If you got the cash, go to armens.
I couldn't wait. I went yesterday and bought the damn thing. I haggled the price down a bit, you can do that if you got the cash in your hands. I dealt with a lady who might've been his wife or something though so I can't confirm if haggling armen is as easy but i can't imagine why not. I've met him before though, he's a bit odd.
Its funny, I originally found this thread right after finishing an online hunt and realizing armens was my only choice. Pad 1 & 2 were pretty much dead without banging em super hard and blistering my finger tips after my very long but crucial-to-the-workflow sample jams.
I overpaid, but at least it was still less than their ebay price. I was willing to wait but My reasoning was:
1)I bought my mpc for $200 off some kid tryna sell it to sam ash (i was a former employee) ****advice***Always sell privately!
2)I got my Akai Ram off another used MP we got a few weeks later...just put it in my pocket. It was awesome.
3) if i get it from mpcstuff I gotta buy the fat pads separate anyway. Had they been included I would've definatley leaned more towards waiting for a little longer.
4) this might really push you in armens direction:
Akai/the manufacturers are assholes. When they have products on backorder, they take months. Last year alone, if i remember correctly, during my 2nd stay at ScamAsh Music...MPC500's were on back order for several months, and mpk61's or 49's even longer. Of all the special orders we placed, probably one or 2 customers were patient enough to wait...shit i mean we even called other stores like gc and J&r!
Akai are assholes cause they give the 3-5 week answers but 2 months later they'll say the same damn thing. (no offense to mpcstuff, i know that 3-5 is what they said but akai gave me the run around one too many times and **** up my money shon) According to armens, they've been waiting a few months already.
So this was pretty much what solidified my decision to go to armens. Hopefully the pads are back in stock at mpcstuff in a few weeks but this could be an ugly scenario for you:
August 1st 2012, another couple pads die on you if not all of them>
nobody online has em yet>
your only choice is armens>
he either A) sold out the last half a dozen they said they have B)raises the price cause people are desperate..>
you end up depressed with no pads and painfully throbbing finger tips.
Aside from that, the pads work great... matter fact I was pleasantly surprised because the kit came already put together. The installation video I saw looked like more hassle, especially the adhesive part. Only real difference was that you have to open the bottom if you wanna install the pads with the new connectors. but still, very easy.
But now that the performance is back to tiptop shape.. I can move on to adding the solid state hard drive mod, and cosmetics.
Hope this helps you ease into getting got. Cause if you end up going to armens, your getting got shon.
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