AENIMALS GROOVEBOX 2.14 · OPERATING MANUAL
AENIMALS (formerly "JIANT MPC") runs the complete JIANT synthesizer/sequencer firmware (originally for the FM-1) on your MPC Sample: every engine, the sequencer, GEN, the dice, performance FX and all of JIANT's screens. It starts from an SD card, runs only in the MPC's memory (RAM) and installs nothing. Powering the MPC off always brings back the normal MPC Sample.
To install or update, use the installer; sections 1 and 3 below are the by-hand way.
What's new, version by version
NEW IN GROOVEBOX 2.13 (AENIMALS)
- The name: AENIMALS GROOVEBOX for MPC Sample (this package; AENIMALS DAW for
MPC Sample adds audio tracks). The card folder stays JIANT/ (your projects
are where they were).
- The start screen is an OS selector: turn the data wheel to pick AENIMALS
or MPC SAMPLE, push the wheel to start it (PLAY / STOP still work).
- The knobs are calibrated: K1-K3 and the fader (as KNOB 4) put the value
where the knob is. Knob all the way left = the minimum, all the way right =
the maximum, the middle = the middle, however fast you turn. (Before, the
knob was read as turns and JIANT sped fast turns up, so 0 on the knob
stopped anywhere.) A value changed elsewhere (a preset, another page) jumps
to the knob the moment you touch it. Knobs that pick (a step, a slot, a
row) still move one at a time.
- The look follows JIANT's art: colour is heat (indigo, violet, red,
orange, amber, cream, white). Quiet, smooth sound stays cool; loud,
bright sound burns. Every MPC page, board and the margins beside JIANT's
screen stand on drifting creatures that breathe and warm with the music.
The pad boards give each pad a creature that swells when hit; muted
tracks go cold.
NEW IN map v2
- A start screen at power-on (2.13: an OS selector, the wheel picks, its push starts).
- New button map, closer to the MPC's own printed labels (section 7).
- PAD FX held = the FX board on the pads, shown as a 4x4 grid on the screen.
- MUTE held + pads 1-6 = track mutes. NOTE REPEAT held + pads 1-3 = LOOP 3/5/7.
- v2.6: MINUS / PLUS are JIANT's OCT- / OCT+ again (octave, NO / YES, and
every JIANT combination with them). SHIFT + MINUS = UNDO, step after step;
SHIFT + PLUS = REDO. TAP TEMPO taps the tempo, SHIFT + TAP TEMPO = metronome.
Piano pads 14 / 15 are notes now (C#5, D5).
- v2.12: pad 16 is D#5; the HOLD pad is gone (it got in the way).
- v2.11: SHIFT + pad 14 (TIME CORRECT) = QUANTIZE: hold SHIFT, choose the grid with the
wheel (1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32, 1/4T 1/8T 1/16T), push to put the selected
track's notes on it; let SHIFT go and you're back. Section 13.
- v2.10: the SEQ board's pads 12 / 15 / 16 = 1 / 2 / 4 BARS: the track plays
and records that many bars (the one it is now is lit). Section 9.
- v2.9: NOTE REPEAT works like PAD FX: click = the LIVE board stays up, click
again = down (back where you were); hold, play, let go = momentary. PAD FX
and LIVE are one at a time; MUTE / SEQ held show over them.
- v2.8: SEQ held on a SEQ page = the SEQ board (JIANT's [SEQ] TOOLS on the
pads: clear, reverse, shift, copy / paste, the drum lane's tools). Section 9.
- v2.7: the wheel walks the pages on SEQ > STEP again (the roll and the DRUM
grid); the steps are edited with the knobs, as on the FM-1 (section 13).
- v2.4: NOTE REPEAT held = the LIVE board: 16 live sequence modifiers (loops,
rates, reverse, ratchets, thin, return) on any page.
- v2.3: B1 / B2 / B3 from another section open that section's MAIN page (its
first), not the page you last visited.
