Pad Upgrade?

I noticed MPC-Stuff is selling the pad upgrade for the MPC 1000 with the thick pads as an option on sale for appx $209 as opposed to $255 right now.

I have the MPC 1000 BK-N model machine and the pads are cool with me until they trigger double hits and force me to be very conscious of how I'm hitting the pad to trigger it.

I tried pulling on the pads to see if other ones would move to check for the upgrade, and it seems that the pads are independent of each other (old model).

I really like fidgeting with the corners of the pads where you can press them down and they're flexible.

Is that still possible with the thick pads?

And my main question is, is the pad upgrade with thick pads necessary and worth it?

I mean, I paid around that amount for my MPC to begin with, and it seems like a lot of money to shell out. I'd like to hear some voices on the matter before going forward and considering getting it.

If you have the 16 individual original pad/sensors design you really want the version 2 one.

But if you have the BK-N model you should not have have the originals unless the prior owner or someone pulled a shiesty switch-a-roo move.

Best to open it up and find out for certain.

The thing is even the improved v2 pads/sensor with the uniform rubber sheet still basically sucks (air gap between the pad sheet bottom and sensor sheet), although you have the mechanical failure part taken care of that the first design suffered from.

Whichever you would do, package deal for the v2 sensors+Fat Pads, or just the Fat Pads @ $40USD if you already have the v2 sensors...the Fat Pads are excellent. Like my 1000 responds like my XL with proper calibration setting in JJOS2XL after installing the Fat ones.

Single finger taps, corner triggering, no need to play with extra force or two or three fingers, it's all sorted with the Fat Pads.

I used to only use my 1k with a Korg pad control over a MIDI cable. Fat Pads were like getting a brand new machine.

Yep :/

I checked and I actually have the MPC 1000 BK, which doesn't necessarily have the upgrade pre-installed.

The pads all work, but they double trigger at times and sometimes they won't respond at a velocity according to how hard I hit them.

I'd say it was a good deal since it already had the official AKAI 128 MB RAM installed in it when I bought it.

Since then I upgraded to JJOS2XL and swapped out the red bumpers that were on it with black ones.

And it's somewhat beat up on the outside, from before, and it got some new scuffs cause I'm an idiot and mishandled it.

But the face plate can be swapped out.

So yeah, thank you big time for your recommendation.

I bought thick black pads with the upgrade as a package, and they're gonna be on their way.

You won't regret the 2 upgrades at all.

Those old ones die one by one no matter what.

Even though you really had to come out the pocket on cost, I'm not exaggerating you will feel like you just bought a whole new MPC.

Glad to help man, and I'm smiling right now like , "that dude is gonna be SO pleased when he gets his new joints installed."

D: !!!

I just installed the upgrade, and the new pads are not sensitive at all!



I have to hit them hard in order to get them to respond :/

I called and left a message at mpcstuff, but this is brutal

I was way excited for an upgrade, and I got something way worse instead

:O!!! Holy shit, never mind..

I restarted, unplugged, plugged it back in, and tweaked the velocity settings and it started working

I'm still panicked kinda from it not working before, but you're right, this is a new level of game

Thank you so much again for your rec yo, I really appreciate it and keep makin the music flow

The BK-N thing was very misleading and didn't mean new style pads.
Also funny how they have the silver rear plate model and the black rear plate model.

Best to try and use the serial number cut in for a pad reference.

MPC Stuff sent the assembly pre-made and put together; even the pads were stuffed in their holes.

I need to ask- does it make a difference if the upper right rubber nub from the pads snapped off? I used Bausch & Lomb clens to remove fingerprints that were left behind on the surface of the sensors, and minimized my pressure while doing this (read about prints reducing sensitivity on a googled gearslutz post, and the installation video made mention of trying to reduce pressure on the censors so goo doesn't get on them)..

When I pulled the pads out (mind you, pre-installed), the nub on the far right just snapped right off the bottom. The pads are still secure because of the metal housing.

I was disappointed because the sensor sheet was mal-aligned with the holes of the pad bay that led to that happening. I don't know if that's also why the response isn't what it was cracked out to be.

And what did you mean about BK-N being misleading?

Last, I've been messing around with the sensitivity, and I'm not getting that reputed ease of playing that others say they get.

I don't have to whack the shit out of the pads, but they don't register until I hit them with some mild force.

I saw videos and read posts where several people claimed even the lightest touch or the slightest amount of pressure sets off the pads.

That's not the case at all for me so far.

Adjusting the sensitivity doesn't make the pads more responsive, but rather makes the lightest hit (which takes some thwack to get to register) sound louder.

There's no setting for curve type on JJOS3, I also don't see much of an effect from Pressure and Pad On Level setting changes.

Basically I'm confused right now because I paid 200 bucks for pads that are thicker, stiffer, and therefore are more uncomfortable to hit with the force I need to apply to get them to register.

I'll admit they don't produce double hits, so they're more accurate, but I'm sort of sitting here trying to trick or convince myself to believe that I got something better than I had before.

Any feedback? I'm clueless about what to do right now.

I couldn't describe it accurately in words, so I just loaded a hi hat sample across the board with the same velocity and pressure sensitivity, and of course, curve and pad on level.

I loaded JJOS2XL back for this test since I'm familiar with it, and since OS3 is buggy.

I can't convey how disappointed I am about this--I spent my whole week waiting for these to get here, and I find poor quality and nothing of what was promised by performing the upgrade.

It's just a tougher version of the original pads--you can hear double-hits trigger, and striking inconsistencies across the board.

I'll try to contact MPC Stuff and they'll hopefully do something about this.

200 bucks is no joke.

EDIT- Pad 4 is the only pad that triggers as promised, and some double-hits registered even then.

Every other pad is being compared to pad 4 in this video to show the degree of difference.

basically, the newer pads aren't necessarily better as far as sensitivity of the sensors... they just have a longer lifespan... because the older ones start dying out one-by-one over time.

Misleading because even tho they are black they can still have the old style pads.

You should not have taken the bait on those thick pads should have gotten the standard ones first.

JJs sensitivity can be tricky going from old to new style pads depending on the user.

As mentioned the real deal is the new pads are more reliable, me personally I felt the original hard pads were better just had a short life expectancy.

I never tried the original separate pads,
but I didn't find the V2 pads on my 1000 to be particularly sensitive.

And although I'm glad I got the fat pads from MPC stuff,
they look awesome and they at least seem more accessible the way they're all in your face,
I didn't notice any increased sensitivity after putting them in.

(Still easily 50 bucks worth of cosmetic upgrade though IMO.)

Thats interesting that ntalec says the old ones were more sensitive.

You can get a handful of those on ebay from someone who upgraded for less then 50 bucks and just keep replacing bad ones IMO.

For 200 bucks you could get an old blue 1000 with 12-13 good spare pads left and a bunch of extra parts to resell or salvage.

If you keep your upgrade you could put your functioning singles on ebay for 10 bucks each and a couple bucks shipping to make some money back.