buying parts straight from akai.

e-mail from me to Akai:
Product Name :
mpc1000

Country :
US

Question/Comment :
hi, i am trying to get part # L4033A502A. it is out of stock and i cant find it anywhere. i think this is kind of ridicules considering you guys are still manufacturing the mpc1000. please give me the name and number of the company that makes these and i will order it myself. I need to fix this mpc, there is no reason these buttons should wear out this fast. ps. if you google the part number i have listed you will see a thread i have started on this issue, it is sort of an akai review on the service i am/will receive from your company. Thank you. Scott.

Attention :
General Inquiries

e-mail from Akai to me


Hi Scott,

Thank you for your interest in Akai Pro and our products!

Unfortunately, the piece you are looking for is out of stock directly with Akai Professional. As we are the manufacturer, I do not have any other avenues available to provide in terms or other companies that would make this piece for you. As I do not have a set date for our next shipment of these pieces, the best eta I can provide at this time is 4-6 weeks.

L4033A502A
PCB, Operation-Right Assembly - MPC1000 $39.00 Each OUT OF STOCK/BACK ORDER


*Prices do not include shipping, standard ground shipping is $5-$7 depending on your location*
*All parts purchased though the parts department are warranted for 30 days and can be exchanged for the same piece within that time period. All parts sales are final.*

If you would like, you may place a backorder for this part directly with Alesis. When we do get more of these parts in, we fill our back orders first before we sell any parts to dealers or to the public. If you’d like to place a back order, please fill out and return the attached form. Once I receive it back, I will process your order and ship out your parts as soon as they arrive in. Please note that orders done directly through Alesis require a valid credit card. We accept VISA, MASTERCARD, and AMEX as payment options. If you do not feel comfortable sending your information through this form, you may call me as well and place and order over the phone. Your card will not be charged until your parts ship out to you.



Additionally, I would check with two of our repair centers (below) as many times they carry stock in pieces that we are out of. I have provided the contact information for two of our licensed repair centers who specialize in Akai products and parts below. One of them may be able to assist you in obtaining the piece you are in need of.

Virtual Sound Technologies Techniserve
626-794-8196 877-769-0093
[email protected] [email protected]
www.vstservice.com www.tsirepair.com


I apologize for the inconvenience this part being unavailable has caused you. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you further in this matter.

Joseph Cavaliere
Parts Sales Admin
Numark, Alesis, Akai, Ion

inflict3 wrote:thanks guys for all the info. i wanted to just get an extra pcb board before i started soldering new stuff onto my old one, i dont wanna **** up and be mpc-less, so i wanted a new pcb board set asside. ive never soldered before, although my dad had me watch him do it on my old walkmans when i was little, so i know the gist of it, just never done it, plus ive got pretty shaky hands..lol

Perhaps you should practice before you work on your MPC.

Find some old battery powered electronics or old cartridge based video games that you don't mind ruining and practice taking off components and soldering them back on. Soldering is not difficult once you get the hang of it.

it seems like every part I need for my mpc1000 is out of stock, every time I e-mail akai its the same story... **** AKAI/NUMARK!!! what a piece of shit company. they are not just a piece of shit company cause i cant get what i need, they are a piece of shit company because they are still producing a product, and its like pulling teeth to get parts for that product. their parts are cheap and fail quickly, then you cant get them cause they've been on backorder for half a year.. so akai/numark, i know you are reading this, and a big **** YOU!! to you.. your company is great at contacting me back when I e-mail, but whats the point, you cant even get us parts to a product that is still being made. I am gonna write a review on your company and send it in to the guys at consumer reports.

update: sent my review. the strange thing was, there were a lot of complaints on a company named akai that makes tvs.. lol

I wouldn't even agree that they're good at replying to emails - it took them the best part of two weeks to respond to me. Which means they either have a huge backlog of pissed off customers needing replacement parts for their shoddily built MPCs, or they're just pretty shit in general.

