Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By mastasteez Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:43 pm
My 500 is up on eBay and the sale ends tomorrow. I just bought some new material to put inside the pads to increase their sensitivity. I cut to size and put everyting back together and pad 4 wouldn't register my hits.

So I undid the 12 screws again, checked the material was in place and this time tested with the screws undone but the faceplate on. All pads work fine.

So I put humpty back together again, powered it up....an pad 4 won't work.

Any suggestions on how I can rectify this before I need to ship it on Tuesday???
Last edited by mastasteez on Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By MeSoHordey Sun Apr 22, 2012 8:34 pm
mastasteez wrote:My 500 is up on eBay and the sale ends tomorrow. I just bought some new material to put inside the pads to increase their sensitivity. I cut to size and put everyting back together and pad 4 wouldn't register my hits.

So I undid the 12 screws again, checked the material was in place and this time tested with the screws undone but the faceplate on. All pads work fine.

So I put humpty back together again, powered it up....an pad 4 won't work.

Any suggestions on how I can rectify this before I need to ship it on Tuesday???


Why are you hacking together a crappy-ass sensitivity fix when you're just going to sell it? Even if you think you've got it right, if the pad goes bad soon after they buy it and the seller takes it apart, they are going to think you were pulling one over on them.
By mastasteez Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:04 pm
It's not a crappy hack I don't think. I used toilet tissue before for 12 months which was a crappy hack and it worked fine.

The new material is ideal for this but the tightening of the screws is doing something to the sensor.

My eBay ad stated the pads are upgraded and I can't be arsed to change the ad as this would just cause apprehension amongst my bidders.

I know the sensor isn't faulty, as said all pads have worked fine since owning the 500 and doing my crappy hack.

Has anyone else had this problem?
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By MeSoHordey Sun Apr 22, 2012 9:43 pm
It's a little mis-leading when you call out upgraded pads early in the ad, then later in the ad that you spent $80 on upgrades. If the person buying realizes that they are stock pads that shipped with the unit they might feel a little ripped off. Given that, I would try turning down the pad sensitivity before you install your "upgrades". If they are applying too much pressure when the unit is sealed up, the mpc might be sensing them as triggered.

I do hope I never run into a seller like you. You've sold your crappy-ass upgraded unit off, along with your integrity, for a few extra bucks. Hope it was worth it.
By mastasteez Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:09 pm
Are you a **** retard mate?

It say's i spent around £80 for everything. Extra ram included and CF card.

That's not a lie.

You probably don't even own a 500 do you?

Go post your wisecrack dumb posts in OT. I'm looking for serious advice regarding a temporary defect with my shit.
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By MeSoHordey Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:37 pm
mastasteez wrote:Are you a **** retard mate?

It say's i spent around £80 for everything. Extra ram included and CF card.

That's not a lie.

You probably don't even own a 500 do you?

Go post your wisecrack dumb posts in OT. I'm looking for serious advice regarding a temporary defect with my ****.


Cause we all know memory and a cf card is worth £80. :roll:

Memory £4.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256MB-PC133-S ... 542wt_1185

CF Card £4.00
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sandisk-Extre ... 500wt_1202

You must have upgraded your 500 pads with double-ply toilet paper. That's worth an additional £72.00!!!!

Image

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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By Ill-Green Mon Apr 23, 2012 5:35 am
Is this thread suppose to be funny? :P :lol: :lol: because it is!!

Seriously, its like selling a car, just leave things as is and sell her to the next victim.
By mastasteez Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:11 am
Why are YouSoIrritting?

Let's forget about the fact I'm selling it and focus on the sensor yeah?

Good boys
By mastasteez Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:27 am
Let's get things straight actually.

My MPC will probably sell for £220 on eBay.
The fact that the pads are 'upgraded' is not going to increase my cheddar, the fact that they have increased sensitivity is a bonus.
I used my mpc for about 2 months as standard and then put in some hack which worked fantastically well, made finger drumming easier and as a result my progress quickened.

This will be the same for any other noob who decides to purchase my shit. But instead of pissing about with it theyselves, it's all sorted so they can just make the music.

Everyone happy
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By Beatdiggerjazzcat Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:15 pm
Every now and then I find a thread on this forum that creases me up.
The toilet paper thing is the best yet

However... If you are upgrading gear it's always best to make sure you know what you are doing.

To say you spent 80 on upgrades is a bit wrong though... That is unless you were stitched up.

Personally I would never buy a unit that someone has bodged to make it sound more appealing but for what it is worth...

Check your inserts are within the square pad space... The shell may be pushing the sensor to register as triggered

Or be a honest seller and pull the crap out of that unit
By mastasteez Mon Apr 23, 2012 12:33 pm
I honestly don't think it's a bodge job. My first hack was definitely a quick, cheap fix but this second one is clean and works a treat.

The memory was about £30 from eBay a little over a year ago, CF cards vary depending on speed. I was tying in the midi cable with this and the drum kit I copped at prime loops to the £80 extra.

Have you used a 500 straight out the box before? For a first time user it's hella hard to tap out patterns with the standard pads even with 12 levels on.

Back to the sensor problem, I have cut my pad inserts to fit perfectly inside each pad, been extremely careful not to apply pressure to the sensor plate or any other internal parts and all pads are über responsive until the screws are attached and pad 4 dies :(

I will take on board the reactions from you and MeSo and explain to the lucky bidder what I meant, it's not my intention to hoodwink anyone.

If the guy is still unhappy then there are steps he can take within eBay to alert future buyer's. Not really much else for you guys to be concerned with.
By mastasteez Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:51 am
I got the pads working fine and some dude bought it for £258 but when I was boxing her up last night I got all sentimental and have decided to keep her. :mrgreen:
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By jibber Tue Apr 24, 2012 3:50 pm
Can you do that? The dude bought it and then you decide "nah man, i changed my mind, **** you, i'm gonna keep it!"...

I bet the guy who won the auction is real happy about that too.

Remind me never to do business with you. :wink:
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By MeSoHordey Tue Apr 24, 2012 5:56 pm
I can imagine the email now:

Dear Buyer,

I have bad news. I got all misty and sentimental last night when packing up your, sorry "my" MPC 500, and have decided not to sell it to you. The good news is that I have plenty of double ply Charmin Ultra Soft left over after upgrading your, sorry "my" pads, to wipe my eyes.