New build Pads (16 pad x1 sheet style)

Are they easy to put in? How much do they cost, and what are the system requirements to install them? Has anyone installed these yet? How are they? I got a few pads startin 2 lose sensitivity, and im tryin to replace all 16, so my MPC is as good as new..... They should've just designed the 1k to come with sheet style pads..... if they'd made the MPC 1k a lil bit bigger they could've fit in the original (MPC60,60-II,3k,2k,2kxl,4k,) woulda fit in there and all the problems coulda been avoided... AKAI should offer all us a discount or a rebate or something towards the new pads..... Thanx in advance for ur help.....

1-agreed
2-agreed
3-agreed
etc

very easy install
no problems since install. much better reliability and repeatable velocity.

last night i augmented my rubber pads to make them feel more like the korg padkontrol/m-audio trigger finger/old akai style mpc pads.

problem with new akai pads is that there is a tiny tiny gap in between the rubber and the sensor. this provides extra push to move the rubber thru the air and to touch the sensor.

it's best to have the rubber directly on the sensor, but this presents a potential for double-tripping
such a problem is easily correctable by changing the code to allow for a parameter for "note on," ie determining what voltage actually triggers a hit. jj has that in os2.

rather than compensating for this issue in code, akai makes their new pads with that tiny little gap in it to prevent double hits.

i simply filled that gap with a tiny bit of very soft silicone glue. i let it cure on plastic wrap and then removed the plastic wrap and put the pads back into the mpc. now, if my finger even barely brushes the pad, i get a hit of 1. i set the note on voltage very high, so that if my fingers double drum it doesn't give me a problem.

they now feel identical to pads with a better factory mold.

Just dug up this slept on post because you made reference to it in a new post. Can you further explain a couple of things for me?

Nym wrote:i simply filled that gap with a tiny bit of very soft silicone glue. i let it cure on plastic wrap and then removed the plastic wrap and put the pads back into the mpc.

What exactly do you mean you "let it cure on plastic wrap"? Did you blob the glue onto the underside of the pads and let it set? (not sure where the plastic wrap comes in) How did you get it the correct thickness? Also, is there anything else you can think of that would perform a similar job, do i just need somthing about the right thickness? (I don't have any silicone glue handy... spose I could buy some but haha).

Nym wrote: i set the note on voltage very high, so that if my fingers double drum it doesn't give me a problem.

By "Voltage" do you mean the JJ pad sensitivity threshold?
Wouldn't seeting it high mean you got more double hits? I Have the pad upgrade but still occasionally get double triggers.

Cheers nym.

hey dude this is a looooooong ass explanation so let me see if i can't find a post i'd already made about it...

this is what i sent to JACOB OF DURBAN when he asked about it:

i did make it a public post, a while ago, but there wasn't a lot discussion. most folks weren't interested, which is unfortunate, because my pads are MUCH more playable now than they were when they were shipped to me.

i'd make a video on how to do this, but i already did it to mine and don't feel like pulling it all apart. also, it's impossible to convey the before/after feeling on Youtube.

the glue is a wallmart brand "clear household silicone glue." it should be available in most hardware stores. before you put any on your mpc, drop some on a piece of paper and observe it after it cures. it should feel/look like a whitish clear rubber.

now, look at your pads. do you see those 4 nipples used to secure the pads into the metal frame on which the sensors sit? if it weren't for these 4 nipples, the pads would sit flush against a flat, holeless surface.

what you're gonna want to do is build a curing stand. i used a cooling rack from the kitchen - something with holes in it for the nipples to poke through and allow the pads to lie flat. then, cut a large rectangle of VERY FLAT cardboard and use a knife or a hole puncher to punch out 4 holes for the nipples.

set the cardboard on the cooling rack. now, take some plastic wrap and stretch it taut over the cardboard. use tape to make sure it's both taut and flat. use a pencil to poke 4 holes in the plastic wrap to allow the nipples to go through.

now, turn your pads on their face so you can see their underbellies. place a fingernail-sized dollop of silicone glue on each rounded pad surface. not TOO too much - you don't want to fill the entire indentation. you just want to augment that rounded surface, kind of creating a "peak" if you will. use your own judgement for how much to apply - and try your damndest to keep it somewhat uniform. using too little won't do you much good and might give you unpredictable corner hits. using too much will not allow the pads to lay flat and it'll cure funky/give you mad ghost notes.

