In a nutshell, I have created a sequence and have it looping while I play with some samples over the top. When playing patterns over the top, it appears to be affecting the playback of other samples in the sequence.

More often than not, by pressing a pad to trigger a sample it is causing another sample in the sequence to end prematurely. Also, when holding down a pad the assigned sample only plays for 1 bar and then cuts out.

Here is a YouTube video of my problem

The set-up:
- 8 Bar loop.
- Six tracks.
- Default programs in memory.
- Loaded Strings (mono) program.
- Loaded program of mono samples from a TV show I’ve sampled.
- Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Muted.
- No effects applied to any samples.

Explanation:
- 00:03 – Track 1 playing. Low strings.
- 00:19 – Un-mute track 2. Drums.
- 00:36 – Un-mute track 3. Unknown, could be empty!
- 00:52 – Un-mute track 4. Synth?
- 01:07 – Un-mute track 5. High strings.
- 01:24 – Un-mute track 6. Voice.
- 01:40 – Load strings into track 7.
- 01:47 – Demonstration of sample not playing to end.
- 02:10 – Playing pattern with strings, voice sample play to end.
- 02:20 – Playing pattern with strings, voice (track 6) sample cuts out.
- 02:35 – Playing pattern with strings, voice (track 6) sample cuts out.
- 03:03 – Demonstration of sample not playing to end.
- 03:14 – Stop loop, show full length of string sample.
- 03:22 – Start loop. Demonstration of sample not playing to end.
- 03:40 – Playing pattern with strings, low strings (track 1) not playing to end.
- 03:55 – Select program with voice samples.
- 04:17 – Demonstration of voice (track 6) sample cutting out.
- 04:25 – Stop loop and show full length of voice sample.

There’s quite a bit of unnecessary bits in the video and explanation, but I tried to capture as much of the problem as bearable.

I have updated the firmware from 1.10 to 1.13, which didn’t fix the problem.

Is this a hardware or software limitation? Is it likely to be fixed in a later firmware update, or can the audio processors only handle a certain amount?

I have dropped Akai Pro an e-mail explaining the above hoping that they can offer an explanation and/or fix.

For this little project I had to pick a few things up from Maplin, I used their website in the end as all of the bits I was after were unavailable in my local store. First of all I’d need a project box to house all of the components, they didn’t exactly have a huge range of suitable enclosures but I found a fairly good die-cast aluminium one that measured 145 x 95 x 45mm that fit the bill, its Maplin part number is N92BQ. I also need a couple of 1/4″ stereo sockets and some heavy duty momentary foot switches, part numbers HF93 and N92AP respectively. Those parts came to about £25 delivered, I already had the required wire and tools knocking around.

First up we’re going to have to decide how we want our switches positioned on the top of the box, it’s probably worth taking both usability and aesthetics into consideration. I chose a staggered configuration which would give me fairly easy access to all four switches and give adequate space for labeling each switch. This is also a good time to decide where we want to position our stereo sockets.

I guess this is a good time to point out that it isn’t totally necessary to go the stereo socket route, I chose to do it this way so that I have the flexibility to use different lengths of cable depending on what I’m plugging the footswitch into. I decided to put my sockets in the face furthest away – if you’re planning on putting a switch close-by, check the clearance, I had a lucky escape on that one! So, mark it all up and drill! The switches I used required a 12mm hole and I found that my project box was a bit inconsistent in its hardness!

Now we’re going to want to mount the switches in their holes, give them a good tighten with some pliers as they have a habit of coming loose when not tightened properly – But don’t over tighten them otherwise you’ll strip the thread. By mounting the switches this early on it gives us a good sturdy platform for soldering the wires onto the switch terminals. When cutting our lengths of wire it’s a good idea to build in a nice bit of slack so that we have the freedom of changing the positions of the switches at a later date.

Strip, tin and solder one end of each of your lengths of wire to each switch terminal. For those not down with the jargon, tinning is the process of coating the exposed wire and terminals with solder, this makes it easier to solder the wire to its terminal. You might find it a lot easier by fashioning a hook with your exposed and tinned wire and then hooking it onto the terminal before soldering.

Next we’re going to want to solder the other ends of those wires to the stereo sockets, each stereo socket will accommodate two switches. To avoid the requirement for a third-hand, I mounted the sockets on the outside of the box to keep them in place while soldering. Take one of the wires from each of the two switches that you want to associate with the first socket, these two wires will both be soldered to the ground tab of the stereo socket. The ground tab will be the one that is a part of the same piece of metal that touches the largest part of the stereo plug when it is in its socket, you might find it easier to identify by plugging in a 1/4″ jack and following the bit of metal to its tab. Before soldering, twist the two wires together, tin it and use the hook technique to make the process easier. You’ll now be left with one wire free on each of your two switches – Solder one to the tab that traces back to the tip of the stereo jack, and the second to the tab that traces back to the small section of the shaft. Repeat on the other two switches for the second socket.

We can now mount the stereo sockets in the inside of the box and tighten them in the same fashion as you did the switches. Bunch up the wiring so that it fits comfortably inside the box, not obstructing the stereo sockets or in a position where it will get trapped between the lid and the rest of the box. Screw the lid down and go test it out! If your switches aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing, double check all of your wiring making sure that your solder joints are good and solid, also check that nothing is being shorted out.