- v2.2: KNOB FX = the FX edit pages (FX, then LFO); SHIFT + KNOB FX = LFO.
PAD FX = only the FX board: one click and it's up, click again and it's down
(or hold it and play: it goes down when you let go).
- SHIFT + pad 2 / 3 = HALF / DOUBLE SEQ. SHIFT + pad 10 = pattern length and
division. SHIFT + pad 8 = SETTINGS (and QUIT). SHIFT + pad 16 = SAVE.
- v2.1: the speaker no longer pops when JIANT starts or quits; it switches off
with headphones or a line-out cable plugged in (as the normal MPC); the POWER
button works (asks, saves, switches off).Contents
- 1. WHAT IS IN THIS FOLDER
- 2. BEFORE YOU START
- 3. INSTALLING ON THE SD CARD
- 4. STARTING JIANT
- 5. QUITTING JIANT
- 6. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
- 7. THE CONTROLS AT A GLANCE
- 8. THE PADS: PIANO AND STEPS LAYOUTS
- 9. THE BOARDS: FX, MUTE, LIVE, SEQ
- 10. SHIFT FUNCTIONS
- 11. KNOBS, FADER, MAIN VOLUME AND THE DATA WHEEL
- 12. TRACKS (PAD BANK)
- 13. PATTERN LENGTH (BARS) AND DIVISION
- 14. MOVING AROUND JIANT'S PAGES
- 15. JIANT COMBINATIONS ON THE MPC
- 16. SETTINGS AND FADER PAGES
- 17. SAVING YOUR WORK
- 18. THE LIGHTS
- 19. FILES ON THE CARD, AND THE SPEAKER
- 19c. RECORDING CREATURES AND THE ERASER (GROOVEBOX 2.14)
- 20. KNOWN LIMITS / REPORTING BACK
1. WHAT IS IN THIS FOLDER
autorun/ The program. This whole folder goes on the SD card.
autorun.json Tells the MPC to run autorun.sh at power-on.
autorun.sh The start script (RAM only, see section 4).
autorun.check The MPC's own checksum of the two files above.
jiant-mpc JIANT MPC itself (one program, about 6 MB).
jiant-mpc.sha256 Its checksum: the script refuses a damaged copy.
jiant-mpc-autorun.zip The same files, zipped (a spare copy).
JIANT MPC - Install and Operations Manual.txt This file.
Do not edit anything inside autorun/. One changed character and the MPC rejects it.2. BEFORE YOU START
[ ] The MPC Sample is on firmware 1.3.0.12 (SHIFT + pad 8 on the normal MPC shows
"v1.3.0"). On any other version the script does nothing at all.
[ ] Projects you care about are backed up to your computer.
[ ] MAIN VOLUME down the first time; JIANT starts muted until it reads the knob.
[ ] Any SD card the MPC already reads. It does NOT need to be empty. JIANT MPC
only adds two folders: autorun/ and JIANT/.3. INSTALLING ON THE SD CARD
The autorun folder must sit at the TOP of the card (not inside another folder).
Replacing an older version: delete the old autorun folder first (keep JIANT/, it
holds your work).
Card in your Mac (or the MPC in drive mode, which shows the card as a drive):
1. Drag the folder "autorun" from this folder onto the card's top level.
2. Clean the hidden "._" files macOS adds. In Terminal (your card's name):
dot_clean -m "/Volumes/NO NAME/autorun"
3. Eject the card (or leave drive mode on the MPC).
Do NOT double-click the zip onto the card: the folder ends up one level too deep.
Right: /autorun/autorun.json /autorun/autorun.sh /autorun/autorun.check
/autorun/jiant-mpc /autorun/jiant-mpc.sha256 (+ your own folders)4. STARTING JIANT
1. Put the card in and POWER ON the MPC (the start screen appears at power-on;
a card inserted into an already running MPC does not start it).
2. After the MPC's boot, the OS selector shows the AENIMALS word and two
cards:
AENIMALS (GROOVEBOX FOR MPC SAMPLE)
MPC SAMPLE (THE STOCK SYSTEM)
Turn the data wheel to pick one (the picked card glows), then push the
wheel to start it. It waits until you do.
