"did you make your pads black or buy them that way? looks good man"
No, RichBiach, I tried to die the grey set of pads first of all with no success whatsoever ( infact, they came out shinier and brighter grey than when they went into the black die mix ( go figure ? ). I listened to those that told me it could be done, and indeed they have died pads for themselves, but I couldn't get mine to take at all. So I ordered a set from Micky over at MPCStuff - I got it sent to me in the UK.
Worth noting is the fact that these black pads from MPCStuff have a much softer feel to them than the original greys. They are smoother feeling under the finger and tad more resposive to me over the sensor. Very glad that I got them now, truly. If only Akai used the same softer rubber on thier grey pads ?
Evil is right, though ... there area few others here that have blacked-out their units ( Poundaproblem, is one I think ). However, I did intend to do a black and gold design on my unit, but despite trying three different gold sprays none of them would stay on the plastic properly at all ? I rubbed the pieces down with sanding blocks and coataed with plastic prima in the usual way. However, when it came to spraying the gold paints all I got was separation of colour ... so, after trying three different types, I gave up and just went with the black - and it does look nice. I still have one more thing to do and that is get a white paint pen and just fill in a couple of lines on the unit.
Give a little more, expect a little less ... but always put number 1 first !
Live life and do your best to make it fit around you in a loving and productive way ....