New MPC 500s?

I got a gift certificate for christmas for Amazon. the mpc500 has been temporarily unavaiable for some time - I've seen where many places don't have it either. Most said new ones would be coming in the end of January, now it looks like most are pushed to mid-February. Anyone know what's going on? Just curious.

I got my 500 kinda cheap (£200 which is about 300 dollars) kuz it was 1 of the last in stock about 6 months ago here in the uk.

I think Akai stopped makking the mpc500s years ago and they have all pritty much all been sold now.

But yea you have raised a good point, i also got told new stock would be in, in a few months, thinkin about it now that was a wierd thing for them to tell me and i got told it very clearly, the sales guy went on a bit of a tangent about it. I can only asume Akai told the retailer in some way that they will make more mpc500s that are either the same as the old 500s or do like a new version of the 500 or somthing like when the mpc1000 got re-released in black with the pad fix (at 1st it was blue)??? but yea wierd, if were lucky they will release 500s exactly the same as the 1s we have (at least on the inside if not out) but with an updaited OS that solves some of the bugs we often moan about in this forum. I really hope akai don't release a new buggy unit n call it the mpc550 or somthing i just hope they sort the OS on the 500 out but they probably wont they'll probs just make a few new 500s that are the same as ours maybe with an even lower build quality n if there feelin a bit snazzy they mite make 'em a differnt colour.

(sorry about my poor spelling, i cant spell n its 1am)

They're still in stock in the U.S. even the 1000 is back in stock after a couple of months missing in action. The 5000 is out of production and the 2500, but some stores still carry them because of the hefty price. And in this economy, I don't think anyone would break that kind of dough.

Try http://musiciansfriend.com they got the 500, 1000, and the 5000 in stock.

Thanks for the quick replies. I've been hoping that Amazon would get some soon since I have the gift certificates, but I might have to consider other options soon. I noticed that musician's friend is on backorder until February, like many other places.

I've considered refurbished from some of these places, but the used/refurbished prices seem to be high, usually $500 or more - not sure what the condition of the unit would be in. I did notice that Akai Pro is offering a refurbished mpc500 for $400. That seems to be a much more reasonble price - I would think that they would be more familiar with what to look at and refurbish, then some of the music retailers. Thoughts on this?

I have found some used mpc 500s for $300 or so locally, but I'm real nervous about them. I don't feel that I have a good handle on testing them out, as I've never had an mpc. I feel more comfortable with either a new one or maybe the refurbished one from Akai for the price.

Edit ...

Maybe the post below answers my questions on refurbished gear ...

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/moan-zone/572324-rant-about-gear-retailers-manufacturers-e-minor.html

Id sell mine for 150$.

Tracks wrote:Id sell mine for 150$.

I'll take it.

martin wrote:

Tracks wrote:Id sell mine for 150$.

I'll take it.

PM me, one pad has a lil blemish but there is nothing wrong with the machine at all and its clean.

Tracks wrote:PM me, one pad has a lil blemish but there is nothing wrong with the machine at all and its clean.

sorry, I thought you were joking! I already have a 500, no need for another. Also I live in Germany, so shipping & tax would be a hassle. But I think you won't have problems selling it for 150 bucks!

I finally pulled the trigger and got one on the way. I'm excited to get going. Will be looking to upgrade the ram to 128 mb and get the mpc500 tutorial ...