Lots of broken buttons on second hand bought MPC 1000

I bought an MPC 1000 told to be in "working condition" a couple of weeks back, got it in the mail today. I paid £200 for it, but upon plugging it in, I've found that a lot of the buttons on it isn't working (the pads seems to be working fine though) - the mode button isn't working, same with arrow buttons. Also, a pin inside the memory slot is bent, rendering it impossible for me to transfer samples from my computer to the MPC without getting an HD upgrade.

Now, I know there are ways to fix this, I could get a bunch of tactile switches pretty cheap and solder them on myself (which is obivously a bit of a risk), and also get the HD upgrade. But the MPC was said to be in a working condition.

What would you have done in this situation? Sent the MPC back and demand a refund, or ask for a bit of cash in return for a partially malfunctioning unit?

The thing is, I think I would've gotten the HD upgrade anyway, and since the buttons on the MPC are known for being shit, I probably would've needed to upgrade them at some point anyhow.

How much of a risk is it soldering on new tact switches? If I miss with some tin soldering, could I ruin the entire unit?

Any help on this issue much appreciated!

open en ebay claim and either demand a full refund or at least a partial refund to cover the costs. you shouldn't be having to fix an mpc that was being sold as not having issues. if you got it for $200 knowing it was in that condition, it would be a different story.

you MAY be able to bend the cf card drive pin back into place... that's still a big deal though, as when pins make contact with eachother, they make the entire MPC crash and emit a loud noise.

you also might be able to get around replacing the tact switches for some time by spraying some DeOxit on those tact switches that are failing... but the issue will resurface over time. soldering tact switches isn't something i'd recommend without prior soldering experience.

sounds like you're at least willing to fix it, as you've already done your research... contact the seller and let him know what's up... see what you can get... if he's a dick, just send it back and get a full refund...

Thanks for the advice, man, much appreciated! But what do you mean about the pins inside the slot touching making the MPC crash? It does look like it's touching one of the other pins now, in fact. I have just removed the card that was in there, the MPC wouldn't boot if the card was in, but I can turn it on and it loads just fine without the card inside. But is the MPC at risk if I don't remove the pin or clip it somehow? Because it's bent a lot towards at least two other pins, as far as I can see. I wouldn't want to fry my MPC because of that.

I sent him an email asking for him to cover my expenses for the HD upgrade (minus the HD) and the tact switches + a soldering kit, he's been very friendly and helpful prior to me receiving the MPC, so lets hope he continues to be. I got a friend who says he could solder it without much problem, so think we'll just try that.

But the pin thing is a bit worrying. What should I do with that? Thanks a lot for your input, man.

well, basically you would know if the pins were making contact, because the MPC won't boot up and the screen stays lit while emitting a loud digital noise... i would think if one is already bent, you may run risk of them making contact like that when you least expect it or when you insert a CF card... just something to keep in mind if the syptoms ever show up... at least you'll know what's causing it.

All you can really do with the CF pin is try and bend it back as straight as you can.

If not totally straight, will just bend again with another CF card insertion.

If you can't fix it, and want/need to use the CF reader, you would have to buy a replacement.

Thanks a lot for your replies, guys!

Well, I have actually ordered the HD kit for the MPC, so I don't really need to use the memory card slot once that arrives (in the current condition, the memory card slot doesn't work anyway though). Should I then just remove the memory card slot, as in unscrewing it, to keep the MPC from a random crash sometime in the future?

Thanks a lot for your help, guys, I'm all new to MPC's, so this is very helpful.

Daisuk wrote:Thanks a lot for your replies, guys!

Well, I have actually ordered the HD kit for the MPC, so I don't really need to use the memory card slot once that arrives (in the current condition, the memory card slot doesn't work anyway though). Should I then just remove the memory card slot, as in unscrewing it, to keep the MPC from a random crash sometime in the future?

Thanks a lot for your help, guys, I'm all new to MPC's, so this is very helpful.

The PCB board for the memory card is also the headphone stuff, so you'll want to leave it as is, just plan on not using the card slot as you mentioned.

@Mort - We have the exact same taste in electronic instruments and always end up on the same forums.

If you have any questions on how to use the MPC, shoot me an e-mail. I'm not quite a master samurai like most of the members here but am always willing to help out.


Peace!

You could disconnect the ribbon cable going from the CPU PCB to the card reader.

Ah, yeah, and that won't affect the headphone outs at all? I think I'll just stick to not using the card slot for now, as long as nothing's going to happen with it just being open.

But just to get it straight; two pins in the memory card slot touching won't irreversible brick my MPC, right? It will just temporarily shut it down? Right?

medearis; haha, we sure do! Just sent you a mail.

Thanks a lot for your help, guys!

are the tacts really **** or is this just another case of simply needing some contact cleaner.. majority of the people that come here and ask about buttons not working find out that the tacts are just dirty and a can of deoxit solves their problems..

as far as the cf card, i opened up my mp and tried to bend a bent pin and it broke off, the cf card still loads and saves fine. this was over a year ago and there havent been any problems.. no corrupt files, missing files, nothing.. installs jjos updates flawlessly as well..

josephnicks wrote:are the tacts really **** or is this just another case of simply needing some contact cleaner.. majority of the people that come here and ask about buttons not working find out that the tacts are just dirty and a can of deoxit solves their problems..

as far as the cf card, i opened up my mp and tried to bend a bent pin and it broke off, the cf card still loads and saves fine. this was over a year ago and there havent been any problems.. no corrupt files, missing files, nothing.. installs jjos updates flawlessly as well..

I'm not sure to be honest. From what I've read online, the tacts that comes with the MPC are supposedly quite crap, and needs replacing at some point anyhow - don't they? But it won't hurt trying to clean the tacts with a contact cleaner, of course, so thanks for the tip, I'll look into it!

Daisuk wrote:Ah, yeah, and that won't affect the headphone outs at all?

No, the CF reader has a ribbon cable to connect it to the CPU PCB, the headphone and footswitch jacks have separate cables.

Daisuk wrote:But just to get it straight; two pins in the memory card slot touching won't irreversible brick my MPC, right? It will just temporarily shut it down? Right?

No idea, might depend on exactly which pins.

I use to have my brother replace tact switches all the time until I discovered Deoxit. All tact switches will eventually fail, but Deoxit can really prolong their lifespan. I highly recommend getting some. They have it at radio shack.

wudsiba wrote:I use to have my brother replace tact switches all the time until I discovered Deoxit. All tact switches will eventually fail, but Deoxit can really prolong their lifespan. I highly recommend getting some. They have it at radio shack.

Cool. Thanks for the tip. There's no radio shack in Norway, but I can get some off eBay. Thanks for the help, guys!