Buying an MPC off of craigs list. Is it possible to test pad

Hey guys. So I found an MPC yesterday and I know absolutely nothing about them. I'm going to purchase it off of a guy on Craig's List for $400. It's a red and blue one but the guy claims all of the pads work fine. I'm pretty sure regular 3.5mm headphones won't work on the MPC 1000, right?

If that is the case. Is there any way to test the pads without being hooked up to any speakers or headphones? Is there anything on the display that will pop up when the pads are being hit?

THanks very much.

get a 1/8" to 1/4" stereo adapter so you can plug your headphones into the headphone output on the back of the unit.

If the pads are sending midi you will see the midi input monitor moving. This is in the 'Track' section of the main screen.

Ask dude to load an instrument program and test the pads by pressing each one softly, then gradually harder. Try some quick pad taps with one finger then with two. Make sure FULL LEVEL is off when doing this. Carry out the same checks with a drum program if you can.

Remember to test each pad bank by pressing the BANK buttons to access the next layer of sixteen note/ sample triggers.

Obviously look at the pads and the whole machine in general to assess the condition of the MPC as a whole, often too much emphasis is placed on the condition of the pads which are a replaceable component much like the needle of a turntable.

if you have a chance to see it in person, you can do the following to check the responsiveness of the pads...

press MODE + PAD 10 [OTHER]

and then go into the PAD sub-menu... here you should be able to get a visual representation of how each pad's velocity is reacting when pressed. just test each pad and make sure they're all reacting.

on another note, i'd personally stay away from the blue mpc1000 since they all have the older defective pads which will die on you eventually. you may want to save up just a little more to get a fully functional one with the newer pad sensors.