The Quality Control on these machines are garbage.

My LCD display looks like it is slight tilted on an angle. its not really that noticable but its still there. My last one had buttons that were nearly touching the metal siding they were offset so badly, maybe im just being metiulous but seriously. I dont think a million replacements would get a guy one that is perfect cosmetically.

well at least yours isnt lopsided and you have to put a credit card and some loose paper to make so it doesnt rock back and forth

sugar packets work wonders.

i went through three of them in the first month because the pads were impossible to get to full velocity. i was punching the pads like i was trying to kill someone and it was still only at like half velocity....

...then on my third one, i realized the jog wheel was offset so the the wheel kinda cacthes and makes a weird noise sometimes. it almost feels like sand paper when i turn it and it catches .


i just settled on the crappy jog wheel one cause the pads felt good,
and i wasnt trying to battle the guitar center people over a fourth one.


for such a great product akai is a pretty sketchy company.
ehh.

note that pad sensibility can be adjusted pad by pad, so you could go back to the 'hard pads' model and let go the 'sandpaper' wheel model...

freezerman wrote:note that pad sensibility can be adjusted pad by pad, so you could go back to the 'hard pads' model and let go the 'sandpaper' wheel model...

i know what you are saying freezerman, but....


back when i was buying my mpc the os was version 1.03 with the hidden pad sensitivity screen. i tried opening that, and putting all the pads to +5 (the maximum) and i was still unable to get full velocity on almost all of the pads. only half velocity at best....

i was very dissapointed. i've heard people say the pads break in after awhile, but i cant imagine breaking in any of the mpcs i returned, because when i was hitting the pads on those my whole computer desk was shaking apart from how hard i had to hit the pads. the one i have now felt perfect (pad wise) right out of the box. i actually have all the pads set at like -1 because they are THAT much more sensitve than the last couple 1000's i had.


the pads on the first ones i got were definitely jacked.
recently i saw people talking about the pad sensitivity screen for o.s. 1.04.
but i saw people who had similar problems to me said even with adjusting the pads in 1.04 the pads were still terrible for them.
i only see people post about this pad problem once a month. but i've seen it a couple times. its lame.

some of the mpc100's feel great, and others are impossible to use unless you just leave the pads on full velocity the whole time you use it.


as much as i love my mpc (NOW) i am still dissapointed at how many somewhat malfunctioning mpc's they let ship out of the factory.

welcome to the wonderful world of akai....

well, i also have a yamaha rs7000 sampler/sequencer, and it has two velocity sensitive pads... you should try them and realize how good a job akai made (in comparison), 'cause they are so terribly hard and in-sensitive that you could hit them with your foot and still manage to get only a midi velocity of say 56... of course they are not editable.

when i got my mpc out of the box and strated banging on the pads i was having the same problem as you, my whole desk would tremble and shake... after adjusting the pads one by one I now have a good usable setup. I can play the pads by merely touching them which is very pleasant.

re. the wheel, i was first concerned that it looked a bit crappy. I have now grown used to it and find it very usable, i start thinking now in terms of wheel turns rather than numeric values (let me decrease this by one turn, increase this a half turn etc...) which is very comfortable to remember what you did while you progress.

i like the pads on mpcs. thats not my issue.
i know akai can make dope pads.
it just took me returning 2 mpcs to get one that felt right.

...and thats why i'm just crapping on akai.
for the mpcs they let out that have screwed up pads.
the way you described the rs7000 is exactly how my other mpc's felt before exchanging them (For the one i finally have now).
and they felt like that regardless of adjusting the sensitivity.

ehh...


...and i personally thought the wheel was crappy at first as well. but i've grown to like it alot as well. i mean mine has a slight issue (that i described before) but regardless of that the wheel works nicely.

This is why anyone can generally return a new item to a store. I do not think anyone has a `right` to a flawless peice of gear, which is what it sounds like people are saying.

Anyway, like many other companies, Akai Japan does not have a manufacturing plant (they only have 25 employees). They outsource the work to another company that assembles them, usually in China.

mpc3000 wrote:This is why anyone can generally return a new item to a store. I do not think anyone has a `right` to a flawless peice of gear, which is what it sounds like people are saying.

Gd@amn rights you deserve a flawlessly working piece of gear when you drop that kind of money.....its not like this is Berhenger putting out the MPC's or something for $50....Im not saying that a little bit of offset on a knob or two is much to worry about(mine has noticeable offset) unless it makes your jog wheel feel like sandpaper. I dont even think almost anyone really cares about the cosmetics being flawless as long as the machine does what its supposed to do. In the case of punchdrunk it didnt so he has a cause to be complaining. And also on the front of every akai MPC it says "professional". Professional gear has to function flawlessly or else "pro's" wouldnt use it.

thank you mindtravel for reading my mind!!
that is exactly how i feel.

peace.

"when you drop that kind of money"

Are you serious? The MPC1000 is so cheap. In the studio's I work at dropping 5 times that for a single piece of gear is nothing. You are not going to get a Mercedes at a Kia price.

Akai busts their ass to make each successive MPC more affordable and easier to use. And what do they get? From your arguments they should still be making $4k MPC3000's.

naw homie,
ain't nobody sayin' that...they saying basically the customer is always right whether you drop a g,3g's or only a bill.They market it as a pro piece so it should act AND look that way period.Tell me something...you drop 5000 on a Nueman condensor mic but the cap is all loose and the shockmount doesn't sit right and it the whole mic is leaning a little left....YOU ain't gonna get heated?Now we all know Neuman has more pricey mics ,does that mean they (or anybody actually)can say to you "hey..you got the cheap one" or "you can't expect a Benz with Kia money".....didn't think so.
Oh yeah,Akai busts there ass not because they know about us struggling artists ain't got deep pockets ,it's because they gotta stay competitive or they gotta shutdown...(just like any other business)PERIOD!

................one...........[/quote]

Mine can't sit flat so I wedged a book in the back so it tilts up and stays level - other than that - the 1000 is tip top

mpc3000 wrote:"when you drop that kind of money"

Are you serious? The MPC1000 is so cheap. In the studio's I work at dropping 5 times that for a single piece of gear is nothing. You are not going to get a Mercedes at a Kia price.

Akai busts their **** to make each successive MPC more affordable and easier to use. And what do they get? From your arguments they should still be making $4k MPC3000's.

By no means was I trying to front like the mpc 1000 is an expensive piece of gear compared to the SSL board or Urie compressors you probably have at "the studio you work at". But notice how you just work at that studio and dont own sh!t. Even if I bought a Kia I'd want the d@mn doors to open and shut properly.