I can't speak for anyone else, but until I get some new parts using my MPC is like pulling teeth - the best part of using the MPC is the speed of the workflow, which just grinds to a halt every time I go to press a button now...

Just spoke to a guy at VSTservice.com who told me that buttons for MPC1000 have been discontinued and will no longer be in stock. So I'd imagine that means other parts are also discontinued as well...so much for a delivery in 4 - 6 weeks!

WOW...... wonder what there better business bureau rating is

don_king wrote:Just spoke to a guy at VSTservice.com who told me that buttons for MPC1000 have been discontinued and will no longer be in stock. So I'd imagine that means other parts are also discontinued as well...so much for a delivery in 4 - 6 weeks!

what do you mean "the buttons" ? are you referring to the plastic buttons?? how could this be true? the mpc1000 is still being manufactured, why would they discontinue its parts??

Though we're not often directly involved on this forum (the whole idea of a third party forum is a place where enthusiastic users offer each other tips...if you need our help, our contact info's below and on our site), we do step in from time-to-time.

Hi Inflict3,

Thanks for contacting us (got your email). I’ll be happy to help! It sounds like you were interested in ordering L4033A502A PCB, Operation-Right Assembly from the info in your post on the forum. Like you mentioned, the information we have on hand is that we’re expecting these around October. While a wait on a high-technology PCB isn’t unheard of in any tech industry, I understand you’re anxious to get back up and running with your MPC.

If we don’t have something in stock (which happens from time-to-time with any technology product), we can put it on order for you. Unlike some companies, we don’t charge you until the product actually ships, so there’s no immediate cost to back-order something with us.

It’s probably not a bad place to mention that with over 20,000 MPC1000 units out there in the wild, less than half a percent ever required warranty service. Compared with our peers in this, or any other industry, we think that’s a pretty great record. This doesn’t help the experience of anyone who has required service though. It’s inconvenient and frustrating to have any equipment you depend on to go down, and we understand that. We’re here to help, and it’s important us to lay out all the options you have available to you.

Ordering a part direct from Akai is certainly our first recommendation, since we can’t control what other places (resellers) have in stock, or how they operate (the folks over at mpcstuff.com are great though). Plus, as soon as it’s available, it just ships. Of course you’d want to get an order in to ensure you get one when they do come in. In case you need it, our Parts Department can be reached at 401.658.5760 x1407.

If getting your MPC1000 back up and running is your main goal, however, I’d strongly recommend having it serviced at a recommended service center. Very few repair facilities are qualified to work on MPCs, and you mentioned that you didn’t have service-bench experience.

If your MPC1000 is under warranty, we can issue you an RMA to have it serviced with us. Just call us at 401-658-4032 x1409 or email [email protected].

If your MPC is not under warranty, but needs service, any of the recommended service centers below can perform it for you. They may also be able to perform the repair at the component-level (i.e. without replacing a whole board or component). Yes, it’s the same list someone posted in the forum thread you linked (we put the list together after all). Note however, that these are service centers, and they generally don’t sell the parts they have on-hand (they’re interested in fixing your equipment after all). So while any of these folks can do a great job at working on your MPC1000, it’s unlikely that they’ll sell you parts outright. That might be why our Parts team didn’t refer you to them as an alternate source. But they’re definitely our recommended contacts for repair service (which it sounds like would be your best course of action from the information you’ve provided here).


Techniserve
Midland Park, NJ
201.670.1767

Armen’s Repair Center
New York, NY
212.563.4514

VST
Pasadena, CA
866.464.3533

Forat
Studio City, CA
818.763.3007

TSI
Paramus, NJ
201.670.1767

ADS
North Hollywood, CA
818.754.0467

To help put perspective on your (understandably frustrating) situation, none of these service centers calling us saying they can’t fix MPC1000 units because they can’t get parts. If getting back to making music is the main goal, I’d recommend having your unit worked on by one of these facilities (or by us if you’re under Warranty).

