PX7 is not one of them. MMT8 - Well this is gem. OK it has no sound engine but to be honest all the others except the RS are not really good enough so you need external sounds anyway. The beauty of the MMT8 is how quick it is. Most functions have their own direct access button on the front panel which makes it very quick to lay track down. Each track has a decicated mute. You even have a deciateds button for assigned which midi channel a track goes out on.. excellent. Memory is a bit limited but there are ways to expand this. Also it has not true linear song tracks in song mode as far as I can tell. Songs are just a list of patterns. BUT even though I have had many of the other newer sequencer and groove boxes, this little baby really is good. I can see what all the fuss is about and can see why many famous live acts have used them for their set. The other thing is despite them being old and getting a bit flakey, they are repairable, most of the parts can be bought off the shelf from electronic suppliers. The sometimes ageing dodgy buttons can usually be fixed one way or another. I plan to buy another. Sorry to ramble... ;-)
          (Mark, Fri 13 Jun 18:45, Reply)
          
          • more,,,,on muting
            In summary they are all quite easy to mute tracks live. The MMT8 is probably easiest, it could not be easier. 8 dedicated mute buttons with an enable light on each. After that probably the EMU as it has dedicated...'ish mute buttons. The MPC, RM1X and RS all require a bit of dupication of buttons opening up to a bit of error on live performance but if your careful they would be fine too. I wud say MPC is next best, then the RS then the RM1X for muting on the fly but the differences are tiny.
            (Mark, Fri 13 Jun 18:55, Reply)
            
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              Yes, I agree about the MMT-8. I think the best rig in the whole world would be an MMT8 and a dedicated standalone rack sampler, such as a 90's Akai or ESI whatever, and a good drum machine - you can pick them all up far cheaper than any of the workstations mentioned above nowadays, and be way more flexible and powerful. Cheers,
              (Graham, Mon 16 Jun 00:32, Reply)
              
              • Fantastic
                Great information folks. I know that mmt-8 makes no tones. I want it only for sequencing. I have it not and I love it! I will control an orbit 9090 v2 and an akai cd3000i with it. I am also programming the mmt-8 with a Triton Extreme using Karma Triton software and I have to tell you, its a dream come true. Thanks for all the tips.
                (Bryan, Wed 18 Jun 16:13, Reply)
                
                • typo
                  ". I have it not and I love it!" I have an mmt-8 now. Black model.
                  (Bryan, Wed 18 Jun 18:06, Reply)
                  
• Record Mode
  Sorry about this, I am a newbie to the MMT8 ;-) Is it possible to change the record mode to overdub. It appears to permanently be in replace mode. I gotta say, I've had this little box for less than a week and what an amazing thing it is. So friendly and enjoyable to use. I wish Alesis had used something more like this in the Fusion.
  (Mark, Fri 6 Jun 12:43, Reply)
  
  • merge
    in a roundabout way you can overdub by recording on a new track and then merge the recording onto some existing track. with a bit of practice this can be a very fast operation.
    (j, Thu 12 Jun 02:57, Reply)
    
    • Thanks
      Thanks for that idea, i hadn't thought of that, but that should suffice for what I need.
      (Mark, Fri 13 Jun 18:50, Reply)
      
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    Unfortunately the MMT8 doesn't do overdub in the same track - it replaces what was written. Cheers,
    (Graham, Tue 10 Jun 00:53, Reply)