Exchange tips and tricks for the Akai MPC4000
By Deta!L Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:15 am
I recently sold a 4000 to a guy in Canada, I packed the MPC well, but you know how that goes...

Tonight an email from him saying it's broken, and I don't really believe him because it was fully functional before I sent it to him. I took pictures and have other people to verify this, so I asked for a video. After I saw it I see that it is indeed acting up, but I am confident it's a loose cable or loose ram, but I am looking for you 4K experts to let me know what you think. I'm more familiar with the 60 and 3K than the 4k.

The link to the video is below...let me know what you think, thanks in advance

http://gallery.me.com/mrkauk#100169
By bachabulu Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:43 am
hey

i am the guy in canada, some more info below.

i booted up more than 20 times the mpc since i came home tonight (i received it today).
package was well done and not damaged at all.
1 time i had the regular sequence screen for a few sec, then it blinked and disappeared.
3 times i had the "mpc 4000" welcome screen...then gone
rest of time : just nothing
the buttons seem to respond well.
cd would not open.

then i opened it, following the service manual.
removed ram and hard drive. checked every pushable stuff.
same result : blank screen.
reseated ram : same result.
removed cd drive, same result.
reseated everything back, same result.

what should i do next ?

thanks for your help
By bachabulu Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:48 am
bachabulu wrote:hey

i am the guy in canada, some more info below.

i booted up more than 20 times the mpc since i came home tonight (i received it today).
package was well done and not damaged at all.
1 time i had the regular sequence screen for a few sec, then it blinked and disappeared.
3 times i had the "mpc 4000" welcome screen...then gone
rest of time : just nothing
the buttons seem to respond well.
cd would not open.

then i opened it, following the service manual.
removed ram and hard drive. checked every pushable stuff.
same result : blank screen.
reseated ram : same result.
removed cd drive, same result.
reseated everything back, same result.

what should i do next ?

thanks for your help


additional information
sequencer seems to work : when recording i can hear the metronome through headphones and main stereo out.
By Deta!L Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:13 pm
Lord Toranaga wrote:video cable is loose.

this is just a ribbon cable, very thin.
nothing but a little bit of pressure holds it in place.


open the machine, find the ribbon cable, slide back into place.



thank you LT!
By bachabulu Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:20 pm
thx Lord

i just tried that, pulled back ribbon cable, then slided it back in place.
it worked properly for 10 seconds, then the screen blinked and disapeared again.
i did it again several times and the same thing happens everytime : startup screen loads 1 sec, then gone.

is it possible that the other side of the ribbon is involved ?
i opened the lcd but i could not find direct access to the ribbon slot.

what do you think ?
By bachabulu Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:35 pm
Lord Toranaga wrote:just return it and buy a different 4000.

or hit up the seller for the cost of a new screen


it seems pretty clear that the mpc had the issue before i purchased it.
i bought it on this forum to Deta!L, he did not use it before selling the unit.
i will follow your advice LT, Deta!L has been very reactive until now.
i am sure we can find a way to sort this.

thx again for your help.
User avatar
By dabmeister Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:53 pm
I know that the thin ribbon cable that connects between the display and the lcd board is delicate. It's one of those things that if not handled properly, it'll get tiny kinks and start acting erratic.

I use to see this with wireless phone repairs. No matter how well you think you might've cleaned and reseated it, eventually it goes out again (in most cases).

Check with http://www.vstservice.com and see if they might have a replacement lcd cord/cable they can sell ya.
By Deta!L Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:05 pm
yeah, it was definitely not doing that when I sent it to you or I couldn't have taken the pictures

here is a link to the gallery http://gallery.me.com/mrkauk#100154

I've been on this forum too long to risk my reputation, these photos were taken right before i packed it up and mailed it to you. You can click the info button and see the time spread between the first photo and the last is longer than it would take if I was trying to scam you (turn it on, take a pic, turn it off then turn it on again and take a pic again)
User avatar
By gertie Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:09 pm
hey Detail! I

no-one is accusing you of anything improper....afterall youre on here trying to help

most likely those clowns transporting it threw the box around or something....

good luck getting it resolved.
By Deta!L Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:13 pm
gertie wrote:hey Detail! I

no-one is accusing you of anything improper....afterall youre on here trying to help

most likely those clowns transporting it threw the box around or something....

good luck getting it resolved.


no prob man, I'm not mad or anything, just stating my case