Again though, if you’re committed to repairing your unit yourself, you can certainly place your parts order with us. If it’s not on-hand, just back order it, and we won’t charge you until it ships.

I understand you’re dissatisfied with estimated the wait for the part. The best we can do is put in an order for you, or refer you to a service center who can fix it for you (perhaps more quickly).

If there's anything else I can do to help, just let me know!

Best Regards,

The Akai Pro Support Team

{{If you, or any readers here need further help from us with this, or anything Akai-related, we invite you to contact us directly at 401.658.4032 x1409, or [email protected]. This is your forum after all, not ours}}

ooohh... i see... so NOW you guys pay attention to the things said on this forum... where the hell was AKAI support when we actually needed you to answer our questions regarding the MPC1000's original faulty pads? where the hell were you guys when hundreds of people here have complained about the original AKAI OS on the mpc1000 being buggy [forcing people to switch to JJOS]? what do you guys have to say about the cheap keys used on the MPK keyboards which break so easily? or how about how AKAI took the ALESIS Micron and re-packaged that same exact synth under the name "MiniAK" and even priced it an additional hundred bucks more than the original??

if AKAI gave a crap about their customers i wouldn't even have to be asking these questions... so that's nice that you were able to find this thread through an RSS feed or whatever, but please don't act like you are suddenly here to help us now... if you guys cared about your customers, you wouldn't be charging an additional $180 to remedy the pad situation on the MPC1000 which was YOUR FAULT and NOT the customers... how about you offer a free pad upgrade to all mpc1000 users with the old pads and prove me wrong.

theakaiteam wrote:Though we're not often directly involved on this forum (the whole idea of a third party forum is a place where enthusiastic users offer each other tips...if you need our help, our contact info's below and on our site), we do step in from time-to-time.

Hi Inflict3,

Thanks for contacting us (got your email). I’ll be happy to help! It sounds like you were interested in ordering L4033A502A PCB, Operation-Right Assembly from the info in your post on the forum. Like you mentioned, the information we have on hand is that we’re expecting these around October. While a wait on a high-technology PCB isn’t unheard of in any tech industry, I understand you’re anxious to get back up and running with your MPC.

If we don’t have something in stock (which happens from time-to-time with any technology product), we can put it on order for you. Unlike some companies, we don’t charge you until the product actually ships, so there’s no immediate cost to back-order something with us.

It’s probably not a bad place to mention that with over 20,000 MPC1000 units out there in the wild, less than half a percent ever required warranty service. Compared with our peers in this, or any other industry, we think that’s a pretty great record. This doesn’t help the experience of anyone who has required service though. It’s inconvenient and frustrating to have any equipment you depend on to go down, and we understand that. We’re here to help, and it’s important us to lay out all the options you have available to you.

Ordering a part direct from Akai is certainly our first recommendation, since we can’t control what other places (resellers) have in stock, or how they operate (the folks over at mpcstuff.com are great though). Plus, as soon as it’s available, it just ships. Of course you’d want to get an order in to ensure you get one when they do come in. In case you need it, our Parts Department can be reached at 401.658.5760 x1407.

If getting your MPC1000 back up and running is your main goal, however, I’d strongly recommend having it serviced at a recommended service center. Very few repair facilities are qualified to work on MPCs, and you mentioned that you didn’t have service-bench experience.

If your MPC1000 is under warranty, we can issue you an RMA to have it serviced with us. Just call us at 401-658-4032 x1409 or email [email protected].

If your MPC is not under warranty, but needs service, any of the recommended service centers below can perform it for you. They may also be able to perform the repair at the component-level (i.e. without replacing a whole board or component). Yes, it’s the same list someone posted in the forum thread you linked (we put the list together after all). Note however, that these are service centers, and they generally don’t sell the parts they have on-hand (they’re interested in fixing your equipment after all). So while any of these folks can do a great job at working on your MPC1000, it’s unlikely that they’ll sell you parts outright. That might be why our Parts team didn’t refer you to them as an alternate source. But they’re definitely our recommended contacts for repair service (which it sounds like would be your best course of action from the information you’ve provided here).