3. AENIMALS: it starts. MPC SAMPLE: the normal MPC Sample comes back (a few
seconds). Shortcut: PLAY starts AENIMALS, STOP the MPC Sample.
4. Turn MAIN VOLUME up slowly.
What the start script does, all in RAM:
- checks the MPC's app is 1.3.0.12, and checks JIANT's own checksum
- copies JIANT into the MPC's memory (/run), never onto internal storage
- pauses the normal MPC app and shows the start screen
- when JIANT ends for ANY reason, writes a log to the card and starts the
normal MPC app again by itself
To use the MPC without the start screen: take the card out, or remove autorun/.5. QUITTING JIANT
SHIFT + pad 8 (SETTINGS) -> turn the wheel (or +) to "QUIT TO MPC SAMPLE" -> PUSH THE WHEEL TWICE (first push: "PUSH AGAIN TO QUIT"). The normal MPC app comes back by itself. SWITCHING OFF: press the POWER button. JIANT asks "POWER OFF?": push the wheel (or press POWER again) to save and switch the MPC off; B3 cancels. Holding POWER down still forces the MPC off, as always.
6. IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
- Frozen, wrong or noisy: POWER THE MPC OFF. JIANT lived only in RAM. Take the
card out if you want the normal MPC straight away.
- If JIANT crashes, the normal MPC app restarts by itself.
- Nothing on the MPC's internal storage is ever changed by JIANT MPC.
- Note what you did (which button, which page) and roughly when; the log on the
card (section 19) has the rest.7. THE CONTROLS AT A GLANCE
MPC control JIANT Notes
----------------------- ---------------------- ------------------------------
SAMPLE HOME hold ~0.7 s = JIANT's MENU
B1 (above the screen) HOME
CHOP EDIT
B2 EDIT
B3 GLO closes our pages too
SEQ SEQ
LOOP ARP
16 LEVELS SCL ("SEL") key / chord; hold = root on pads
KNOB FX FX edit, then LFO TRK BUS DLY REV CHO SLC PCH MST
MOD LFO MSEQ, round
SHIFT + KNOB FX LFO (MOD) straight to the LFO pages
PAD FX click the FX board up/down section 9
PAD FX hold the FX board while held
MUTE hold + pad 1-6 mute / unmute T1-T6 section 9
NOTE REPEAT click the LIVE board up/down section 9
NOTE REPEAT hold the LIVE board while held
SEQ hold + pad the SEQ board (tools) section 9; SEQ pages only
PLAY / STOP PLAY / stop
SEQ RECORD REC
SAMPLE SELECT hold PRESETS + wheel or - / +
MINUS / PLUS OCT- / OCT+ JIANT's octave; NO / YES
SHIFT + MINUS / PLUS UNDO / REDO step after step
TAP TEMPO tap tempo 3 taps; SHIFT: metronome
PAD BANK tracks section 12
Data wheel SELECT pages inside the section
K1 K2 K3 KNOB 1 2 3
SHIFT + K3 KNOB 4
Fader KNOB 4 (assignable) SHIFT + pad 9
MAIN VOLUME master volume only
SHIFT section 10
ERASE the eraser section 19c
Not used yet: pad pressure.
Pads are not velocity sensitive (neither are the FM-1's keys).8. THE PADS: PIANO AND STEPS LAYOUTS
Pad 1 is bottom-left, pad 13 top-left (the numbers printed under the pads).
PIANO (playing):
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| 13 C5 | 14 C#5 | 15 D5 | 16 D#5 | blue = C, light = white keys,
+--------+--------+--------+--------+ dark = black keys,
| 9 G#4 | 10 A4 | 11 A#4 | 12 B4 | orange = sounding
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| 5 E4 | 6 F4 | 7 F#4 | 8 G4 |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| 1 C4 | 2 C#4 | 3 D4 | 4 D#4 |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+
- The names are JIANT's key names ("GLO held + G4" = B3 held + pad 8).
