Problems...

Bought a Blue MPC 1000 on ebay and I'm having problems with it right out of the shipping box. I've been a MPC 2000XL guy from the start but have to downsize due to having babies etc. The MPC 1000 I got powers up, recieves inputs, outputs fine, pads work, wheel works, etc. but it does some funky stuff though. I've read a few similar problems on here and other places where the answer is "De-Oxit" or replace the tact and I don't think my problem lies there although I will be grabbing some tomorrow just to make sure and looking up and pricing tacts. When I recieved it I was having problems with the pad bank buttons to where the A and D buttons would switch and light up perfectly and when you press the C or B buttons it does not switch to them but they light up as long as you had your finger on the button, and when you release your finger, the light goes out. Also the Stop button would not work at all so understandably I was bummed and frustrated at my purchase. The seller messaged me that he read on forums about people having similar problems and to re-install the OS from Akai website which I did, and those problems seemed to be fixed...for about 10 minutes. After about 10 minutes and checking the functionality I noticed the pad bank buttons were now seeming like they were locking up or shorting to where I could not change the button from C and sometimes the one next to the one you were pushing would light up... I noticed this only happened to the pad bank buttons when you pressed the cursor buttons (I also noticed if you reload the OS you have the same results in it working and then failure in about the same amount of time). After continuing on checking functionality, I noticed the cursor buttons were not working properly either. When you pressed the down cursor it would go down and then back up where you came from and right one. If you pressed left it would go left and then back right where you came from etc. The right cursor button also lights up the 16 levels button sometimes when pressed and sometimes the down cursor button when pressed also lights up the Window button. I took a video of this on my phone as I was pressing these buttons. The previous owner states that none of these problems existed when he had it or before it shipped and we are currently trying to come to a resolution. I now have intermittent cursor buttons with ghosts and intermittent pad bank buttons, is there anything I can do to make this one work or am I screwed?! I am a Audio/Video/Control Technician for 15 years, so I have no problem fixing/soldering anything if that helps. Thanks in advance for your help

It sounds like you are having a truly awful experience.

The switches work on a matrix, which means that quite a few of them would be inter-connected. By what you describe it sounds to me like one of them may be shorting out. This would affect the other switches along the line of that matrix. At a guess I would first look at the Bank switch that it seems to revert back to. (maybe there might be a circuit diagram for that board on this site somewhere)

Also worth a try, is reseating the blue flat flexible cable connector on this board. I've got a 2500 but think the 1000 may be similar. The Blue FFC is released by pulling back the plastic tabs at the side of the connector - they'll look like they are molded into the connector but do actually move.

All this is just a guess though, but it's what I'd be doing if I had your problem.

Good Luck & hope it all comes right for you soon.

Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it. I will try that this afternoon when I get home from work, crossing my fingers...

Kavid wrote:Thank you for responding, I really appreciate it. I will try that this afternoon when I get home from work, crossing my fingers...

Really a sad situation.
You should be happy since the 1k was an upgrade compared to the XL.

The problems you are seeing as well as the sellers response says they knew about them.
Was the unit sold as working or with issues?
If it was sold as working then a refund should have been the result of the communication with the seller.

Did you get the unit cheap enough to make keeping it make sense?

IMO a blue MPC should be purchased locally only.
There are just too many things you want to verify about it's condition.

The real key in this situation would be price paid and advertised condition.

Thank you for responding. I paid around 350 for it and was in the auction described that it was in perfect condition with no faults. It is in great cosmetic condition though. Not used very much for sure. The seller contacted me back and said we have 2 options as he insured it. He said we can either do the insurance thing through Fedex, or work through ebay/paypal resolution center. Any thoughts?

@Kavid

ye I'd take it apart, see what's goin on inside.

--offtop. If you write long posts like your first one, please split them into paragraphs.

Not used very much for sure. The seller contacted me back and said we have 2 options as he insured it. He said we can either do the insurance thing through Fedex, or work through ebay/paypal resolution center.

hmm, if Fedex is willing to pay out the insurance amount, why not?

Thanks for the advice. Will do in the future on the paragraph thing also. I was a little frustrated and just needed to get it out, so I kind of rambled on sorry

I would do the eBay resolution or just have them refund the money.
FedEx didn't damage anything so you would be robbing them if you tried to make them pay.

Still sounds like the seller knew of the problems.
Also $350 for an old blue is high compared to what you can get a black for used at GC online.
Probably still has the old style pads on it also.

No reason to be opening up an item looking for problems when it was described as working based on the problem you are seeing.

ntalec wrote:I would do the eBay resolution or just have them refund the money.
FedEx didn't damage anything so you would be robbing them if you tried to make them pay.

Still sounds like the seller knew of the problems.
Also $350 for an old blue is high compared to what you can get a black for used at GC online.
Probably still has the old style pads on it also.

No reason to be opening up an item looking for problems when it was described as working based on the problem you are seeing.

Thats the thing is I honestly don't know if it was like this while the owner had it, and if it wasn't messed up like he claims, then it happened during shipping IMO. No way to prove or disprove his statements but if it did legitly happen during shipping I don't think it is fair for his seller rating to be compromised so I'm not sure which route to go. It did not ship in the original box and was not packed to my liking though as I ship things very often including electronics and take much more care personally. I looked up GC online like you said for used black MPC1000's and cheapest ones were $399 but were nowhere near me in Reno, NV to pick up at the store. And I got to thinking about it and if it is going to be a return/insurance deal or ebay resolution I don't want to go and take it apart and break something else or something else go haywire and be stuck with it. Thanks for the advice for sure. I'm still in limbo waiting and will keep you posted, feel free to voice your opinions still though I need as much input as I can get right now...

You can buy used gear directly from any GC store and they take satisfaction returns.
The shipping is pretty cheap and allows shipping to you or your local store.

What you described sounds like bad switches which FedEx wouldn't be the cause of.

Whatever you are going to do go ahead and do it don't drag your feet.

I don't buy many things on eBay anymore.
The economy has made selling things with inaccurate descriptions very prominent.
May work but doesn't look as described or looks as described but doesn't work as it should.
Then there's the new standard calling a broken item untested and making your description sound like you don't know how to use it.

ntalec wrote:You can buy used gear directly from any GC store and they take satisfaction returns.
The shipping is pretty cheap and allows shipping to you or your local store.

What you described sounds like bad switches which FedEx wouldn't be the cause of.

Whatever you are going to do go ahead and do it don't drag your feet.

I don't buy many things on eBay anymore.
The economy has made selling things with inaccurate descriptions very prominent.
May work but doesn't look as described or looks as described but doesn't work as it should.
Then there's the new standard calling a broken item untested and making your description sound like you don't know how to use it.

Fully understood. Thank you for your help for sure. I got a hold of Fedex and they actually gave me two options. I can either do a claim and get my money back and try again, or I can bring it to someone and have them look at it, and Fedex will pay for the repair. So per your previous post I contacted GC to see if they could refer me to someone to look at it. The guy at the store also told me if I get my money back that if I see a used one at another store he will order it to my local one so I can buy it. My question is should I do a repair on it or should I just do the claim and get my money back and try again?

just dont buy blue ones full stop. but the bk or bk n models, if you have a choise always go the bk-n.

the bk models also have to be upgraded just like the red/blue. the only model that is already upgraded is the bk-n

i bought a bk model and it had just as bad pad response and problems as the other red/blue one i had before.