Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By fuzuku Sat Oct 04, 2014 10:52 pm
Holy F**ck, so many problems and bugs. And hard to find a decent used in good condition MPC500s.

People like portable devices, not like thin paper applications which attach to tablets with "Pads" (Which are super cool to me). But it just doesn't cut it for me. I can't sample and hit pads quite MPC style in any of those (I imagine). They are nice, serviceable, but it's not what most people are looking for. Hence so many people digging portable or larger classic MPCs.

The MPC500 came out in 2006. So many people are still looking today to buy quality good working and in excellent condition ones.

Why don't make a new line of MPC500 AKAI people? Like the same 500s but rigged, and with more hardware and software upgrades which has been learned thru these years of performing and data archives?

It has been proven that people LOVE the classic MPC. Even if it upgrades every couple years and changes a couple of its features, most of the time for the best. Upgrade to a new MPC500!

I'm getting a classic big ass MPC or a brand new renaissance at first chance (I don't like to rely on computers while using my MPC), AND at the same time another MPC500 refurbished and rigged, so I can throw it in my back pack, hooked with rechargeable batteries and an iPod or a disc man and make beats and/or samples wherever I am.

Remember crate digging and needle dropping and hardware interaction is VERY addictive.
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By SimonInAustralia Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:01 pm
fuzuku wrote:Holy F**ck, so many problems and bugs. And hard to find a decent used in good condition MPC500s.

...

I'm getting a classic big ass MPC or a brand new renaissance at first chance (I don't like to rely on computers while using my MPC)

I see good condition MPC500s for sale quite often.

MPC Renaissance is a controller, it doesn't work without a connected computer to run MPC Software.
By fuzuku Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:18 pm
I guess what I'm trying to say is I love "Vintage gear". Vintage guitar pedals, vintage amps, old records, vintage out gear board, mixers, etc. (I guess vintage applies before 1980? 1985?)

It is hard work to find those in good condition then repairing them and a whole work of the trade of not getting ripped off when buying from other sources, "unknown" sources, etc, or a bum trip having to use warranty. It's a whole consuming travesy sometimes. And time consuming. (and sometimes and exiting part of the trip)

A brand new line of MPC500s would be nice. After having to find, inspect, look around, for so many stuff, one less stuff to worry about, plus workable and not like "flashy" upgrades on a MPC500, placing its virtues on top (a portable MPC!) would be nice, and as it seems, profitable for the company.

Buying an used MPC even if it has the minor problem it's a total demoraliser even if it can be half fixed thru other companies. If you're lucky you can have a good working MPC500, but not a NEW one. I think there's a big difference there. And even more a new version of the MPC500 without taking out or "upgrading" what makes it great.
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By motosega Thu Apr 09, 2015 10:52 am
the mpc500 like most audio things >500€ is an impulse buy, loads of people buy one, decide they don't want to put in the time to learn it, let it sit for a year of so then sell it on. there are loads of them on ebay, curently at about 350€

the mpc500 is by far the easiest mpc to buy second hand. obviously its rare to find one in a still sealed box.

obviously the mpc500 is the most limited mpc. but it has its charms, especially the fact that it forces you to use your ears for everything. it has no major hard/soft problems, and its cheap.

its unlikely that akai in its current state will bring out another mpc like the 500. currently the market is concentrated on computer based solutions, and cheap groovebox type things.
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By motosega Fri Apr 10, 2015 11:52 pm
ok, it's one with the fewest pads, the fewest outs and the smallest screen. but we love it for what it is.
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By mr_debauch Sun Apr 12, 2015 5:10 am
it pretty much is the most limited mpc technically... it has decent ram, CF, and 100k events i believe.. but even the 60 has 16 pads and 4 midi outs.. fx send/return built in.. and some other bells and whistles that kind of bump it up above the 500.
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By Ill-Green Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:38 am
Another bug, when you loop a sample from the pads (SHIFT+PAD) they tend to turn off by themselves after a minute and a half of playing.
By master the mp Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:07 am
shift + erase doesn't work for bank b,c and d in slider mode. This is not really a bug because to reset the values you press the erase button and choose Type: Q link. Man I don't know where I've read that it's also possible to reset values with shift + erase in slider mode. :hmmm:
By sachet Tue Jan 16, 2018 7:55 pm
I have just posted in a seperate thread - and not sure if already mentioned here -

the 'screen goes blank randomly' bug -

i know other people have experienced this same issue , as there are a few posts on the boards regarding it!

it can happen when pressing any button or sometimes just by itself.

