Retroaktiv MPG-70 User manual

OWNER’S MANUAL
For mkI, mkII, and mkIII Firmware 3.0+

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
2
• MPG-70 allows full integration of JX-8P, MKS-
70, and Super JX synthesizers into modern DAW
setups. The controller acts as a brand new
operating system for the synth, giving users full
control over automation, object storage, and
layering.
• Store any tone, patch, or setup with a single
press of a buon. We’ve eliminated the TONE/
TONE/PATCH architecture found on the original
MKS-70/SJX. Now you can save your sounds
quickly without the hassle of linking tones with
the patch menu.
• Multi-unit Poly Mode allows users who own two
of the same synthesizer (And it can be any synth,
not just a JX!) to daisy chain them and double
the polyphony. This will turn 2 MKS-70s into a
24-voice polyphonic synth!
• Any parameter on the synth can now be
controlled using any CC, an expression pedal, or
aeouch. The poweul ASSIGN modulation
matrix found on all Retroaktiv controllers lets
users create custom complex modulation
seings in seconds flat. Want the filter to sweep
from 50% to 60% while the resonance sweeps
from 40% to 0? MPG-70 has you covered!
• Create an INIT tone at any time from the front
panel. No more wasted time “zeroing” all of the
panel parameters. One buon press and a new
tone is initialized and ready for you to create!
• MPG-70 allows full integration of JX-8P, MKS-
70, and Super JX synthesizers into modern DAW
setups. The controller acts as a brand new
operating system for the synth, giving users full
control over automation, object storage, and
layering.
• MPG-70 can speak 11 different synth protocols,
which allows it to communicate with any stock
or Vecoven synth using CC’s, sysex, or PG-800
communication protocol. Stored MPG-70 patches
will work across all models!
• MPG-70 can upload and download banks and
individual patches from any compatible synth,
allowing easy transfer of objects to and from the
MPG-70’s internal memory banks.
• MPG-70 has a full featured patch generator,
which can generate gorgeous patches of many
different types. Users can choose from basses,
pads, polysynths, strings, brass, bells, pianos, and
organs, and the MPG-70 will never generate the
same patch twice. The patch generator can
also intelligently layer UPPER and LOWER voice
boards, to generate even more sophisticated
sounds if being used with a Super JX or MKS-70.
• All patch and tone parameters are immediately
accessible from the front panel, without any
menu diving.
• Control combinations of any 2 JX-8P, MKS-70, or
Super JX units independently. The states of both
synths can be stored as a SETUP, allowing users to
create large multitimbral textures.
• MPG-70 memory can be backed up directly to
a computer, which eliminates the need to use
external librarians to backup your objects.
• MPG-70 can be easily updated via MIDI whever
Retroaktiv issues a new soware update with new
features.
• OLED screen displays critical information such
as waveforms and envelope shapes, and allows
users to easily navigate the menu system
FEATURES

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
3
17
ASSIGNABLE CONTROLLER A & B
16 ASSIGN BUTTON
15 MIDI BUTTON
14 MAIN BUTTON
13 WRITE BUTTON
12 PATCH GENERATOR BUTTON
11 ENTER BUTTON
5POWER INDICATOR
6UPPER/LOWER
BUTTON
8
CURSOR LEFT
BUTTON
7
DATA ENTRY
ENCODER
9
CURSOR RIGHT
BUTTON
10 OLED DISPLAY
1
6-PIN DIN
DATA/POWER CABLE
2MIDI OUT
3MIDI IN
4ASSIGNABLE
EXPRESSION PEDAL
PANEL DESCRIPTION:

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
4
FRONT PANELFRONT PANEL
OLED DISPLAYOLED DISPLAY
The OLED display presents information about the
operation being peormed.
SECOND FUNCTIONS (PATCH)SECOND FUNCTIONS (PATCH)
The second functions are labeled on the front panel
in blue, underneath the control used to access them.
To access a second function, hold SHIFT while using
the control. All patch menu functions (In blue under
rotary pots) are accessed by holding SHIFT and
moving the pot.
UPPER & LOWER BUTTONUPPER & LOWER BUTTON
Use this buon to select which layer is being edited.
UPPER and LOWER LEDs indicate which layer is
currently selected.
CTRL A & CTRL BCTRL A & CTRL B
These knobs control ASSIGN A and ASSIGN B, which
cab be used to control combinations of different
parameters as specified by the user. See the ASSIGN
section in the manual for more details.
MENU NAVIGATION BUTTONSMENU NAVIGATION BUTTONS
The menu navigation buons are used to select
editor pages in the MPG-70. The [LEFT] and [RIGHT]
buons are used to move the cursor in the menu
pages.
The [ENTER] buon is used to execute a variety of
operations within a menu.
[MIDI], [PATCHGEN], [MAIN], and [ASSIGN] buons
are used to navigate to their respective menu
pages.
JACKS & POWERJACKS & POWER
The MPG-70 is powered via the 6-pin PG-800 jack.
Use the included 6P DIN cable with the synth or a
Retroaktiv wall supply to power MPG-70. MIDI pos
and expression pedal jacks are located on the rear
panel.
ENCODER/SHIFTENCODER/SHIFT
The black encoder knob located directly under
the OLED is used to modify values of the currently
selected parameter. If you hold down the encoder
[SHIFT], parameter values will change by larger
increments.