At this point, feel free to paint the box if you wish – I don’t think I’m going to bother, I quite like the industrial look which I am going to finish off with some labeling done with one of those sticky strip letter puncher-outer things if I can find one, I remember having a couple of them knocking around somewhere.

It’s worth pointing out that I kinda cocked up a bit in this process – I didn’t really do any research on the VFS-2 that I was looking to replace, after testing my switch out on my amp, I realised I should have bought latching switches instead of momentary ones. Unfortunately, latching switches tend to be both more expensive and deeper so they would only fit in the foremost positions where I wanted them in the rear. Luckily, my Boss GT-8 has amp control functionality and the ability to connect two external switches, so my GT-8 now controls my amp channel switching and has two extra assignable switches and my RC-2 now has bank switching and single-tap stopping. So, even better than what I first set out to achieve!

GW5_MOST_100.ZIP
GW5_MOST_104.ZIP
GW5_MOST_105.ZIP
GW5_MOST_202.ZIP
GW5_MOST_203.ZIP
GW5_MOST_205.ZIP

The above firmwares are for the MOST based version of the Gateway 500, i.e. Porsche, not the D2B version that is used in Mercedes cars. Installation is as follows:

Extract the G5_B_UPD.ROM file from the update package and copy to the root of an USB flash drive, then connect the USB drive to the Gateway 500 while it is powered. If there is an iPod connected to the Gateway you can leave as it is in any playback mode or status, do not need to disconnect or stop playback.

Update procedure will start automatically within few seconds and takes cca. 1.5 minute. Do not disconnect the USB drive within this time.
After a successful update G5_B_UPD.ROM is deleted from the USB drive and GW.EES.BIN file will appear with the new software version. If an iPod is connected during the update the iPod screen will light for the second time when the upgrade is completed and the new firmware version appears on the right upper corner of the screen.

When finished, it is better to restart the Head Unit and the Gateway 500.

I purchased two of the above, one for my Porsche Boxster 986 with a CDR23, and the other for my Dads Porsche Boxster 987 with a CDR24 – The installation on the CDR24 went smoothly and is working, though I was having some issues trying to get it working with the CDR23.

The Set-up
On the MOST bus with the CDR23 is a CDC4 6-disc multi changer and an amplifier. The Gateway 500 has been installed after the CDR23 unit. I have had to use an adapter as the car has the Yazaki plugs on the fiber optic leads instead of the Tyco ones that 90% of Porsches have.

The Problems
What was happening, was, in bypass mode everything works normally as it should. When switching over to the Gateway 500 mode, the CDR23 appears to lock up in whatever mode it was previously in before resetting the MOST bus. So, if the CDR23 was playing the single CD in the unit in bypass mode, when resetting in Gateway 500 mode, the CDR23 is stuck in CDS mode, still playing the CD, but the unit appears to be unresponsive to any button presses.

When switched to Gateway 500 mode, the connected iPod goes through the
motions of detecting the the Gateway 500 with the tick symbol, followed by the driving safety message and firmware indication screen and then reverts back to the iPods main navigation screen where I can browse and use the iPod as though it wasn’t plugged in. When switching to bypass mode, the iPod displays the Dension logo on the screen.

When in CD Changer mode before setting the Gateway 500 to iPod mode, the CDR23 still plays whatever CD was playing in the changer, sometimes I can even change the CD, although to start with the CDR23 reports that CD Zero is selected…

Sometimes when the CDR23 becomes unresponsive, if left for a while, the word “ERROR” appears on the screen.

As I have two of the units, I could confirm that they both worked fine in the 987 with the CDR24, so I can only assume that the Gateway 500 is not faulty. The Gateway 500 was delivered with firmware version 1.05 on it, I have since downgraded to both 1.04 and 1.00 and back to 1.05, none of them having any effect on the situation. The DIP switches are currently set to 0001 although when downgrading to the 1.00 firmware I set the switches to 0110 based on an old manual I found.

Diagnosis
Based on the fact that bypass mode worked fine, I can assume the fiber optic cables are fine otherwise the MOST bus would fail to function, power cables and the ext. switch are fine. And that the iPod detects the Gateway when switched over, the iPod cable appears to be ok.

After plenty of messing around with all of the components on the MOST bus, disconnecting things, moving things around, flashing firmwares, resetting the MOST bus after each change – It turned out that having both the Dension Gateway 500 and the CDC4 (CD Changer) was causing the issues, what with the Gateway 500 emulating a CD Changer.

The CDR23 is at the head of the MOST bus and is programmed to know everything on the bus and its location on the bus. When the Gateway 500 had its bypass mode switched off it was not disabling the CDC4 so that the CDR23 was then seeing two CD changers, didn’t know what to do, so crashed.

I’m not sure where the underlying issue is, though I’m assuming it is a firmware bug. Dension technical support was useless in the fact that they never responded to the three support tickets that I submitted. No response from the UK distributer neither.

I don’t have the benefit of the CDC4 any more, but with the 30GB iPod hooked up, I’m sure I’ll be fine! (The USB socket is also good for playing MP3 files stored on a removable storage device)