- The octave: MINUS / PLUS (JIANT's OCT- / OCT+). On JIANT's questions
MINUS = NO / back, PLUS = YES / do it.
STEPS (step sequencing, the DRUM grid) = JIANT's 16 white keys = steps 1-16:
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 13 D5 s13 | 14 E5 s14 | 15 F5 s15 | 16 G5 s16 |
| 9 G4 s9 | 10 A4 s10 | 11 B4 s11 | 12 C5 s12 |
| 5 C4 s5 | 6 D4 s6 | 7 E4 s7 | 8 F4 s8 |
| 1 F3 s1 | 2 G3 s2 | 3 A3 s3 | 4 B3 s4 |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
Orange = a step that plays; half = beat markers (DRUM grid); faint = usable.
Which layout: AUTO (default) = STEPS on SEQ > STEP (roll or DRUM grid) in step
mode, PIANO everywhere else. SHIFT + SEQ flips it and keeps it. SETTINGS
(SHIFT + pad 8) > PAD LAYOUT: AUTO / PIANO / STEPS. The strip left of the screen
says PIANO or STEPS.9. THE BOARDS: FX, MUTE, LIVE, SEQ
The pads become a board and the screen shows it as a 4x4 grid (laid out like the
pads). MUTE and SEQ: while held. PAD FX and NOTE REPEAT (the performance
boards): click and the board stays up (both hands free); click again and it goes
down, back to the screen you were on. Or hold it, play, let go: down. One
performance board at a time (clicking the other swaps them); MUTE or SEQ held
shows over it, and it comes back when you let go.
PAD FX: the FX board (JIANT's punch-in effects; each pad: on while held)
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 13 ARP | 14 RANDOM | 15 GLITCH | 16 TRACKS |
| 9 DEC- | 10 DEC+ | 11 STUT8 | 12 STUT16 |
| 5 HPF | 6 OCT+ | 7 OCT- | 8 1/2 TEMPO
| 1 RPT1/8 | 2 RPT1/16| 3 RPT1/32| 4 LPF |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
- RPT = repeat, STUT = stutter, DEC- short / DEC+ long notes.
- TRACKS (pad 16) chooses which tracks the note effects touch: ALL / SYN
(synths) / DRM (drums). The pad is white / blue / red for it.
- K1-K3 + SHIFT+K3 while the board is up: JIANT's FILTER, CRUSH, THROW, DEPTH.
- With SEQ RECORD armed and playing, held note effects record into the
punch-in lane (JIANT's FX > PUNCH page).
MUTE held: pads 1-6 = mute / unmute T1-T6 (green = playing, red = muted).
SHIFT + MUTE = UNMUTE ALL (as printed on the MPC).
NOTE REPEAT (click: up until clicked again): the LIVE board. JIANT's live
sequence modifiers (its GLO > LIVE > MANO page), here on any page. Each is on
while its pad is held;
let go and the tracks are back in phase, where they would have been.
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 13 RATCHx2| 14 RATCHx3| 15 THIN | 16 RETURN |
| 9 /2 | 10 X2 | 11 TRIP3/2| 12 DOT2/3 |
| 5 LOOP 4 | 6 LOOP 2 | 7 LOOP 1 | 8 REV |
| 1 LOOP 3 | 2 LOOP 5 | 3 LOOP 7 | 4 LOOP 8 |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
- LOOP 3 / 5 / 7: every track repeats its last 3, 5 or 7 steps (odd loops
against the 4/4); which tracks: TRACKS on the FX board (pad 16).
- LOOP 8 / 4 / 2 / 1: the 8, 4, 2 or 1 steps the playhead is in (the
shortest held wins). REV: backwards. /2, X2, TRIP 3/2, DOT 2/3: the rate.
RATCH X2 / X3: every step repeated. THIN: half the steps play.
