Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By Genesis92 Sun Nov 16, 2014 9:25 pm
Hi everybody, like explained in a topic I've recently ordered an MPC4K for a good price. but the other guy not really take care of the MPC.
so I've completely disassembled the unit for cleaning and make some improvements.
I take 972 pictures so it will take some time to select the best ones, redim and add info.
the unit was very dirty.
so I've completely cleaned
- the unit
- all the plastic buttons with teeth brush
- changed all the 6mm tact switches
- removed the old dim LCD CCFL tube and replaced it by a white led strip
- built the white led driver
- changed the color of the led indicators for fun and it's cool by night
- changed the fan by a very quieter one
- changed the zip reader by a 120Gb HDD
- changed the grey CDRW by a black DVD writer
- added a cover at the Zip250 hole with HDD activity inducator to avoid turning off the unit when the drive is active
- make a pad circuit repair with graphite conductive coating

here are some pics :)
the unit after buying it
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inside with dust
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and after working on it:
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HDD led
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changing the LCD backlight
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you can compare with the first picture LCD brightness
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I hope it will help some guys to find solution to their problem with their units
By Genesis92 Mon Nov 17, 2014 8:52 am
Yes electronic is my hobby and my job (research and development engineer)
I've choosen the white leds to have the same color as the CCFL tube but yes I've thinking to change the color. it's possible with blue, red, green or RGB but it's more complex for this one xD
the best result is with the white Ithink to have a black/white cntrast and the white leds have a good efficiency. I've used 100 Lumen/W and 2500mcd/each
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By MoreBuck$ Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:18 pm
You are the Macgyver of hip-hop. :worthy:
By Genesis92 Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:22 pm
lol mac gyver perhaps but I don't really make music (even if I work with great musicians). I was searching for a good sampler to connect to my laser harp and I found a great offer :)
It's a rock solid unit I love these machines. like my vintage B&O beocenter 9000 they are built to last!
By Genesis92 Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:52 pm
unfortunately I'm in France (so excuse for my Frenglish xD)
I'm always happy to help guys and share the informations on the internet freely. but some experiences of the use of my kind and work on some boards for commercial products (like the laser harp) make me reluctant to share my drawings.
By Genesis92 Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:58 pm
MPC stuff seems to be a good option for parts. even if they seems to be a little bit exepensive (like for leds and switches ;) )
I like the vintage systems because they are most of the time repairable even if we do not use the same parts (like for the led backlight)
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By MoreBuck$ Mon Nov 17, 2014 3:19 pm
There is some nice pocket money to be made doing what you're doing :smoker: