Fat Pads

^^ How big do you think the market is to be getting several sets of pad moulds tooled??

If people want improved sensitivity they should just buy the pads. The logo is irrelevant.

Well for me personally not only do I not want to see the logo but I dont want to feel it. They could have had an arrow molded or the word "TOP" molded on the non-visible part of the sheet.

Also the whole marketing being known part is kinda bogus. If they want people to take them serious dont try to pass of a piece of cork as a pad fix, dont try to sell a tact switch for $8 when people know that 20 costs less than $5....

Can't argue with you on the tact switch scam.

Also, I came up with my own pad fix that BLOWS AWAY the "corx" as well as any other solution anyone has tried to sell. Unfortunately I cant post it because I know it'll get bitten and resold for an unfair markup, but if there are any 1k users who want a less than $10 solution to the pad issue hit me up.

regarding tact switch sale markups, here's something i learned -

ya gotta make a buck, and you gotta charge more the more work 1 man puts in....mpc-stuff is 1 dude and he got his parts from AKAI, not from (much, much cheaper) 3rd party sources. those parts are $$, even to distributors like VST and MPC-stuff.

corx - while the "gap fix" is easily imitated at home, some folks don't have the DIY blood to do the silicone gap fix, record cardboard gap fix, etc. pad corx are the ONLY commercial option available for these people. in my opinion, you SHOULD have to pay a little premium to compensate for your lack of ability in this case - you're paying for the idea almost, which is totally cool. and i say that having been probably the first to do any "gap fix" at all

lastly, a thought i had on the logo.
how many of you are, right now, wearing clothing with some company's logo on it?
how many of your products still prominently and proudly display their logos, or a little apple symbol?
this is not a hosedown but more of a sobering look at how much advertising we are inadvertently and unintentionally doing for other people. if you do a cool thing and you're wearing a Nike shirt, Nike gets a little vicarious coolness. IMO that's not right but it is business and you can't knock it.

now, if the pads are thicker AND softer AND have a built in gap fix, they are scientifically and inarguably going to be better for finger drumming than the thinner, harder pads. this is physics, and it makes you wonder who the helllllll picked the rubber type for the AKAI pads. softer rubber is not really more expensive in my experience.

making/contracting a rubber mold is a lot of hard work. props for getting this done mike

Valid points from both Pound and Nym... Originally I was 100% with pound, but I must admit, these Adidas feature the logo pretty prominently... Still wish there was no logo, but I may buy a set.

Jfalconcrest wrote:Valid points from both Pound and Nym... Originally I was 100% with pound, but I must admit, these Adidas feature the logo pretty prominently... Still wish there was no logo, but I may buy a set.

Yeah me too.. though I try and not wear logos. I mean, include a sticker and I might slap it on the back of my laptop though... I have the computer brand covered.

agreed. He has to make money but lets be honest Nym, $8 for one tact switch? Even if he is getting them from Akai, the quality is garbage, hence the failure rate. So what are we being charged....a 200% markup?

As far as the pad corx go, I wouldnt call it a commerical option in the sense that MPC isnt the creator. Its just cork dots repackaged. So again, while I agree they have to make a buck, lets not paint the plastic utencils gold and put them in a different package marketed as fine dining silverwear.

As far as the logo, I'm all for it, branding is key, but on something like the pads....I dont agree with it. Why not throw in a sticker and let the user choose? Its no secret who the key players are regarding the aftermarket supplies of the MPC's. But the way they go about it hurts them more than it helps. Its a one man show, not a big company, so I really dont want some guys logo on my pads. But thats just me.

Lastly, I wouldnt big the fat pads up as revolutionary. I mean yea he had to make a mold but it wasnt any real engineering going into it. There was already a subject to take the mold from (the original pads) so really it was just a matter of adding a few numbers to existing dimensions.

See the below, this is the type of stuff I'm talking about, certain members (myself included) have been modding the knobs on the 1k for a bit. I KNOW they are not $12 but $4 at radio shack. So we pay a 200% markup because its on his site?

http://www.mpcstuff.com/akai-mpc1000-big-black-record--gain-volume-knob1000.html
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103791



Not arguing with you Nym, cuz you know your sh*t but mpcstuff could do a lot better if they went about things differently...

I still don't understand the use of the logo on the pads. Marketing to who? Most mpc's live in bedrooms and basements. Even if you bring it to a gig, who's really going to see it? "We" know about Mpc stuff..its the people who don't know that you need to advertise to, and they're not going to find out with a logo on a fat pad. Please, don't start placing the logo on knobs and buttons also! haha!

haha yeah i'm not interested in debating this either pound but....

I mean yea he had to make a mold but it wasnt any real engineering going into it. There was already a subject to take the mold from (the original pads) so really it was just a matter of adding a few numbers to existing dimensions.

mold making is pretty hard. at worst, you're building it yourself, and at slightly less stupid-hard, you're drawing up a schematic and dealing with some rubber manufacturer's people to make it work. if "fat pads" were easyish to make at home, people would have done it already (myself included). not to mention you gotta place an order from the manufacturer, lowball your order enough that you're not gonna have crazy excess, and then price in a way that you'll regain your losses (hopefully).

i absolutely hate the business side of things. i wish it were all inspiration, creation, and peer review...the business/manufacturing bit is the ugly side where dreams get squashed and good ideas get ruined by too many hands stirring the soup. it's a shame.

Nym wrote:i absolutely hate the business side of things. i wish it were all inspiration, creation, and peer review...the business/manufacturing bit is the ugly side where dreams get squashed and good ideas get ruined by too many hands stirring the soup. it's a shame.

You never lie Nym.

a question about the fat pads for those who have them: i know they are thicker but are they actually softer than the stock pads as well? is mpc-stuff actually using a different softer material to make the pads, or do they just SEEM softer because they are thicker than normal?


to MPC-stuff about the logo: you should just leave it off. since it is so hard to see anyway, what is the point of having it on there? most people (spectators at a show or whatever) aren't going to be able to see the logo so it's not really helping you any. users just get pissed off because they have no choice in the matter.

what you should do is get some cool stickers made up with your logo or a new mpc-stuff logo/icon and then include a few free stickers with every order you mail out. more visible and the user has the choice of where they want to put them.

i would wear a mpcstuff.com t shirt, if the logo looked dope.. free advertisement.

Coz wrote:^^ How big do you think the market is to be getting several sets of pad moulds tooled??

If people want improved sensitivity they should just buy the pads. The logo is irrelevant.

not sure if this question is for me or mpcstuff, but from my brief observation they already been making pads with no logos on them, which leads me to believe there is market for it.

poundaproblem wrote:Well for me personally not only do I not want to see the logo but I dont want to feel it. They could have had an arrow molded or the word "TOP" molded on the non-visible part of the sheet.

+1

roxstar wrote:I still don't understand the use of the logo on the pads. Marketing to who? Most mpc's live in bedrooms and basements. Even if you bring it to a gig, who's really going to see it? "We" know about Mpc stuff..its the people who don't know that you need to advertise to, and they're not going to find out with a logo on a fat pad. Please, don't start placing the logo on knobs and buttons also! haha!

This.