RETURN: every modifier off, back on the ghost (also undoes latched ones).
- Pads 4-16 act on the tracks LIVE's PISTAS picks (GLO > LIVE > RIELES,
KNOB 1; ALL by default). On JIANT's MANO page (B3, GLO's first page) the
same modifiers are on its own keys, with latch, rotation and RND.
- Nothing here is saved: like JIANT's punch-in FX, it's performance.
SEQ held (on the SEQ pages: STEP, the DRUM grid, PATTERN, CHANCE, AUTO ...):
the SEQ board, JIANT's [SEQ] TOOLS. They work on the selected track's steps
1..LEN. Tap SEQ alone and it still goes to the next SEQ page.
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 13 LANE < | 14 LANE > | 15 2 BARS | 16 4 BARS |
| 9 LANE | 10 LANE | 11 LANE | 12 1 BAR |
| CLEAR | REVERSE| FILL | |
| 5 COPY | 6 PASTE | 7 CLR | 8 CLR |
| SEQ | SEQ | STEP | AUTO |
| 1 CLEAR | 2 REVERSE| 3 SHIFT <| 4 SHIFT >|
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
- CLEAR: every step. REVERSE: backwards. SHIFT < / >: the whole pattern one
step earlier / later (it wraps round).
- COPY SEQ / PASTE SEQ: the track's sequence, to paste on another track
(let SEQ go, pick the track with PAD BANK + pad N, hold SEQ, PASTE).
- CLR STEP: the step at the cursor. CLR AUTO: the track's automation and
parameter locks (the notes stay).
- Pads 9-14 are for DRUM tracks (dark on a synth track): LANE < / > picks
the drum sound (shown top right: LANE: BD, SD ...), then LANE CLEAR,
LANE REVERSE, LANE FILL (each press: every step, every 2nd, every 4th,
off) work on that sound only.
- 1 BAR / 2 BARS / 4 BARS: the selected track plays (and records into) that
many bars. At the default DIV 1/16 that is 16 / 32 / 64 steps; at 1/8 the
same pads give 8 / 16 / 32 steps. The pad of the length the track is now
is lit. Steps past the end are kept (go back to 4 BARS and they are there);
to copy the music into the new bars use DOUBLE SEQ (SHIFT + pad 3) instead.
At 1/32, 4 BARS would be 128 steps: "TOO LONG AT THIS DIV". Other lengths
(3 bars, odd steps): K1 (LEN) while SEQ is held.
- SEQ held + SEQ RECORD = CLEAR ALL (every track's sequence; JIANT asks).
- SEQ held + wheel = JIANT's sequence dice. K1-K3 + SHIFT+K3 while held:
the PATTERN page's LEN DIV SWING GATE.
- No undo inside JIANT for these, but SHIFT + MINUS (our UNDO) brings the
steps back.10. SHIFT FUNCTIONS
SHIFT + ... Stock label In JIANT MPC
---------------- ----------------- -----------------------------------------
pad 2 HALF SEQ halve the selected track's pattern
pad 3 DOUBLE SEQ double it (the steps copied after itself)
pad 8 MIDI CONFIG SETTINGS page: pad layout, QUIT
pad 9 FADER FADER page: what the fader controls
pad 10 REC QUANTIZE SEQ > PATTERN: LEN, DIV, SWING, GATE;
again: SEQ > TRACK (REC Q)
pad 14 TIME CORRECT QUANTIZE: keep SHIFT held, wheel = grid,
push = do it, let SHIFT go = back (13)
pad 15 WARP ENV
pad 16 PROJECT SAVE (hold it: JIANT's SAVE layer)
SAMPLE SELECT SAVE SAMPLE SAVE
MUTE UNMUTE ALL unmute every track
SEQ STEP EDIT flip the pad layout
MINUS / PLUS UNDO / REDO UNDO: the last change, again: the one
before (up to 32); REDO: forward again
TAP TEMPO METRO the metronome (JIANT's CLICK) ON / OFF
PLAY CONTINUE PLAY
K3 - KNOB 4
everything else (stock labels) nothing yet
While SHIFT is held the strip right of the screen says SHIFT / K3=K4.11. KNOBS, FADER, MAIN VOLUME AND THE DATA WHEEL
K1 K2 K3 KNOB 1, 2, 3: the cards on the screen, left to right. Absolute:
the value is where the knob is (left = minimum, right =
maximum). Pick knobs (a step, a slot) move one at a time.
