Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By Larry Bird Wed Nov 19, 2008 5:46 am
Mpc 500,

when im loading the samples from the library into the mpc and hear the sounds by pressing play, when i save them to the specific pad, when i go back, and to sequence, i dont hear anything

my speakers played it fine just before each assignment to the pad,(i tried recording tracks right out of the box, and probly messed some numbers up in the program area maybe), but when i turn my speakers really loud, i can hear of what sounds to be me hitting the pads randomly to test for sound...

if anyone could answer, much appreciated!
By Larry Bird Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:41 am
all i have is the speaker jack in it, and the power supply to plug it in

the sounds work when i press play to hear them, but not when i assign it to the pad?
By Larry Bird Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:07 am
and when i just press play, ill hear random ass drums i tried to assign in the pads, after i pressed them (without hearing them when pressing them)

is my mpc just ****?....
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By robthom Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:13 am
Is this your first MPC? How familiar are you with the way these work?
Did you get a manual with your machine ? If not download it from Akai.

The MPC becomes intuitive after you get the gist of the way it works a few times. But its complicated enough that if I hadn't read the manual I would never have figured it out just by fooling with it.
I tried to just get on it and make some beats when I first got it, and I couldn't even get it to make sounds like your saying. There are a lot of little settings that you have to diddle with depending on your beat making methods.
I think it could be your velocity settings, thats what tripped me up at first. It could also be things like your mute groups, your note release settings, your effect settings, etc.

You have to at least peruse the manual to get started. I just read and highlighted the parts that I needed like sampling and sequencing at first.

I suggest clearing the memory and just start with 1 or 2 samples to learn how to apply the settings and effects and to sequence them.

You can also try initializing the factory settings by turning on the mpc while holding erase, and then releasing erase after the display shows your mem size and see if that helps get your buttons working.
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By Captain Hook Thu Nov 20, 2008 7:17 am
Try going to : mode/programs/purge unused its all the way at the end then reassign the samples.

Also make sure have have the most current firmware you can check that by going to : mode/other and scroll to the end to see what version you are running.
By SNMTK Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:52 am
im not sure... but i think maybe the problem could have been that in the MIDI/SYNC mode the Pad to Sampler may have been switched to off. after you reset factory settings it wouldve been changed back to on. I used to have this problem it bugged the heck out of me.... but you just muck around and u usually find urself a solution