why put plastic over pads...

Im losing sleep over this.. not really - but kind of...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS9J36D7KsE

why do Hifana put plastic sheeting over their mpc pads... there are a number of benefits i can think of..but goddamit id love to know why...

a - fingers get sweaty over a long set / pads get gross.
b - preserves your mpc pad surface
c - some sensitivity fix im unaware of..
d - stops dust getting through the gaps.

now im in Australia so it can get a bit sweaty in my studio in summer. so maybe ill give it a test.. but still.....why!

hmmm never seen that before.

Rats maybe. Did I tell you guys the time when rats invaded my studio and chewed on my pads of my first MPC500? They even pissed all over my custom made cabinet/desk, I had to throw all that out during a week of sterlization in there. They came from the slobby neighbors next door that drink and bbq the whole night and don't bother to clean anything until 2 or 3 days later.

little bastards.. i had rats do that to a friend of mine while he was drunk and passed out... not his gear, he doesnt have any.. him.. he woke up covered in rat pee and poo..

unrelated to mpc's for sure - but i feel everyone ever needs to know that story.

I noticed dudes padwork and techniques. For his rolls, I looks like he does a three finger swipe on a single pad. Similar to how a Dj would click a fader. I just tried it and couldn't do it on rubber pads. Too grippy. Maybe plastic allows them to do it. Just a theory.

He was on a Maschine and did this without plastic. I've never touched a Maschine. If the pads are rubber like MP's then my theory's out the window.

you forgot the non-technical reasons:
e - individualism
f - give people something to talk/wonder about.
g - try to be a trendsetter
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peace

Em.p.cee.j wrote:Maybe plastic allows them to do it. Just a theory.

I think you've nailed it.

Good observation. I bet that's it.

On another note... Never had a rat problem, but roaches. Evil moth ****. I had a filthy neighbor move out of the appartment next door to me. The landlord bombed her apt only. Before they left, we had the suspition of bugs. After that bomb went off it was a nightmare. I had a really small bathroom and those things were swarming in there. There were bugs all over everything and inside shit. I slept that night sitting up in a wooden chair smacking roaches off my body. Once the exterminators left the next day, there were dead roaches everywhere. My music stuff somehow came out of it okay. But there were dead bugs in the phone, every dish or cup... Just everywhere. Dont underestimate those bastards.

Might just be a technique thing. Pads might be too sticky to slide is fingers off the pads. Maybe the plastic is just enough to break the connection.

Sticky pads?? unless you dropped honey on them.

I've seen Sly Dunbar with a plastic cover on his MPC4000 in this video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8dgflblzAg

Still no idea why it is done.

I think I figured it out, its a personal thing.

you wouldn't want to dirty the pads with weed stained fingers would you. I would imagine that in the Sly and Robbie studio many people come through and use the MPC not just Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Shakespeare.
I think the idea about the dust might be a good thought as well.
cheers,
Ian

I gave it a bit of a go on my MPC 1000 for a few weeks on brand new pads before i sold it off to move up to a 2500.

got used to it pretty quick, and although i didnt really know why i was doing it i did notice it possible to "walk" fingers across pads without them gripping

but i really noticed the difference when it came time to sell and my black pads were still minty fresh like new! no finger oil.

on that note of mpc preservation. ive realized you can get screen protectors for mobile phones - cut them to size and put them on the screen to protect it..