MPC5000 reviews, bug reports and fellow user support on the most recent standalone, hardware MPC from Akai
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By NorthernElite Wed Nov 12, 2008 10:52 pm
Whassup Dudes.

As some of you will already know; I recently swapped out the stock grey pads on my 5K and installed the Black ones instead.

During the process of stripping down my 5K, I took a few pics which I thought I'd share with you guys....

The topics I'll be covering in this post are: -

INSTALLING THE AKAI 128MB RAM EXPANSION (EXM-E3)
UPGRADING THE HARD DISK DRIVE
CHANGING OUT THE PADS

I've also marked up the pics with yellow circles showing the location of the screws you need to remove when you're stripping your 5K down... ...See I'm not a bad guy :D

This may seem obvious to some, but it's worth being clear... ...Switch off your MPC5000 and remove the power cord before you even remove a single screw.

OK let's get started: -



INSTALLING THE AKAI 128MB RAM EXPANSION (EXM-E3)

The Installation instructions supplied with your hardware should be strictly adhered to.

I have supplied the info below purely as reference of the steps which I followed to successfully install the EXM-E3 128mb RAM expansion in the 5K.

Note: Akai includes a seperate 'Instruction Sheet' in the box with the 5K, which covers this subject.

If all you want to do is upgrade your RAM then simply remove the cover off the RAM Slot on the under-side of your 5K.
That will give access to the expansion slot in order to install the EXM-E3 module

The RAM Slot cover can be seen near the middle of the unit (refer to the next picture), it's the small rectangle with 2 standard screws, which are not highlighted in yellow.
If you only want to upgrade your RAM then that's all you need to remove.

Be aware when installing the RAM, at first glance, it looks like the connectors will let you install the RAM module any way, but look closer at the connectors and you'll notice that there are small tabs on the RAM module and notches on the sockets, these need to be alligned and they are there to ensure that the EXM-E3 module is correctly positioned within the expansion slot - pay attention to that.

PLEASE NOTE: A small number of users on the forum have reported that they have caused damage to their MPC5000 as a result of not positioning the EXM-E3 module correctly within the expansion slot during user-installation. Akai have designed the EXM-E3 to be installed in a specific way as per the instructions provided in the box.

It's important to ensure that the module is installed according to Akai's specific installation requirements. If in doubt, you should perhaps have a professional Akai Service Center perform the upgrade on your behalf.

Caution: Hold the EXM-E3 only by the extreme edges and don't touch the pins in the sockets on the MPC5000 board or you could cause damage!

Ensure that you've accurately identified the correct orientation for the EXM-E3 module within the RAM expansion slot (in accordance with Akai's specification).

Press the EXM-E3 firmly into the Sockets, applying even pressure to both sides of the module.

Replace the cover to the RAM Slot and you're done.

Now, when you switch on your 5K it should be reporting your RAM as 192MB - Nice!!



UPGRADING THE HARD DISK DRIVE

If you need access to your Hard Disk Drive to upgrade or whatever, you need to remove the full bottom panel, but that's real easy...

You won't need to remove the RAM slot cover, that can stay on.

Once you've removed all of the screws from the bottom panel, lift up the panel really slowly as the hard drive is attached to the underside of the panel itself and it's obvioulsy connected via data and power cables coming from a PCB within the 5K chassis. Just go slow and be gentle, you'll need to gently remove the power cable from the back of the hard drive to allow you to flip the cover over.

Here's a pic of the bottom panel and the screws you'll need to remove are marked in yellow: -

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This gives you access into the underside of your 5K and you'll have full access to the hard drive as shown here: -
(note the locations of the RAM Slot and the 'Unknown' (SD RAM) expansion bay?)

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Here's a close-up of the Factory Fitted Western Digital 80gb EIDE Hard Drive: -
(the jumper positions are clearly marked on the manufacturer's label)

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OK, points to note:

Look at the jumper setting of the factory fitted drive and if you're swapping your drive out, just remember to set the same jumper settings on your new drive or you may experience difficulties.

also

Remember to connect the power and data cables of the drive back up again before you put the cover back on DOH! that's a lot of screws to have to take back out again...lol
(I put only a couple of screws in just to hold the bottom cover in place whilst I powered on and ensured the drive was working, before puting the rest back in)

You can now format the new drive from the Mode + Pad 3 - 'Util tab' - Select, Function: Format and Device: Hard Disk.





CHANGING OUT THE PADS

If you want to remove the top casing for changing out the pads, buttons etc. you'll need to remove the bottom panel anyway, as per the last section, as there's some screws holding the top casing on which are strategically positioned under the hand rest along the front of the 5K.

Here's some more pics of my 5K as I continued to strip her down :wink:

In a similar fashion to the 2500; the side panels can be removed by removing the 3 main screws and gently sliding the side panels forward towards you, you'll feel a click as they release, they'll then remove easily.

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When you remove the plastic side panels, you'll notice two standard screws underneath. These 2 screws are securing the top casing on each side - you'll need to remove these also.

Another point to note: watch the difference in all of the screws you're removing as there are at least 4 different types you'll come across (more if you start removing the screen etc. which I did for fun, but not necessary here...lol)

1. Large fat screws for removing the side panels
2. Small flat headed screws for the front panel and 4 along the top casing at the front
3. Slightly longer round headed screws, generally used for connecting the plastic hand rest
4. A ton of the standard, little round headed screws, for everything else

But pay attention as you remove them all, or you'll be living in a world of hurt when it comes to puting it back together.

