Reviews and questions about the entry-level MPC500
By alamin Fri May 24, 2013 12:05 pm
Hello,

Just a couple of classic questions becaues I want to move from MPC 1000 to 500 :

1) is it *really* possible to use it battery-powered? it's the main reason for which i want to move 1000 -> 500. i want something portable, that i can bring with me everywhere.
how long will the battery last?

2) is it possible to charge the batteries, *without* taking them out ? i.e. if I use power-unit (wall adapter), will it charge the batteries that stay inside ?

3) are there some veryyyyyyyy annoying features missing on 500, that are present on 1000 ? features that you miss ?

4) how to select sample start/end (trim) without a waveform display ??? i haven't found any screenshot with google

cheers!
By alamin Fri May 24, 2013 1:42 pm
thanks m:t:c for your answer!

1) any idea about average battery duration : is 4 hours is realistic (with good rechargeable 2500 mAh batteries?)

2) ok thanks, so you need to take the batteries out and in all the time ??

3) example of feature that your miss the most ? ;)

4) ok thanks :)

I add:

5) does the MPC 500 support longer than 16 characters filenames ?
By Machine Life Fri May 24, 2013 11:33 pm
alamin wrote:
1) any idea about average battery duration : is 4 hours is realistic (with good rechargeable 2500 mAh batteries?)


Yes, I never had to use a set all the way down yet, but others have said they got 4-5 hours.

alamin wrote:2) ok thanks, so you need to take the batteries out and in all the time ??

Yes.

alamin wrote:5) does the MPC 500 support longer than 16 characters filenames ?

Not sure about that one, but probably not.
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By inflict3 Fri Jun 14, 2013 8:19 am
dude, the file name size is a ****, if u have alot of files that have the same names that are long and they just differ by a number at the end it will not scroll through em, like in alot of sample packs, u have to go through the files and shorten the names, it does support them, but its kinda like a bug or something.... i love chopping on the 500.. use ur ears, there are numbers too..
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By Menco Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:52 pm
alamin wrote:3) are there some veryyyyyyyy annoying features missing on 500, that are present on 1000 ? features that you miss ?


Depends on your workflow. What I really find annoying on the 500 is because of the smaller screen you have to scroll through more screens then with the 1000. Loading and saving screens are harder to navigate through.

Would miss out on the hardware features, like the extra row of pads and the multiple outs.
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By Ill-Green Sat Jun 15, 2013 12:25 pm
8 character rule for me and do not use symbols, just use letters and numbers.

The MPC500 trims waveforms by number of samples which is just as fast as a visual waveform, but you're using your ears.

You will miss Pitch Shift, Chop Shop and the 6 outs.

The thing I find very annoying about the MPC500 is that pads trigger other pads and its a **** when laying down a sequence. Because of this I'm retiring from the 500, and Akai is definitely leaving this machine dead. I don't see any use for it except for recording albums at the library.
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By Ill-Green Sat Jun 15, 2013 12:46 pm
Menco wrote:
Ill-Green wrote:The thing I find very annoying about the MPC500 is that pads trigger other pads and its a **** when laying down a sequence.


Had that with my 2500, but fixed that by cleaning the sensor sheet.

I'll try that out. But its brand new and I keep it in a case when not in use.

It could have some dust slipped in when I changed the pads for fat ones :idea:

I'll keep yall updated.
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By Coz Sat Jun 15, 2013 1:07 pm
Ill-Green wrote:I don't see any use for it except for recording albums at the library.



I used to have an SP202 that eventually got relegated to just sampling off the TV. As soon as I got one of those funky handheld digital recorders I sold it.
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By inflict3 Sat Jun 15, 2013 7:38 pm
Ill-Green wrote:
Menco wrote:
Ill-Green wrote:The thing I find very annoying about the MPC500 is that pads trigger other pads and its a **** when laying down a sequence.


Had that with my 2500, but fixed that by cleaning the sensor sheet.

I'll try that out. But its brand new and I keep it in a case when not in use.

It could have some dust slipped in when I changed the pads for fat ones :idea:

I'll keep yall updated.



the fat pads sometimes do that man, make sure all the nipples are in the holes good, or try some regular pads.. my fat pads did this bad at first, never had a problem with my reg black pads, when i changed my screen i think i got the pad nipples down in there better,. but note, i totally believe the fatties are ur prob...
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By Ill-Green Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:58 pm
inflict3 wrote:

the fat pads sometimes do that man, make sure all the nipples are in the holes good, or try some regular pads.. my fat pads did this bad at first, never had a problem with my reg black pads, when i changed my screen i think i got the pad nipples down in there better,. but note, i totally believe the fatties are ur prob...

Thanks bro, I cleaned the sheet and nestled the old pads snugged in the holes and so far, so good. I hate these old pads though. Stiff bodies these are.
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By inflict3 Sun Jun 16, 2013 7:22 pm
Ill-Green wrote:
inflict3 wrote:

the fat pads sometimes do that man, make sure all the nipples are in the holes good, or try some regular pads.. my fat pads did this bad at first, never had a problem with my reg black pads, when i changed my screen i think i got the pad nipples down in there better,. but note, i totally believe the fatties are ur prob...

Thanks bro, I cleaned the sheet and nestled the old pads snugged in the holes and so far, so good. I hate these old pads though. Stiff bodies these are.


as soon as i get settled in my new place i am gonna drill the holes out just a lady's private parts hair bigger where the nipples go in, they are a tight fit with the fat pads, that may help. u know i got some reg 1000 black pads back before they made custom pads for the 500 and cut off the extra row and they were the best, never had a problem with em at all. then i did the same thing with the fat pads, got the 1000 black fatties, cut off the extra row and had hella problems with double triggering and other pads triggering and pad 1 not triggering right, i changed my sensor sheet thinking that was the problem, nope, still happening. then i just got hella crazy and made sure the nipples got down in there and havent really had the problem that much, i bet once i drill out the holes it will probably be better..but yea, i did notice the fat pads do have an issue, i didnt mention it at first cause i thought it was just a user issue, but the more people i hear saying it and users with the fatties the more i think its gotta be the nips, cause the nips didnt fit as tight in the other pads ive used, noticed right off the bat it was harder to get em into those holes....