I asked the legendary mpc fixer 'Jazzcat' if he knew about it but he said he'd not heard of it before.

I find, it happens most when i first turn the 500 on. seemingly at random, the screen will just go blank of all characters. backlight stays on. all sounds and pads still work, and so do menus - in fact you could still use the mp 'blind' if you were able lol.

usually after a half hour / hour or so it stops doing it so much. but its really risky to use my 500 now especially when -
a) when building a beat, lost a ton of stuff this way and
b) when playing live - had to reboot the 500 mid-gig before which was nerve racking.

PLEASE if anyone knows how to fix this, post it up! I might try taking the screen out and re-seating it but other than this, I have no idea what to do.

PS - little tip here (you probably already know it) if your ram-exanded 500 is freezing and coming up with weird error messages, re-seat the RAM. I try to push the ram to the left whilst inserting . if it moves at all (even a fraction of a mm) it causes the freeze.

PSS this 'screen going blank' problem dosnt appear to be linked to ram or CF
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By Sharris Tue Feb 13, 2018 6:43 pm
If it's a bug does that mean ALL devices have it? Just curious as a lot of the bugs listed in this thread I don't have. I def have some weirdness going on (1 example, which might have been brought up already: when I create a new program, reverb automatically gets applied to all samples, but I think this makes it reach the polyphony limit as it doesn't sound like reverb, all samples can only be heard in 1 ear, once I take reverb off all samples sound fine).
I paid $400 for mine, mint condition, fat red pads, upgraded memory with a 30 day return, just to eliminate risk due to all the stuff I heard. It's got a few bugs, but not that bad (at least mine isn't) & it's worth it to me, I love my 500. I get the MPC workflow in a really small package. It goes really well with the bigger MPC's too especially since you can use the same cards.
By AgiFteDmIsFiT Sat Dec 28, 2019 5:29 pm
When recording a live sequence the MPC will speed up to an obscure time signature or freeze/lag in record mode and not allow you to press stop.
By dsil303 Sat Feb 01, 2020 7:13 pm
I have the same issue with my MPC500, but I think it is caused by the RAM.
Mine had no ram installed when I Bought it. I bought some standard 256mb ram that should work on the MPC and when I installed it, the blank screen problem started.

I took out the RAM and i did not have the blank screen problem anymore.
Last week i received another 256mb ram from ebay and installed it.
Worked for a few hours but the next day I had the blank screen again...

Also, sometimes some symbols are missing from the screen. Mostly the underlining part that shows which parameter you're editing when in Step or Seq edit mode. This problem also occured when I had no xtra ram installed.

A fix would be nice, but i guess that's not going to happen.
Just save very often and know how to "blind" save your project the screen stops working...

sachet wrote:I have just posted in a seperate thread - and not sure if already mentioned here -

the 'screen goes blank randomly' bug -

i know other people have experienced this same issue , as there are a few posts on the boards regarding it!

it can happen when pressing any button or sometimes just by itself.

I asked the legendary mpc fixer 'Jazzcat' if he knew about it but he said he'd not heard of it before.

I find, it happens most when i first turn the 500 on. seemingly at random, the screen will just go blank of all characters. backlight stays on. all sounds and pads still work, and so do menus - in fact you could still use the mp 'blind' if you were able lol.

usually after a half hour / hour or so it stops doing it so much. but its really risky to use my 500 now especially when -
a) when building a beat, lost a ton of stuff this way and
b) when playing live - had to reboot the 500 mid-gig before which was nerve racking.

PLEASE if anyone knows how to fix this, post it up! I might try taking the screen out and re-seating it but other than this, I have no idea what to do.

PS - little tip here (you probably already know it) if your ram-exanded 500 is freezing and coming up with weird error messages, re-seat the RAM. I try to push the ram to the left whilst inserting . if it moves at all (even a fraction of a mm) it causes the freeze.

PSS this 'screen going blank' problem dosnt appear to be linked to ram or CF