Used MPC, pad issue? - PadKontrol alternative.

Hi Everybody,

So yesterday my first MPC finally arrived.
I bought a used MPC1000 and when it arrived I discovered that some of the pads were less responsive than others, therefor I fear I might need to install a pad upgrade kit to get it fixed.

Problem is I don't really "like" the feel of the pads as they are and don't know if the pad upgrade kit will help me get rid of that even if the pad's response improves...

So as an alternative I thought of using my Kord PadKontrol, via midi, to control my MPC.
But I actually don't have any clue on where to start with that, could anybody give me any pointers on how to do this?

Also: can people whom already installed a pad upgrade kit give me their thoughts on it?

Thanks in advance,
Miguel

Welcome...

You can use a padcontrol to trigger midi notes on the MPC, however the bank buttons on your MPC won't function to do what you want, also you won't be able to use 16 levels through an external pad.

Full Level might be a necessary stop gap with 16 levels to help you out.

It might be worth it for you to go to a local music store and try out the pads on a 1k there (if they have the new ones) or on a 2500 or something... the 2500 pads are similar feeling, but not exactly the same.

What he said regarding try before you buy but I think the pads, while pricey, are worth it. feels so much better. In the future, once you've gotten used to the way the machine works having responsive, sensitive pads is invaluable, especially for creating dynamic drum sounds.

Thanks for the input guys!

And indeed I'm going to try before I buy, but I think a pad upgrade will be needed anyway because I don't really like the setup with the MPC and the PadKontrol, it works kind of OK but it's just not the same thing you know...

M.

migcla wrote:it's just not the same thing you know...

Oh yeah... I know

Bought an MPD-32 for the same reason... losing out a lot of the functionality (or having dupes) is really annoying. Having just one box that manages it all is so much better.

Well I do have to say I found a half way solution.

I loaded the free JJ-OS onto my MPC.
Doing that I could set the sensitivity of the pads to a greater value, in combination with adjusting the threshold I got semi-good results out of the internal pads. It's better then having nothing or an external controller.

M.