MPC 4000 capacitor and opamp replacement?

Hi there!

This solder geek is looking into replacing the audio signal caps and opamps w the newer nicer ones to relieve the old ones n maybe add a lil headroom n clarity. I feel like these machines are getting old enough to benefit from it.

Anyone tried this yet?

I was thinking about modding it at one point, but as I re-learend the 4000 from last time it isn't so screechy, from what I remember.

I briefly spoke to Audio Upgrades (Jim Williams) about it. He requested pictures of the inside. In the end I just got another sampler.

If you do it, maybe you can record it first for comparison..

There was already a thread about this a few years ago on gearslutz.

Someone had sent their 4000 over to Black Lion Audio to do this but after a few months, BLA didn't make any headway with it. I'm sure if you googled MPC 4000 op amp you'll find the thread I'm talking about.

ohhhh yeh! Hey thanks for the info

Reading that thread reminds me why I typically avoid open forums; Seems like anything and everything turns into a pissing match at some point hahaha!

Dude was looking mostly at AD/DA converters which I thought of, but decided just the analog signal path is more my level, and the caps do degrade over time. BLA apparently WAS able to swap the opamps and CAPS would be a cinch. I may Dusty's advice and ask Bruce Forat at Audio Upgrades if he can help. I'd be sure and do some A/B comps if I do.

Heres the thread if anyone's interested: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/rap-hip ... -mpcs.html

Thanks again for the info guys, I'll post my findings here if I come up with anything.

@FUBARd Yeah I remember reading the thread, I just figured it would be better for you to have a look instead of me copying and pasting everything.

To be honest, I think a lot of the obsession over "converters" is ridiculous. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get the best sound (which is all a matter of opinion in many cases) out of your equipment but I really do not know how this is going to impact a persons given artistic ability you know? Great, so and so has awesome converters that they can measure some discernible difference on an oscilloscope but can't actually make good beats. So what is the point?

Having a lil tweak of the eq ect on the way out goes a long way.I think those clever akai guys new that the signal would benefit from some shaping on the way out so....the irony is the 4000 gets critisized for being too clean and perfect.But yeah it certainly does have a sound that can be modified.I got the digital spdif installed so can feed out into any other external box if i want.Altho only 16bits.Or resample and usb for further treatment where ever.Ive also just purchased a Radical technologies Spectralis which im yet to really check out BUT the sampled drums sound incredibly clear and punchy(clean too) and that uses Burr Brown (signal path/whatever) so maybe there is potential there.

aha, i didn't know that ('bout 16b output from SP/Diff) - my ADAT output board outputs 24b, up to 92Khz... - that's another path to take (for the cleaner or more colored-if you feed it into outboard gear- output option)

Yeh, I agree that I may be spending a lot of time tweaking gear when I should be making beats, but I'm a hobbiest so I'm not loosing money, just another area of interest. If I'm able to use my worthless time to find a way to keep the sound of the 4K fresh then thats a positive contribution, isnt it? You think THIS is bad, dont ask about the diy modular crap I'm neck deep in. (Sigh)

I like the fact that its clean. I have plenty of grungy stuff for ading dirt. I'm using it as an actual sampler rather than a character unit. If I could make it a lil cleaner w a lil time spent soldering then I win! Much like the dude in the other thread, I'm GD SICK of futzing w the computer. Its always something w that damn thing. You finally get it working n some update screws it up, then you deal w an annoying workaround that steifels creativity n ruins inspiration. I'm not THAT creative or inspired so when a vibe hits, my gear needs to be ready QUICK. That... and Ive been trying to make computer music work for ten years now and nothing cimes out. When i was moc based i was turning out tracks on the weekly. Im just old I guess.

Tiger, I actually was considering ADAT out to the Rosetta, but then I'm right back in the box where I'm trying to break out of hahah! Plus all my best sounding gear is dusty old stuff that uses wires and knobs. Like I said, I might be living in the past, idk.

I kinda wanna just give it a shot n see if I can tell the diference at all. I hate futzing w the computer, but kinda like futzing w hardware hahaha

I recapped n rechipped my soundcraft ghost a la the cration audio labs way (which took most of a sunmer) n it sounds amazingly better. I'm thinking just MAYBE this concept could be applied to the MPC. Then again, most ppl cant tell the difference between animoog and a minimoog :S

Yeh maybe I just need to burn one n go chop some disco instead

@FUBARd what kind of caps did you choose for your recap?

Also check out the other MPC 4000 thread about the dude from France that made his own led backlight controller for the 4000's LCD. It looks super clean.

I went w Panasonic FM caps n half of em were of significantly higher capacatance than factory which may have something to do w it. The chips were all BB level TI HiFi ones. (TI aquired BB a while back, I learned in the process) I'm no EE, the manual I got from CAL had the BOM and really clear instructions.

The purpose here would be mostly to replace, w possible minor upgrade, considering this very high milage unit i just got had probably been on longer than most caps are rated for. I need to take the thing apart cor the ssd & fan upgrade asside from spraging the obvious cigarette residue out anyway lol. Just thought I'd swap a few choice components while I'm at it. Prolly wont make a HUGE diference, but it'll make me feel like I helped revive this old soldier a bit.

That LCD upgrade looks pretty slick too. I might just frankenbox this thing tha F out! I'll post pics n details when it happens. Gotta catch up w the modular backlog I dug myself into first.