Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
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By ZeusTheElevated Tue Jul 30, 2013 11:39 pm
Hey guys, I've got an odd glitch/freeze/malfunction, wondering if anyone has any idea what the root of the problem is. I'm working on a project right now that has multiple sequences, for some reason, if I let certain sequences loop for awhile (a minute or so), my samples start cutting in and out, going off time, or just not playing. My Stereo output then stops working, as sound comes from only one speaker. If I stop the sequence and hit the samples, everything sounds fine, however if I try and play the samples while its freaking out in the sequence, they don't play properly. If I stop the sequence and try and start it, it starts up in the glitchy loop-playing the samples wrong or not at all. I have to shut of my mpc and turn it back on for it to work again. Would this possibly have something to do with the RAM/memory? Thanks in advance for any help folks!
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By Lampdog Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:21 am
All samples reside in ram while the machine is powered on, ram is your workspace. Glitches like that can happen when ram is bad, going bad, unseated and/or has dirty contacts. Open it, clean stuff up, tooth brush, qtip, small drops of alcohol on contact parts only. Canned air helps too.

Tap on metal before you open it up, dont drag your feet on carpet prior to working on it.
By ntalec Wed Jul 31, 2013 12:44 am
Make sure you are running the newest OS.

When/if it does it turn off any effects and see if it stops.

The 500 is different from other MPCs in that the effects also affect polyphony just like triggered sounds.
I think that was supposed to change in one of the OS versions but I can't really remember.
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By Lampdog Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:01 am
ntalec wrote:The 500 is different from other MPCs in that the effects also affect polyphony just like triggered sounds.

That's a messed up design imo, didn't know that.
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By MeSoHordey Wed Jul 31, 2013 1:18 am
I had one bad MPC 500. Way back in the day when they first came out. It was my first MPC and I really couldn't afford one but they gave me a deal on it at guitar center because it was a floor model. The **** up thing was it was totally sporadic and sometimes never occurred at all. I was new to MPCs and figured I was just doing something wrong. When I finally realized it wasn't me, it was too late to take it back. I never did fix that damn MPC and I even replaced parts on it trying to get it to go away.

tldr; Some MPCs, like people, always act strangely.
By ntalec Wed Jul 31, 2013 2:13 am
Lampdog wrote:
ntalec wrote:The 500 is different from other MPCs in that the effects also affect polyphony just like triggered sounds.

That's a messed up design imo, didn't know that.


It was one of the early hurdles that normal MPC users had to get around when using the 500.
The reason that it was so bad is because you have no way of knowing how or when the effects would steal polyphony so it would look intermittent or sporadic.