Techniserve
Midland Park, NJ
201.670.1767

Armen’s Repair Center
New York, NY
212.563.4514

VST
Pasadena, CA
866.464.3533

Forat
Studio City, CA
818.763.3007

TSI
Paramus, NJ
201.670.1767

ADS
North Hollywood, CA
818.754.0467

To help put perspective on your (understandably frustrating) situation, none of these service centers calling us saying they can’t fix MPC1000 units because they can’t get parts. If getting back to making music is the main goal, I’d recommend having your unit worked on by one of these facilities (or by us if you’re under Warranty).

Again though, if you’re committed to repairing your unit yourself, you can certainly place your parts order with us. If it’s not on-hand, just back order it, and we won’t charge you until it ships.

I understand you’re dissatisfied with estimated the wait for the part. The best we can do is put in an order for you, or refer you to a service center who can fix it for you (perhaps more quickly).

If there's anything else I can do to help, just let me know!

Best Regards,

The Akai Pro Support Team

{{If you, or any readers here need further help from us with this, or anything Akai-related, we invite you to contact us directly at 401.658.4032 x1409, or [email protected]. This is your forum after all, not ours}}

inflict3 wrote:

don_king wrote:Just spoke to a guy at VSTservice.com who told me that buttons for MPC1000 have been discontinued and will no longer be in stock. So I'd imagine that means other parts are also discontinued as well...so much for a delivery in 4 - 6 weeks!

what do you mean "the buttons" ? are you referring to the plastic buttons?? how could this be true? the mpc1000 is still being manufactured, why would they discontinue its parts??

I can only share the information I was given, but I was told the parts were discontinued and would not be stocked in future - perhaps this just means VSTservice.com won't be stocking the parts any more (but why not?). An email from mpcstuff.com said they had no replacement buttons, and could maybe "dig out some old ones", but didn't mention anything about a future delivery of parts.

I can't believe these spare parts aren't being made any more, it doesn't seem to make sense, but that's the impression I've been given by these two stores. Hopefully I'm completely wrong!

yo, crossings, the reason they are here is cause ive been e-mailing them telling them how disappointed i am in them. i gave them this link, also I wrote a report up on them and turned it into another company. I also have the faulty pads, but I cant get the upgrade because its out of stock too... maybe if enough people e-mail them and complain they might keep more parts instock.. all you have to do is go to akaipro.com and hit contact us, then a little form pops up that you can speak ur mind on.... i really love my mpcs, and i want to keep them running right..

lol, also just to clear things up, the reason im so upset is, the pcb board aint the only thing i need that is out of stock. the pad upgrade, plastic buttons, and jog wheel encoder, are just a few of the other things. also, if i send my mpc in to have it fixed, think how much money it is going to cost me to have every tact switch desoldered and a new one soldered in, lol, not to mention the jog wheel post. im sure it will cost 2 maybe 3 times as much as the part itself, plus the shipping charge for sending my machine out. your solutions seen so simple. but how is a repair shop going to fix broken plastic buttons when there is none in stock, or replace a old shotty pad assembly with the upgrade when it is out of stock too?? I know I might seem like a jerk for e-mailing a bunch of different departments in your company, but people need parts, and im trying to wake you guys up over there. just please get us sum damn parts in stock, so i can stop e-mailing you guys over and over again......

Hi Inflict3,

I completely understand where you’re coming from, and wish the parts picture, and the experience you’ve had were better. I’d take the ability to do something for you rather than just pass on advice any day.

Just in case we can knock a couple of those parts of your shopping list…


1. How did you determine you needed a replacement L4033A502A? Just asking incase there’s a chance you don’t need it after all.


2. You mentioned you needed replacement switches/buttons. Did you mean just the plastic piece, or the underlying switch attached to the board?

While our official recommendation is to get the specific part for the specific product (I think you have the part numbers, just let me know if you don’t), it may be helpful to know that according to our development team, you should be able to use a button from any other MPC or Akai product which uses the same style and size button. They may not be the same color, but they’d work.