You can see in this pic the amount of screws which I've removed to get the side panels, hand rest, front panel and top and bottom covers off (note all of the screws sitting in the side panel and there's more in a plastic cup just out of view...lol)

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whilst you've got the bottom panel off, remove the 4 screws holding the front hand rest on (again refer to my yellow markers) : -

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Remove the front panel, the metal one on the very front with the CD drive and CF openings. OK I didn't take a pic of that one as even Homer Simpson could do that! It's the same method on the MPC1000 and 2500 front panel. Remove the 2 flat headed screws on the front and the 2 round headed screws underneath the front panel - It'll then just remove easily.

Then get your breath back.....

You'll need to remove a further 5 longer screws holding the front hand rest on, these are positioned under the front panel which you've just removed: -

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OK? now that all of the screws are removed from the front hand rest you can gently remove it (needs a little gentle persuation) and then you'll reveal the 4 flat headed screws holding on the front part of the top casing: -

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You'll need to remove 6 of the standard round headed screws from the back casing panel.

One other thing I need to point out - as highlighted in the next picture - There's two standard round headed screws in the back recess for the screen, they're next to the little rubber stopper that the screen rests on when it's in the closed position.

When these are removed that will then free up the top casing for removal: -

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Right lets get ready to remove the top case - BUT WAIT!!!

You're gonna need to remove the 4 knobs on the q-link faders (Q1 - Q4)

Also, there's a tiny black spacer on each slider, you'll see them when you remove the slider knob, remove them also and put them in a safe place, as I'll bet you'll lose them as you remove the top case if you don't - that's quit important actually!

Then you can lift off your case slowly - be aware that the case will lift off over your screen, similar to the 2500 and the screen needs to be in the open position for you to achieve that.

Watch out for the metal brackets from the 2 screw holes at the rear of the screen as you lift off the casing to avoid scratching the screen casing - just go slow and steady. Same goes for when you're puting the casing back on again afterwards.

Just slowly lift off the top casing completely....

You've done it! - you'll see the pad sensor assembly. Here, I've removed the whole sensor assembly completely (for fun again..lol) - you don't need to do that to change the pads, just whip off the old rubber pads and place your new ones right on there - They're exactly the same size and design as the 2500 series pads, so you can just order those and they'll work great. I got my black pads from MPCStuff and I've gotta say the international service was brilliant.

The top casing fully removed: -

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...and here's the 'Black Beauty' fully rebuilt with the new black pads installed : -

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Overall, I'm really impressed by the build quality and construction of the 5K - she's built to last!

OK you're done - tune in next week, where I'll be explaining how to put it all back together...lol just joking there! :lol:

Hopefully that will help some of you guys out and I hope you found it interesting.

That only leaves me one thing to make absolutely clear: I'm not encouraging you to open up your MPC5000. I don't know how this will affect your warranty - for me I don't really care - but you may want to think about that before you start opening your MPC5000 up.

I've provided these details purely for reference and I don't accept any responsibility for any issues you may face if you do decide to go ahead and open your 5K up. I'd say, if in doubt don't do it!

If anyone needs any more help or any questions answered, hit me up and I'll help where I can.

Peace - Elite.
Last edited by NorthernElite on Sun Feb 15, 2009 11:24 am, edited 24 times in total.
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By Lampdog Thu Nov 13, 2008 5:30 am
Image
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By Askia Shaheed Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:46 am
Thanks NorthernElite!

This is exactly the type of threads we need more of in the forum.

If any thread needed to be a sticky, it is certainly this one!
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By NorthernElite Thu Nov 13, 2008 7:17 pm
Askia Shaheed wrote:Thanks NorthernElite!

This is exactly the type of threads we need more of in the forum.

If any thread needed to be a sticky, it is certainly this one!


Thanks for promoting this thread to a sticky Lampdog!
Last edited by NorthernElite on Sat Nov 15, 2008 9:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By NorthernElite Thu Nov 13, 2008 9:03 pm
LvngDead wrote:*jaw drops*

SQUARE SENSORS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS? SQUARE SENSORS????


Am I correct in thinking that you didn't put much thought into this particular question?
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By LvngDead Fri Nov 14, 2008 2:50 am
It would be the shit if this unit has large square sensors. That's what it looks like from the pictures.
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By Lampdog Sat Nov 15, 2008 5:46 am
LvngDead wrote:*jaw drops*

SQUARE SENSORS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS? SQUARE SENSORS????


I'm going to guess that you've not seen any of the other mpc models stripped
down to their sensors have you?
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By LvngDead Mon Nov 17, 2008 4:34 pm
Lampdog wrote:
LvngDead wrote:*jaw drops*

SQUARE SENSORS???? ARE YOU SERIOUS? SQUARE SENSORS????


I'm going to guess that you've not seen any of the other mpc models stripped
down to their sensors have you?



Nope. The 2000xl doesn't have the same sensors though, right?
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By Lampdog Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:16 pm
There are a few stripped 2kxl pics runnin around here. If I run across one I'll point it out.