How to identify if mpc live is buggy?

Hi,

Just got the new akai mpc live and noticed straight way when unpackaging that the glue tap on the back was a bit loose, after unwrapping noticed it was quite dusty, etc - them item looks fine, but not pristine has when you wrap any other hardware (ableton push, new soundcard, etc); So, contacted the dealer about it, asking if this is bstock, the answer was:

"I have run this past our returns department and absolutely not a returned product, these units have come direct from Akai (In-Music) and straight out to yourself and not touched by anybody here other than the warehouse staff who picked it and shipped it."

I hope this is not a dodgy akai mpc live that was sent back by a different customer. Is there a way to check?

I read some reports about customers who had faulty mpc live, stated that even after sending back and getting a new one the problem remained the same; So, it seems that it's hardware related?

I only tested for a few minutes after work and just want to make sure if something's wrong I can identify it as soon as possible.

I remember seeing the OS version 2.00 and there's also a `surface version` that was 1.9.x or something (I'll update this later). So, there's two versions, the firmware and the surface... ?!

Thanks!

You'll soon discover if it's buggy, although the underlying software itself no doubt has various bugs that Akai haven't fixed yet. The main hardware issue was the internal drive wiping itself after each reboot (OS remained, just the sound libraries and saved user projects would disappear). Some people seem to find the blue USB cable is unreliable for 'controller' mode.

But I doubt Akai are just sending out known faulty units, but it's possible that it's a returned unit that's been re-boxed and shipped out again. Doesn't mean it was faulty though, could just be someone who changed their mind.

The bugs are mostly unusual behavior and glitches, you'll recognize them as they come. My bugs are a super laggy screen at sampling screen and occassional screen flicker like dirty old 8 bit NES cart type flicker distorting the graphics for a brief second.

I'm still in the process of learning the akai mpc live, so it'll take some time until I found most bugs; so far, while punching the pads, I feel that sometimes the sound from one pad is cut immediately, for example, if playing drums: kick, snare, hat; sometimes the hat is cut or the snare. I'm off this weekend, so I'll try my best and record some demos, etc.

Mine had this definitely glitchy behavior. I could make it crash if I tried to use the pads as chords on a keygroup. Also saving to drives would be weird. It was so obviously wrong that I returned it. The new one is so much more stable. In my experience, a bad one is obviously not right, compared to software bugs.

I had all kinds of issues.

I spent a couple of tries getting the hard drive installed and formatted properly, after that I assumed I was good to go. The first error I noticed was pixelated menus and issues with the brightness going up and down without input.

Next my internal drive was wiping itself on startups. Then while charging if it was on, and it went to sleep mode it would not return and the screen would flash and shut down. The final straw was 4 days in I could not get it to actually stay on. The boot screen would come up, the little message would appear for your to touch and hold to open the menu and it would reboot again.

I should have just returned it but I was told they were out of stock. So I sent it to Akai support. I ordered it on 5/10, I just got it back last weekend 7/14.

joeferg wrote:I had all kinds of issues.

I could not get it to actually stay on. The boot screen would come up, the little message would appear for your to touch and hold to open the menu and it would reboot again.

I had that one too. The only thing that would work was waiting a day. I returned it to GC, they had a replacement in a week.

To add some of my experience to this thread..

1st unit: looked as if someone opended the box before. That foamy wrapping was a bit broken. Very little scratches on the big knob. Unit worked fine but then figured the headphones out was buggy / loose. Returned it and received...

2nd unit: looked as if someone opened the box before. That foamy.... do I have to retype everything? But the unit itself was in way better condition, no visible scratches etc. But when the firmware update was released, I learned that this MPC had an issue with the software or the drive or whatever, didn't start update mode, and it was confirmed by Akai that I had to return it. That's why I got ...

3rd unit: looked as if... but this time also the packing was in better condition, expect for the foamy stuff rest looked fine. MPC is in great condition, no scratches, headphone output is fine, firmware installed fine. USB cable sucks on this one (first two were fine ) but aaaanyhow. Certainly hope 3rd attempt is the perfect one, really wanna keep and USE it, not returning it again and again...

Overall, my impression was that the first two had a different power cord originally (while the box clearly stated EU version which makes sense here). Probably Akai shipped them with a default UK or US or whatever cable and then the europe center changed the cables (got the impression because these units had the wrapping for the cable and the cable itself separated in the box..). 3rd unit now had a smaller box for the power adapter and a regular cable IN it's wrapping. But position for that cable was strange too, I guess there just isn't an european version of the original box's inside parts

Akai should justify why the packages were opened before, they're obviously re-selling faulty machines. Never had any experience like this before, even with cheap electronic devices, they all come new! da f*ck!

heldrida wrote:Akai should justify why the packages were opened before, they're obviously re-selling faulty machines.

That´s how these cocksuckers do business.

Vote with your wallet and teach these bastards a lesson!