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
5
QUICK STARTQUICK START
To begin using your MPG-70, the seings on the MPG-70 and the synth must be correct. If incorrect
seings are used, then the synth will not respond to data from MPG-70. For the best user experience, we
recommend using MIDI to edit the synth, and not PG-800, as PG-800 protocol does not allow editing of PATCH
MENU parameters or UPPER/LOWER selection. The simplest setup is shown below. Using this scheme, a
MIDI keyboard sends note data to the MPG-70, which then gets routed to the synth, along with any MPG-70
controller data.
MKS-70
MIDI IN
MIDI CONTROLLER OR DAW
To begin making sound, let’s sta by creating a basic setup. Press the [MIDI] buon on MPG-70 and set the
MPG-70 MIDI seings as shown below. Note that the U1 protocol must me set according to the synth being
used. Refer to the diagram on the next page for the correct protocol seing for each synth type. Using the
seings below, the synth must be set to receive SYSEX and the synth’s MIDI channel must be set to channel 1.
Basic MIDI menu seings on the MPG-70
Basic MIDI configuration

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
6
An alternative connection scheme involves a MIDI MERGER unit. This allows for bidirectional communication
between the synth and the MPG-70 (For exchanging objects like PATCHES, TONES, and BANKS). If using a MIDI
MERGER, use the scheme pictured below.
MKS-70
MIDI IN
MIDI CONTROLLER OR DAW
MIDI MERGER
MIDI IN MIDI IN
MIDI OUT
MIDI OUT
COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLSCOMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS
In the MPG-70 MIDI Seings menus, the U1 and U2 seings must correspond to the synth being controlled.
Incorrect seings here will result in no response from the synth when being edited. The 11 MPG-70 protocols
are listed below.
SJX Sysex - Sysex protocol Super JX and MKS-70 synthesizers
JX-8P Sysex - Sysex protocol stock JX-8P synthesizers
SJX/JX-8P PG-800 - PG-800 protocol for stock JX-8P, MKS-70 and Super JX synthesizers
Vecoven SJX Sysex - Sysex protocol for Vecoven 3.x Super JX and MKS-70 synthesizers
Vecoven SJX PWM Sysex - Sysex protocol for Vecoven 4.x Super JX and MKS-70 synthesizers with PWM
Vecoven JX-8P Sysex - Sysex protocol for Vecoven 5.x JX-8P synthesizers
Vecoven JX-8P PWM Sysex - Sysex protocol for Vecoven 6.x JX-8P synthesizers with PWM
Vecoven SJX PG-800 - PG-800 protocol for synthesizers with Vecoven 3.x
Vecoven SJX PWM PG-800 - PG-800 protocol for synthesizers with Vecoven 4.x with PWM
Vecoven JX-8P PG-800 - PG-800 protocol for Vecoven 5.x JX-8P synthesizers
Vecoven JX-8P PWM PG-800 - PG-800 protocol for Vecoven 6.x JX-8P PWM synthesizers
USING THE INCORRECT PG-800 PROTOCOL WITH YOUR SYNTH CAN RESULT IN THE SYNTH MEMORY BEING ERASED.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE USING THE CORRECT COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL WITH YOUR SYNTH!

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
7
SETTINGS ON THE SYNTHESIZERSETTINGS ON THE SYNTHESIZER
The seings on the synth’s MIDI menu must be correct for communication to work. For a SUPER JX or MKS-70,
the MIDI UPPER and LOWER channels should be the same, and must correspond to the channel seings on
MPG-70. SYSEX IPR and SYSEX APR must be turned ON. On Vecoven modified units, the communication
protocols for PG-800 (if used) and SYSEX (if used) must be activated.
FIRMWARE VERSION & MEMORY CARDFIRMWARE VERSION & MEMORY CARD
upon powering up the MPG-70, a splash screen will be displayed on the OLED. This splash screen will first
display the firmware version currently running on MPG-70, and if a memory card is present, will display the
status of the memory card.
If there is an issue with the memory card, the unit will boot with a message indicating the problem, and will
give an error code. If this happens, please contact Retroaktiv for the error code diagnosis.
If using PG-800 protocol with a Vecoven PWM modified synth, the MPG-70 must handshake with the synth
during the boot process. The splash screen will remain on the display until a successful handshake occurs,
or the operation times out. If there is a time-out, then all extra Vecoven parameters, such as extra LFOs and
ENVs will not respond.
MPG-70 Splash Screen with firmware version
Memory Expansion OK indicates presence of a memory card

