Used MPC 500 Purchase

Hello MPC-team,

This Saturday, maybe i will buy a 500 used.

Currently i am spending my free hours playing with Ableton but since i travel a lot i want something portable to have just FUN and play with it instead of working in my laptop's screen. Actually i spent all my day in work with the laptop and i am sick of it...i just want to sit somewhere with a nice gadget and...whatever...
I am totally a beginner on MPCs so i will need your advice regarding the condition of the used MPCs.
The guy told me in the telephone that its, actually, new, since he had no time to spent with it and has retired from music production. That is what he claims.
He is giving it away with Beatmaking Tutorial, expansion card, cables and some cases. The price is 250EUR including the above peripherals.
What should i check so as to be sure that is working properly? is there anything that would be good to check while he will demonstrating the operation?

Thanks in advance!

I can say the 500 is a tough little guy out of all the Numark MPCs and owning it since 2006. Though I have heard issues about the tact switches giving up the ghost after months of beating on those plastic buttons. I did not encounter such problems yet but then again I treat all my gear "nice".

Look for the latest operation system which is 1.31. You can verify that by powering up and looking at the screen. If an older OS shows up, you can download the file at http://www.akaipro/mpc500

Be sure to test it out before shelling out that cold earned cash. Most issues come from abusive owners that bricked the unit and try to sell off as mint. Beware.

Other than that, upgrade the pads with either Fat Pads or Corx available at http://mpcstuff.com Stock, the pads are stiff and makes it hard to bang out a decent sound, but the simple pad upgrade, makes the 500 play as smooth as a piano.

Didn't want to start another thread to ask & this one seemed fitting:

Contemplating picking up a 500 to go with my backpack setup. They pop up in San Antonio/Austin all the time but I'm concerned... my buddy has one and absolutely hates using it because he hits a pad and it triggers other pads most of the time or just straight turns the machine off. I think I traced the MPC turning off to one of the batteries being beaten loose. Not sure if his is in the best condition, though.

Are these regular issues? I would be running mine off of batteries more often than not so this sh*t is scary to see.

Word. Thanks y'all.

medearis wrote:Didn't want to start another thread to ask & this one seemed fitting:

Contemplating picking up a 500 to go with my backpack setup. They pop up in San Antonio/Austin all the time but I'm concerned... my buddy has one and absolutely hates using it because he hits a pad and it triggers other pads most of the time or just straight turns the machine off. I think I traced the MPC turning off to one of the batteries being beaten loose. Not sure if his is in the best condition, though.

Are these regular issues? I would be running mine off of batteries more often than not so this sh*t is scary to see.

Word. Thanks y'all.

No these are not normal problems.
As mentioned you will be surprised at how solid the construction of the 500 feels.

IMO it takes abuse to damage the 500 not general usage.

Nice!

One last thing - do the stock pads on the MPC 500 rival the stock pads on the first run MPC 1000's (the blue ones, a few of the early black ones)?

They are like the second run of 1000's with the padfix. There's that same bit of gap between the rubber pad sheet and the sensor array, so you need to hit them a bit hard or use full level.

I have the Fat Pads in my 1000 and after I got those and calibrated the sensitivity in the settings, the response and sensitivity was as good as my 2000XL which most agree is really nice in that area. I only need to use one finger and they respond really well to light taps. So they might alleviate any worries about shaking up the unit too hard as far as the posted concern in the thread.

And I see lots of people just roll with the pads as is, and the machine holds up well.

So maybe add in $40 for a set for a 500 or try the cheaper putting dry-able silicone under the pad sheet to close that gap.

I think the only thing to contemplate as far the 500 shortcomings is only having 12 pads and the really limited LCD screen. But the size and battery operation certainly offsets that. I never owned one but they always felt sturdy when i used demo units in stores. I would have got one at some point, but I started using a netbook/iPad and light MIDI controllers for something more portable. But the 500 is a really nice portable solution.

I've had mine almost two years. I've often just tossed it in a backpack and travelled around with it without much protection and it stills works great. It's a rugged little machine.
I do recommend the fat pads, makes a huge difference.

/salute

Thanks

I had the issue with the pads double triggering and triggering other pads as well. The problem was the Fat Pads as the nipples were slightly fatter than the insertion holes of the 500. So with that minor error, there was a bubble that did not allow the pads to sit correctly on the sensor sheet and that caused all the triggering problems. I just took the Akai stock pads and upgraded it with Corx and it plays beautifully now.

Inflict drilled a wider hole and that worked too.

Check the pads, maybe someone did a DIY sloppy job.

Check and load from the compact flash card, there is this invalid format bug that's been cropping up.

kaydigi wrote:Check and load from the compact flash card, there is this invalid format bug that's been cropping up.

Yes, bent/broken pins inside the compact flash slot also seem to be a common issue on MPCs with built in CF slots.