Also, the underlying switches are pretty standard. Through they do vary from unit to unit, there’s no hard rule that another similar type of switch wouldn’t work.

We do have over 8,000 of these MPC1000 Tact Switches in stock: AL6-02-0033 Switch, Tact, 4P, Small Black (SKHHAM004A)


3. We do have the jog wheel in stock: 821812X Knob, Jog Wheel - MPC1000


4. Are your pads broken or do you just want the different ones? They'll be back in stock pretty soon.

Before working here, I was an Akai dealer for 10 years, and also carried and consulted on any/all other studio gear out available out there. It seems to me that parts like this for lots of manufacturers are often hard to get. Here’s a little background explanation of our parts process, and why we often have a wait on parts …

The cycle of parts ordering is pretty much comes down to supply and demand. So, while we’re constantly making MPC1000 units, and their parts, since the vast majority of our parts orders come to us from the service centers we discussed, this really what drives the demand, and triggers us to place our orders. The parts end up coming in, and going right out on orders. The end result is that once the service centers have their order, there’s often not a lot of left over parts stock, just a few units. There’s really not many individuals or small shops ordering parts for MPCs (most people can’t handle repairing these units).

Also, anticipating occasional back-orders, most of these shops keep scrap units around that they can source good parts from when needed. This is why the service centers aren’t dying for parts as much as you might be at the moment (that’s a lot of parts you need!).

It seems like that your original plan may have been to get a great deal on a MPC1000 that needed some work, sink a few bucks in to the parts, and end up with a good MPC1000 for less money than it would have been to get a new or gently used one.

Unfortunately with MPCs, or any high-technology piece of equipment, this can be quite a gamble (more so than, say, doing fixing up something like a motorcycle) even if the parts are readily available (I really with they were…it’d be much more simple for you!). Sometimes the trouble with the unit ends up being more extensive than originally anticipated, or the repair procedure more difficult. Parts are also rarely returnable items, so if you misdiagnose what’s needed, and get wrong item, you’re stuck with it. So, how expensive the whole endeavor ends up being can be tricky to predict. But we haven’t even gotten you your parts yet!

You may have asked these service centers all ready, but I’m pretty confident (at least hopeful) that most of them would say, “No problem,” if you called and said you wanted to send in an MPC1000 for pads, buttons Jog wheel etc.

If you had an MPC4000, for example, the only route would really be to send it into one of these guys, since the parts for the 4K aren’t coming in, and you could depend on their existing stock, or their ability to access or obtain scrap units for spares (it’s like a classic car now).

With the MPC1000, on the other hand, you still have multiple routes available to you, but these other options may not turn out to be easier … they’re still potentially difficult or lengthy.

Either way, I see you’re in a tough spot. Hopefully working through the questions above, you’ll end up with either a shorter list of parts, or a list of parts that’s easier to come by. Of course, any information or help I can be…just let me know!

...and of course they just ignored every question i brought up. i also forgot to mention how AKAI used to answer e-mails to us MPC1000 users where they were DENYING the fact that they had swapped the pads for newer ones. AKAI SUPPORT IS A DAMN JOKE!!

in that last response they even try to blame inflict's issue on him for buying his mpc1000 used. this is because they have NO FAITH in their own product! you don't see car companies saying that their products aren't any good used. wtf!?

i've been dealing with tech support from Dave Smith Instruments these last weeks, and i tell you... it's a world of difference. they're fixing my MEK [mono evolver keyboard] for FREE... i only had to pay $6 in shipping costs. and they're replacing over 50 encoders on it [they're even replacing the knob encoders that aren't damaged... to leave everything like new]. they even admitted that at first, back when the MEK was just being released, they were using lower quality encoders and that they realized it over time and replaced them with better ones. then they offered me a free upgrade if i sent the parts in. now THAT'S service!! AKAI could definitely learn something from them.