Support and discussion for all of Akai’s modern standalone MPCs including the MPC X / X SE, MPC Live 1, 2 & 3, MPC One / One+, MPC Key 37/61.
By 99PRBLMS Sun Aug 17, 2025 3:06 pm
Hey guys,

I just got a brand new factory sealed MPC X SE. Installed a 1TB SSD. And everything seemed to be working fine. However after playing around with it for a few hours now, I've noticed some concerning issued.

Every now and then the OLED's on the Qlinks screens, the backlights behind the pads and sometimes the main MPC X screen will flicker off for like a micro second and then come back. Everything seems to be working otherwise, and i don't notice any cuts in audio. Is this normal?

Is it just a glitch? I updated to the latest firmware I think it's MPC 3.5 as soon as i first turned the device on.

Also I've noticed when I intentionally try to recreate double triggers multiple times in a row I get the same things with the QLink oleds and pad back lights flashing off for a micro second and then coming back.

Is this normal for an MPC X to have sudden glitches and flickers here an there when using it? Or is there something I need to check or do to fix this?

A few things I suspect may be the problem?
- I have a power strip connected to another kinda low quality power strip which my MPC is connected to. Could this be it?

- When connecting the AC cable pull safety thing on the back of the MPC to prevent the cable from being pulled i noticed i kinda bent the AC cable a bit?

- Someone told me it's a glitch with the MPC trying to switch from day to night mode? Would this affect the pad and qlink lights though?

- Also I have auto save enabled for every 5 mins. Ive read that this can also cause a quick flicker with the qlinks and the pad lights?

Also the fact that all 3 are flickering on and off at the same times, leads me to believe its a power issue. Lets say it was just the screen alone, then that might indicate and issue with the screen or the connection with the screen and the main board.

Ive tried recreating it for the last 10 minutes with no luck.

Thanks in advance!
By B-Wise Sun Aug 17, 2025 6:44 pm
Try not using a power strip. Then try not using auto save. I don't, I just got in the habit of using the save short cut on the Force which Shift+Save, after every time I do something worth saving or I wouldn't want to do again if it crashed.

Also, since you said you updated to 3.5, you should reset the Preferences. I would do this first. Good luck!
By 99PRBLMS Mon Aug 18, 2025 10:00 am
B-Wise wrote:Try not using a power strip. Then try not using auto save. I don't, I just got in the habit of using the save short cut on the Force which Shift+Save, after every time I do something worth saving or I wouldn't want to do again if it crashed.

Also, since you said you updated to 3.5, you should reset the Preferences. I would do this first. Good luck!


Hi thanks for the reply!

Yeah I've been able to kind of narrow it down to being related to the auto save and quick save functions.

Basically I have auto save set to every 5 minutes. And every time an auto save happens a small message showing the progress of the save pops up on the screen. But as the project I'm working on is so small it only shows for like a micro second, which makes it look like a flash / glitch. When this happens the Qlink Oleds and pad backlights flash off for a split second too and then come back on.

I suspect if it was a larger project I was working on the auto save would take slightly longer and the progress bar would stay on screen slightly longer making it look less like a flash or glitch.

Im also able to re-create it by doing a quick save by double pressing "Browse" or "Shift + Browse". Whenever I use these hardware key commands to auto save the Qlink Oleds, and the pad backlights will flash off for a split second.

Regarding the power strip, I have connected the MPC X to my Furman power conditioner. Probably should've done that right away :lol: but was so excited to play with it.

My MPC X SE was brand new right out of the box when I updated to 3.5. It was literally the first thing I did after turning it on. So it had no preferences changed or set previously. Is it still necessary to reset the preferences you think?

Thanks again for the help!
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By MPC-Tutor Mon Aug 18, 2025 10:42 am
Auto save is quite intrusive, I prefer manually saving every few minutes, muscle memory kicks in quickly so it just becomes one of those things you do at the end of each mini session (i.e. when you have something worth saving). If you don't have a hardware 'save' button, you can always assign the save icon to the left side pull out menu (by dragging it there in MENU).
By 99PRBLMS Tue Aug 19, 2025 7:22 am
MPC-Tutor wrote:Auto save is quite intrusive, I prefer manually saving every few minutes, muscle memory kicks in quickly so it just becomes one of those things you do at the end of each mini session (i.e. when you have something worth saving). If you don't have a hardware 'save' button, you can always assign the save icon to the left side pull out menu (by dragging it there in MENU).


Thanks for the reply. Yeah might have to switch it off once I build the muscle memory to manually quick save it.

Also just wanted to say thank you for the MPC Bible 3! I have it on my iPad in EPUB format and am having a blast going through it and learning the ins and outs of the new MPC!

Very well written and organized!

Was previously using a MPC 2000XL so lots has changed.

Thanks!