buying a 16 year old MPC

Hey guys
Just lookin for a heads on what problems to look out for when buying an old machine .. obviously pads, data wheel and back light.. anything else?
The 3000 im gonna check occasionaly the stop button doesnt always respod first click.. anyone know if this is a pricey thing to sort out?
Cheers
Prone

if it is just some sort of tact switch or something of that nature it should not be too expensive... because you can easily refer to the service manual since they are available in a thread here on the forums.

Since the 3000 has SCSI built in, you may want to invest in some kind of storage device besides the floppy drive. SCSI CompactFlash card readers can be pricey -- but Zip drives are pretty cheap though less reliable.

thanks for the help guys ... ive got a zip drive so i'm okay for that plus thanks for the advice on the buttons ..
Gonna see the 3k in a few days .. is there anything else that I should look out for that says stay away this mpc is mashed up?
The unit is at a reasonable price but its been on sale ages.. could be a dog or maybe its just a sign of hard times.

If i dont buy I'm thinking of getting the 2500 with JJ and linking it too my old s950 as I love the grit from 12 bit.. ive had 2kxl for ten years and replacing with a 3k means I lose time stretch and resample which I like.. but guess I with a 3k i wouldnt need to tweak & alter so much like I do with a 2kxl to get the gritty beats. hmmm decisions..

You know the 3k is 16bit right?

Oh yeah .. I realise that but regardless it has a lovely sound and to be honest I can get the grits from an xl (witha bit of a tweak) and I could also I could do so with 3k.. If I take the modern option (buying 2.5k) ill fall back on my s950 for the grits purely on drums..

prone wrote:If I take the modern option (buying 2.5k) ill fall back on my s950 for the grits purely on drums..

This is the option I would take, but then I am a 2500 and JJ user. I'm sure the 3k is a superb machine, but sometimes people let their heart rule their head and end up disappointed.

I wouldn't want to swap the drag and drop over usb, bigger screen or easilly accessible spare parts for the sound of the 3k. Let alone how great the JJ os is in use...

Thanks .. some good advice .. the JJOS benifits are tempting

Go check out the JJOS section of the forum... lots of good info over there.

Well guys .. i'm gonna be trippin over to the 2500 threads .. finnally made up my mind.. although I love the sound of the 3k .. I have my s950 which is off the the hook and will be used in conjunction with a 2500.. so old n new working together.. whatever I use I can get it to sound heavy.. maybe when I sell off a bit of my old gear (2kxl & yamaha aw2816) I might get a 3k and see u back here .
Thanks again & please step buy and check my production on http://www.myspace.com/djprone .. or if you like breaks check the band http://www.myspace.com/funkshone .. still releasing stuff on 45 & touring as Sir Joe Quatermans backing band in Europe this summer.. hell .. shameless self promotion .. why not..
U been great .. love this forum

Seems i'm late but Talking about the malfunctioning STOP button it should be the dirt.

Yesterday while installing Vailixi 3.50 i cleaned up all my 3000. More specifically all the switches since some were hard to press.
I used a KF air can to clean it up, and lubed them all with Deoxit (2 times like recommended on the bottle).
I cleaned the pads since they were good, and the pad sensor too. Way better action, way more sensible to low velocities now.

She acts as a new one now!

but guess I with a 3k i wouldnt need to tweak & alter so much like I do with a 2kxl to get the gritty beats.

You are on the wrong way i think, 3000 sounds clean and round. I myself always need my Emax or S950 for their sound.

Coz wrote:

prone wrote:If I take the modern option (buying 2.5k) ill fall back on my s950 for the grits purely on drums..

This is the option I would take, but then I am a 2500 and JJ user. I'm sure the 3k is a superb machine, but sometimes people let their heart rule their head and end up disappointed.

I wouldn't want to swap the drag and drop over usb, bigger screen or easilly accessible spare parts for the sound of the 3k. Let alone how great the JJ os is in use...

This is a very smart sentence in my opinion. I agree in 100%. If you want to "downgrade" from a theoretically better machine to older and not so advanced technically, then you must know, what you are doing. Me myself - I've downgraded from mpc 1000 with the latest jj os to mpc 3000, but I've added a compact flash reader, and really I wasn't ever dissapointed with my mpc 3000. I just love not mostly the sound, but the oldschooliness of the mpc 3000, and the fact, that it's built like a tank. I had a concept, to make a hybrid in my studio. Mix old equipment with new equipment, and it was a great idea in my opinion.

To the author of the thread - You can easily get those micro buttons, that are held under the stop button, or play, help, start etc. for around 12$ on mpcstuff.com if I remember correctly, or even for a 3$, like I saw on ebay.com. Also I think, that those switches aren't used only for mpc 3000. I think, that many of the electronic stuff, that have small buttons - have that or similliar kind of tact buttons, so you can easily solder one from some other device, to your mpc 3000. I'm almost 98% sure, that they'll work fine .

prone wrote: Also I think, that those switches aren't used only for mpc 3000. I think, that many of the electronic stuff, that have small buttons - have that or similliar kind of tact buttons, so you can easily solder one from some other device, to your mpc 3000. I'm almost 98% sure, that they'll work fine .

Yes you are correct -- though the tact switches for the MPC 3000 have two legs, while most other tact switches (as used in MPC 2000/XL, MPC 60) have four legs....

From the Sticky:

MPC3000 TACT SWITCH PART NUMBERS:

Mouser Part #: 688-SKHVBE
Manufacturer Part #: SKHVBED010
Manufacturer: ALPS
Description: Tactile Switches 6.0x6.0x5.0mm 160gf

Didn't knew that . I was only changing my tact switches that were responsible for "Mode" and "cursor down" function in my mpc 1000. I saw there exactly 4 legs. Maybe there's a possibility to bend two of the four legged tact switch and match to the soldering point on the circuit board on the mpc 3000. Dunno about that. There's no bigger risk to check that out, of course if having some soldering skills .