Karriem Riggins Slams the MPC 5000

Man... Karriem Riggins Slams the MPC 5000... im so fortunate to have never had the common issues with the MPC 5000. PLUS... i back up all of my disks

Karriem Riggins: The [MPC 5000] was garbage. [Laughs] It had some dope elements, but the glitches...On this tour I made maybe 300 beats and then something happened to all of my disks. They got corrupted or something. Every time I turned it on - I could be in the middle of a beat - and then the machine would just freeze up! It was crazy. [Laughs]

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.21720/title.karriem-riggins-discusses-j-dillas-personality-off-the-mic-which-drum-machine-is-garbage

sometimes I wonder if there was a batch or production line that had some sort of defect... maybe a component change? Sometimes people have machines riddled with issues, while others dont experience anything... I somehow dont believe that those guys are using features that cause issues while people like you (psr) aren't exploring those areas of the machine, you have had that machine for a good while now and it seems like you are getting on fine.... maybe the messed up machines were abused or screwed up somehow? (maybe during shipping or in storage?)

mr_debauch wrote:I somehow dont believe that those guys are using features that cause issues while people like you (psr) aren't exploring those areas of the machine, you have had that machine for a good while now and it seems like you are getting on fine...

Yes sir mr_debauch... I agree. I know I dig into the machine and use it a lot. I've always thought that maybe the first year or so of 5000's were mostly duds with some malfunctions or bad parts. I bought right as OS 2.0 dropped so It seems the batches right around then or after then were good to go.

I'll bet it was some sort of change in sources parts etc.

Sort of off topic but I read the history of the rhodes and they had similar issues. Always having to change sources for parts or change manufacturers due to Fender wanting to save on costs and cutting corners. Mr. Rhodes had to always keep his thumb on the manufacturers and logistics of the Rhodes before they went out the door. once even having to go directly to the warehouse to fix a shipment of Rhodes then taking a trip to the new "Mexico" based manufacturer where he found huge issues with precision parts that they were not cutting correctly. So you never knew what you were getting and thats why every rhodes or batch of rhodes sound a bit different.

maybe some similar issues with Akai and the 5000.

about a month or two ago I thought about the serial numbers on the 5000, thinking... I wonder if the serial numbers could tell us something about the manufacturing date/run/batch series/etc.... Thinking maybe we could put our finger on some sort of correlation between defective units and what not...

Because it seems like now (I get the impression) that these large music store chains are regurgitating this model... I get the feeling like people were buying what they thought was a brand new machine but they realize it's actually a return. I dont have any examples... I came to that conclusion from reading threads. It makes it seem like a real gamble (with the odds against the consumer) that they might get a bad unit... If there was a defect in manufacturing, it would be great to have a way to know if the machine you are about to buy could be affected.

I find this a strange story....what disks....and how did they get corrupted.
Questions...questions....

It is easy to blame the 5000 for it....but in my daily job as a Project Manager i notice that most of the issues are caused by users themselves.

RodmanSan wrote:I find this a strange story....what disks....and how did they get corrupted.
Questions...questions....

It is easy to blame the 5000 for it....but in my daily job as a Project Manager i notice that most of the issues are caused by users themselves.

So true RodmanSan. I had that thought as well. I have been in IT / Tech Support for 15 years. Seems to me too that a freezing 5000 alone wont corrupt disks. Cat was on tour. no telling how he stored the disks or what he did to the disks. Maybe stored near some sort of unshielded speakers or some other nonsense. Interesting none the less. It is pretty tough to ruin the type of mem cards that the 5000 uses.

Great remarks psr....i was thinking the same....

The hardware is not the problem with the 5000. Its the software!

Because of that the disks get easily corrupted for no reason. Thats why I back up more then I should. No telling whats going to happen the next time you startup the 5000.

Luckely I had one corrupted drive in the few years I have the 5000. But many times I had to restart because it failed to read the drive which can corrupt the drive.





"The Ren is a joke.....AkaiPro is a joke. "

mr_debauch wrote:sometimes I wonder if there was a batch or production line that had some sort of defect... maybe a component change? Sometimes people have machines riddled with issues, while others dont experience anything... I somehow dont believe that those guys are using features that cause issues while people like you (psr) aren't exploring those areas of the machine, you have had that machine for a good while now and it seems like you are getting on fine.... maybe the messed up machines were abused or screwed up somehow? (maybe during shipping or in storage?)

while this issue sounds like a screwed up disk and not something that can be blamed on the 5000 per se, ....... honestly, some people will never run into issues because they never use significant functions of their 5000. the 5k will perform just great for those who don't dig to deep.

but before anyone freeks out as if i was criticizing their technological know how, here's the thing:

code is code. bugs will be reproducible no matter what, unless they were using different hardware that interferes with the software. a good beta tester will find steps for reproducing the bug, and then anyone can reproduce it...as if it were a feature. all a bug is really is an unintended and undesirable feature of a program. at this point, the 5k beta testing is...disorganized, to be polite.

some bugs are incredibly hard to reproduce because the triggering variables are deeply complex. such bugs can only be found by end users who discuss and corroborate with one another. these bugs can NOT be found easily by beta testers.

that said, in the 1000, 2500, and 500, there was a serious hd/saving bug...it was the "NEW FOLDER" bug. creating a new folder into which you would save your work caused the system to break, and you'd lose your work. it also corrupted prior data. a true nightmare. so i wouldn't put it beyond the 5000 to have a similar bug. i don't know because i don't use one.

I'll agree with all the great points made here but its all relevant. bad Hardware will cause issues just as well as bad software. while the software hasnt changed beyond os 2.0 the sources for the hardware could have.

Also, corrupt discs vs particular feature use that make bugs apparent. how deep can it get? he makes it sound like he turned it on and boom corrupt discs one day. (note: backup ya shit often lol) i don't see any in-depth feature mention in that. I'd say I use a lot of the the 5000 features... imo. just havent seen most of the issues cats have pointed out. although i have reported a couple bugs.there has to be something to it. i dont know if its all software. im certain there are many devices that made it to market and later recalled due to bugs or even malfunctions related to bad hardware etc. its all relevant.

No need to go deep. Its a gamble turning your 5000 on hoping it doesnt fail to read the drive.

I guess if I were in you guy's shoes I wouldn't save libraries or projects in the 5000... I would track every beat out right away, maybe even with the 8 outs... that way you are using the machine to do the creating, but not relying on it to do the saving or stuff like that.

I only experienced a freeze when maxing out the sample memory along with recording to the hd while there were other hd tracks playing along aswell.. And full effect chains on all 4 fxs.. The freeze only happened after i tried to stop recording/playback.. I can't remember exactly what happened.. Never had any saving issues at all.. I hardly use the synth on it.. Sometimes.. HAven't really used automation yet either so i mite run into issues then?

Comparing this to a computer setup i've had the same issues... Probably even more times... (When using computers to make beats and record long tracks. with fx)

5000 is been great really.. I like bouncing between the 1000(jjos) and 5000 because they are different...

dealing with chopping/changing samples is better on the 1000 while the 5000 is better when creating loops and sequences because of using undo without stopping.. Plus the hd feature is good for remixing with accapellas and long tracking stuff..

I guess i was lucky with my 5k.. I also had distributor install the hd and ram in mine.. Hd drive is working fine so far!!

I dont understand, My 5000 is fine as ever. no issues at all! it froze 1 time and thats when i first got it last year.

keesimo wrote:I dont understand, My 5000 is fine as ever.

dazastah wrote:I guess i was lucky with my 5k..

Thats what I'm saying.


maybe its luck idk.