SHIFT + K3 KNOB 4 (the fourth card).
Fader KNOB 4 by default; SHIFT + pad 9: KNOB 4, MOD WHEEL (CC1),
EXPRESSION (CC11) or PITCH BEND (the middle = no bend).
MAIN VOLUME master volume, nothing else.
Data wheel SELECT: the pages inside the section you're in.
MINUS / PLUS JIANT's OCT- / OCT+ (the octave; NO / YES on its questions;
with SAVE held: recall / store the section; JIANT's MENU: value).
TAP TEMPO tap it three times or more: the tempo (JIANT's internal clock).
SHIFT + TAP TEMPO: the metronome on / off.
The MPC's knobs are pots with end stops; JIANT MPC sends their MOVEMENT, so
nothing jumps between pages. If a pot hits its stop, turn back and go again.12. TRACKS (PAD BANK)
PAD BANK tap next track (T1 -> T2 -> ... -> T1) PAD BANK held + pad N track N (no notes play while PAD BANK is held) Bank lights A-F the selected track JIANT starts with 4 tracks (as the FM-1). For 6: B3 (GLO) -> SYSTEM -> TRACKS 6.
13. PATTERN LENGTH (BARS) AND DIVISION
Each JIANT track has its own pattern of up to 64 steps = 4 bars of 1/16.
- SEQ held + pad 12 / 15 / 16: 1 / 2 / 4 BARS straight away (section 9).
- SHIFT + pad 3 (DOUBLE SEQ): 16 -> 32 -> 64 steps; the bars are copied, so the
beat carries on and you build on it. SHIFT + pad 2 (HALF SEQ) halves it.
Both can be undone (SHIFT + MINUS).
- SHIFT + pad 10: SEQ > PATTERN with K1 LEN (steps), K2 DIV (1/16, 1/8 ...),
K3 SWING, SHIFT+K3 GATE. SHIFT + pad 10 again: SEQ > TRACK with REC Q.
- Longer songs: store patterns into sections and chain them in SAVE > ARRANGE.
QUANTIZE / TIME CORRECT (fix a take that's off time): SHIFT + pad 14
1. Hold SHIFT, tap pad 14: the QUANTIZE window (keep SHIFT held).
2. Turn the wheel to the grid: 1/4 1/8 1/16 1/32 (left), 1/4T 1/8T 1/16T
(triplets, right). It opens on the one you used last.
3. Push the wheel: the selected track's notes / hits (steps 1..LEN) move to
the nearest point of that grid. "DONE: n NOTES MOVED". Push again with
another grid if you like; PLAY works here so you can listen.
As on the stock TIME CORRECT: B3 = Do It!, B1 = Cancel.
4. Let SHIFT go (or B1): back on the screen you were on.
- Example: a 4/4 kick recorded a 16th late on the 3rd hit: QUANTIZE 1/4
puts every hit back on the beat.
- Live recording already lands on the nearest step (REC Q 100 %); QUANTIZE
pulls those steps onto a coarser grid, and clears the MICRO timing of
takes recorded with REC Q under 100 %. Triplet grids use MICRO to place
notes between the steps.
- A note's ties and parameter locks move with it; two notes landing on the
same step become one step (both hits, up to 4 notes).
- SHIFT + MINUS undoes it.