once you've applied the glue, drop the entire gooey pad mess directly onto the plastic wrap. line the nipples up to the holes and drop it in. don't move it side to side. if it helps, bend the pad set and put the nipples in 2 at a time.

let it cure in room temperature, overnight. remove it from the plastic wrap by peeling the plastic wrap away. using your finger (w/ glove cuz you're technically not supposed to touch this glue stuff) shore up the edges of your silicone add-on. don't get any extra silicone on TOP of the peak you created, but instead along the sides - only if necessary.

then put your mpc back together, boot up os2 and turn your pad threshold to 16 (lowest it can go i think). play your pads - the most gentle touch should now trigger a hit. you'll notice that you may have to change the way you hit your pads to avoid double-hits, because if you use 2 fingers it'll read both fingers hitting the pad, it's that sensitive.

much like the sensitivity of earlier mpcs as well as the padkontrol and others.


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jjos2's threshold option is an inverse system - lower values = lower threshold/more double triggers, higher values = higher threshold/less double triggers.

Awesome. Thanks champ.

Seems like it would be easy just to peel of the glue dots if I didn't like it, is this the case?

kind of easy. takes some time but it's doable.
the chance that you wouldn't completely dig this mod is very, very low.

Nym wrote:hey dude this is a looooooong ass explanation so let me see if i can't find a post i'd already made about it...

this is what i sent to JACOB OF DURBAN when he asked about it:

i did make it a public post, a while ago, but there wasn't a lot discussion. most folks weren't interested, which is unfortunate, because my pads are MUCH more playable now than they were when they were shipped to me.

i'd make a video on how to do this, but i already did it to mine and don't feel like pulling it all apart. also, it's impossible to convey the before/after feeling on Youtube.

the glue is a wallmart brand "clear household silicone glue." it should be available in most hardware stores. before you put any on your mpc, drop some on a piece of paper and observe it after it cures. it should feel/look like a whitish clear rubber.

now, look at your pads. do you see those 4 nipples used to secure the pads into the metal frame on which the sensors sit? if it weren't for these 4 nipples, the pads would sit flush against a flat, holeless surface.

what you're gonna want to do is build a curing stand. i used a cooling rack from the kitchen - something with holes in it for the nipples to poke through and allow the pads to lie flat. then, cut a large rectangle of VERY FLAT cardboard and use a knife or a hole puncher to punch out 4 holes for the nipples.

set the cardboard on the cooling rack. now, take some plastic wrap and stretch it taut over the cardboard. use tape to make sure it's both taut and flat. use a pencil to poke 4 holes in the plastic wrap to allow the nipples to go through.

now, turn your pads on their face so you can see their underbellies. place a fingernail-sized dollop of silicone glue on each rounded pad surface. not TOO too much - you don't want to fill the entire indentation. you just want to augment that rounded surface, kind of creating a "peak" if you will. use your own judgement for how much to apply - and try your damndest to keep it somewhat uniform. using too little won't do you much good and might give you unpredictable corner hits. using too much will not allow the pads to lay flat and it'll cure funky/give you mad ghost notes.

once you've applied the glue, drop the entire gooey pad mess directly onto the plastic wrap. line the nipples up to the holes and drop it in. don't move it side to side. if it helps, bend the pad set and put the nipples in 2 at a time.

let it cure in room temperature, overnight. remove it from the plastic wrap by peeling the plastic wrap away. using your finger (w/ glove cuz you're technically not supposed to touch this glue stuff) shore up the edges of your silicone add-on. don't get any extra silicone on TOP of the peak you created, but instead along the sides - only if necessary.

then put your mpc back together, boot up os2 and turn your pad threshold to 16 (lowest it can go i think). play your pads - the most gentle touch should now trigger a hit. you'll notice that you may have to change the way you hit your pads to avoid double-hits, because if you use 2 fingers it'll read both fingers hitting the pad, it's that sensitive.

much like the sensitivity of earlier mpcs as well as the padkontrol and others.


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To any and all forum members::


I pick NYM if we play that game "stuck on an island-in-the-middle-of-nowhere" again.

^^