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
8
MENUS AND NAVIGATIONMENUS AND NAVIGATION
When MPG-70 boots up, it will display the MAIN menu screen. The diagram below shows the contents displayed
on the MAIN screen.
MPG-70 Navigation Console
MPG-70 MAIN Screen
The MAIN screen displays the following information:
1 - Current active parameter name and value
2 - Unit 1 Active Layers (U, L, or U+L if UPPER and LOWER layers are both selected)
3 - Unit 2 Active Layers (U, L, or U+L if UPPER and LOWER layers are both selected)
4 - MIDI Input Monitor - Displays channel of incoming MIDI activity received at MPG-70 MIDI IN po.
To return to the MAIN screen at any time, press the [MAIN] buon in the navigation console.
The encoder and arrow buons are used to navigate menus and change seings. The SHIFT function refers
to the switch on the encoder knob. To engage the SHIFT function (used for double-buon combos such as
SHIFT+MIDI buon = MIDI Panic), press and hold the encoder knob. To increment a value with the encoder,
simply turn the encoder knob. To increment or decrement by 8, hold the SHIFT buon in while turning the
encoder.
Use the [MIDI], [PATCHGEN], [ASSIGN], and [MAIN] buons to navigate to the different menu pages. To move
the cursor on a menu page, use the [LEFT] and [RIGHT] buons. To change the value of a highlighted menu
seing, use the [ENCODER] dial.

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
9
THE FREEZE FUNCTIONTHE FREEZE FUNCTION
Pressing WRITE from the MAIN screen will enable the “FREEZE” function on MPG-70. When FREEZE is enabled,
a message will be displayed “Freeze : WRITE to send.”. When FREEZE is on, moving a slider will not send a
message. When ENTER is pressed, the new location of any slider moved during the FREEZE operation will be
sent to the synth. This is an excellent way to send a large number of slider changes all at once, at the exact
moment ENTER is pressed.
Freeze mode
MANUAL MODEMANUAL MODE
Pressing SHIFT + WRITE will transmit all of the control positions on the panel to the synth. When this is done,
the seings on the synth will correspond to the current seings on the MPG-70 front panel.
Manual Mode
INIT TONEINIT TONE
To create an INIT TONE (A generic tone that functions as a basic staing point when creating a new sound),
press SHIFT + PATCHGEN.

RETROAKTIV MPG-70 3.X USER MANUAL
10
THE MIDI MENUS AND FUNCTIONSTHE MIDI MENUS AND FUNCTIONS
MIDI:SETTINGSMIDI:SETTINGS
The MIDI Seings menu contains all of the parameters that determine which MIDI channels the MPG-70
receives data on, and which channels outgoing data will be transmied on. This page is also where we
configure which types of MIDI data the MPG-70 will pass to the synth, as well as CC to sysex translation.
Press MIDI once to navigate to the Unit 1 Seings page, and press MIDI again to navigate to the Unit 2 Seings
page.
U1 & U2:U1 & U2:
This is where the communication protocol for the synthesizer is selected. See page 6 for the list of available
communication protocols.
INPUT CHAN:INPUT CHAN:
Selects which MIDI input channels MPG-70 will respond to. Only selected channels will be relayed to the synth
(on the MIDI OUT channels selected), while all others will be ignored. Note that if 1/2 is selected, this means
that MPG-70 will process any data received on channel 1, and if CC TRANSLATE is enabled, incoming CCs on
channel 2 will also be processed. (Because when using CC TRANSLATE, 2 channels are used. One for the
LOWER voice board, and one for the UPPER voice board. See MODE below for more details)
The MIDI:Seings Menu
OUT CHAN:OUT CHAN:
Selects the channel that outgoing SYSEX, NOTE, CC, PITCH, and AFTERTOUCH data will be transmied on. Any
data received on the INPUT CHANNEL will be passed to the synth on the OUTPUT CHANNEL. For example, if
INPUT CHAN is set to 1/2, and OUT CHAN is set to 3/4, note data received by MPG-70 on channel 1 would be
transmied to the synth on channel 3. This function is a great way to prevent MIDI feedback loops, as any
data received on channel 3 at the input, would be ignored and not passed to the synth. The synth should be
set to receive on the same channel as the OUT CHAN seing.
MODE:MODE:
There are 2 selectable modes on the MPG-70: DIRECT and CC SEND/TRANSLATE.
DIRECT: Select this mode to send either SYSEX or PG-800 messages to the synthesizer.