WRITING STEPS (SEQ > STEP: tap SEQ until the STEP tab is lit)
The pads are the 16 steps (STEPS layout): a pad toggles that step. The knobs
edit the step at the cursor, as JIANT's knobs do on the FM-1:
DRUM grid piano roll (synths)
K1 STEP (cursor left / right) STEP (cursor left / right)
K2 LANE (BD SD CP ... up / down) NOTE (transposes the step)
K3 HIT (on / off, x2 x4 x8, TIME (REST <- TIE <- NOTE ->
SHORT GHOST FLAM) longer; NOTE on an empty step
writes a note)
SHIFT + K3 ACC (accent) VEL (velocity, accent, slide)
The wheel walks the pages (STEP -> NOTE ...); SEQ taps go to the next group.
Step recording: arm SEQ RECORD while stopped and play the notes / chords.14. MOVING AROUND JIANT'S PAGES
1. Tap a section button (section 7) to go there; tap again for its next group.
B1 (HOME), B2 (EDIT), B3 (GLO) from another section open its MAIN page: HOME's
ECO, EDIT's first page, GLO's LIVE (MANO). Held (or with another control used
while down) they are JIANT's button held: its layer (B3 held + wheel = tempo).
SAMPLE (HOME) and CHOP (EDIT) keep JIANT's way: the page you last visited.
The FX edit pages are on KNOB FX (FX's, then LFO's); SHIFT + KNOB FX = LFO.
2. The wheel walks the pages inside that group.
3. K1-K3 (+ SHIFT+K3 / fader) change the four values shown.
4. SAMPLE SELECT held + wheel (or - / +): presets of the selected track (on SEQ
pages the patterns, on GEN the genre).
JIANT's MENU: hold SAMPLE ~0.7 s. Wheel = rows, knobs or MINUS / PLUS (OCT- /
OCT+) = value, tap SAMPLE to close and save.15. JIANT COMBINATIONS ON THE MPC
JIANT (FM-1) On the MPC Does
------------------------- ---------------------------------- ----------------------
HOME held + SELECT SAMPLE (or B1) held + wheel GEN, the song generator
EDIT held + SELECT CHOP (or B2) held + wheel sound dice
SEQ held + SELECT SEQ held + wheel sequence dice
FX held + SELECT (not mapped in v2.2) FX dice
GLO held + SELECT B3 held + wheel tempo
GLO held + PLAY B3 held + PLAY restart from the top
GLO held + G4 B3 held + pad 8 JIANT's own UNDO (again: redo)
(JIANT MPC) SHIFT + MINUS / SHIFT + PLUS UNDO / REDO, many steps
SEQ held + REC SEQ held + SEQ RECORD CLEAR ALL SEQUENCES?
REC held + a section SEQ RECORD held + that button clear that automation
SAVE held + OCT+ / OCT- SHIFT+pad 16, let SHIFT go, keep store / recall the section
pad 16 held, PLUS / MINUS
SAVE held + C5 (as above) + pad 13 NAME
SEQ held + G5 SEQ held + pad 7 (the SEQ board) clear the cursor step
A step held + KNOB 1-4 a step pad held + K1-K3/SHIFT+K3 parameter lock
Step keys held + SELECT step pads held + wheel copy those steps
A step key + REC a step pad + SEQ RECORD paste from that step
Full JIANT manual: https://github.com/juanjiant-bit/JIANT -> docs/MANUAL.md16. SETTINGS AND FADER PAGES
Our own pages, over the whole screen; music keeps playing.
Wheel or - / + move | push the wheel: choose | B3 or the same SHIFT+pad: close
SETTINGS (SHIFT + pad 8): PAD LAYOUT (push: AUTO -> PIANO -> STEPS)
QUIT TO MPC SAMPLE (push twice)
FADER (SHIFT + pad 9): KNOB 4 / MOD WHEEL / EXPRESSION / PITCH BEND
Both are remembered on the card (JIANT/jiant-mpc.cfg).17. SAVING YOUR WORK
JIANT saves exactly as on the FM-1; JIANT MPC keeps JIANT's whole memory on
your card, so what JIANT saves is there next time.
- Projects, sounds, presets: SAVE (SHIFT + pad 16), tap on for SOUND ->
PROJECT -> LIBRARY; PLUS (OCT+) = do it.
- Resume where you left off: JIANT's MENU (hold SAMPLE) > SYSTEM > RESTORE
LAST = ON (OFF by default, as on the FM-1).
Keep the card in while JIANT runs.18. THE LIGHTS
Pads PIANO / STEPS colours (section 8); the boards' colours (9) PLAY lit while playing SEQ, PAD FX, LOOP, 16 LEVELS, SAMPLE, CHOP, SEQ RECORD JIANT's light for it SHIFT, MUTE, NOTE REPEAT, SAMPLE SELECT, PAD BANK lit while held MINUS / PLUS JIANT's OCT- / OCT+ lights (lit: the octave moved) Bank A-F the selected track Strips beside the screen: PIANO / STEPS (left); SHIFT, K3=K4 (right) All dark when JIANT quits; the normal MPC then sets its own.
19. FILES ON THE CARD, AND THE SPEAKER
JIANT/jiant-flash.bin (+ .bak) JIANT's memory: projects, sounds, settings.
JIANT/jiant-mpc.cfg JIANT MPC's settings (pad layout, fader).
JIANT/last-session.log the last session: start, audio timing, errors,
the audio controls, how it ended.
Fresh start: delete JIANT/. Remove JIANT MPC: delete autorun/.
The speaker and the jacks (as the normal MPC):
- The built-in speaker plays when nothing is plugged into PHONES or the line
outputs; plug in headphones or a line-out cable and it switches off, unplug and
it comes back. If you switched the speaker off in the normal MPC, it stays off.
- No pops: the speaker is switched off before the normal MPC app's sound stops,
and on only after JIANT's sound runs (faded in); on quit and power off it is
faded out and switched off first, then handed back to the normal MPC.19c. RECORDING CREATURES AND THE ERASER (GROOVEBOX 2.14)
RECORDING: while you record (SEQ RECORD armed and playing), the two side bars
flush red and red creatures float up through them, with REC pulsing at the
bottom left. Stop and they swell, thin out and fade.
ERASE (hold it). Every erase can be undone with SHIFT + MINUS.
ERASE + turn a knob that knob's recorded automation (and step locks) on
the selected track goes -- on the page where you
recorded it. The value doesn't move. (Not the FX
layer's macros or HOME's macros.) SHIFT + K3 / the
fader as KNOB 4 work the same.
ERASE + KNOB FX all the recorded FX automation of the track (the FX
pages' parameters).
ERASE + PAD FX everything recorded from the PAD FX board (JIANT's
punch-in lane; it's one lane for the whole song).
ERASE + PAD BANK the CLEAR TRACK board: pads 1-6 = the tracks, with
their engine and sound (EMPTY if nothing's there).
Tap = pick (red, TAP AGAIN), tap again = the track's
whole sequence goes (notes, hits, automation); its
sound stays. ERASE or B1 closes it.
ERASE + a pad nothing (a reminder on the screen); pads don't play
while ERASE is held.20. KNOWN LIMITS / REPORTING BACK
- The speaker / jack behaviour follows the normal MPC as far as we know it;
report anything different.
- The start screen only appears at power-on (with the card in).
- The Mic/Speaker button on the MPC isn't used by JIANT yet.
- No sampling: JIANT MPC is JIANT. Sampling is in the normal MPC app.
- Pads not velocity / pressure sensitive yet.
- JIANT's LFO MACRO layer (hold LFO) and ALGORITHM's layer views aren't mapped.
- "Granular delay" on 1/2 TEMPO isn't in JIANT (new DSP, a later step).
- USB MIDI, the MIDI
jacks and USB audio are not connected to JIANT yet.
After a session, send JIANT/last-session.log and what you noticed.
JIANT: (c) Leo Kuroshita / Hugelton Instruments and juanjiant-bit, GPL-3.0.
JIANT MPC: GPL-3.0. Not affiliated with Akai Professional or inMusic Brands.