Should i buy a 1000 with a bad reader

Well I'm new to the MPC world. Considering a juicy craigslist deal and wanted a little advice before decision time:

The unit I'm looking at is a beat up 1000. The guy claims it works fine except card functionality, i.e. no save or load. I figure slapping in a new card slot or just an hdd should solve the issue, but then...i don't know much about these machines. Could the issue run deeper than that even if everything else is functional?

With a new hdd/reader it'd be worth the money for sure but I don't wanna get in over my head, i'm pretty handy but unprepared to troubleshoot if that doesn't work.

How much is it? As a comparison, I bought a fully loaded, perfect condition MPC 1000 several years ago for $450.

You're gonna need a card reader. It will cost you about $80 in parts (at least) to replace. http://www.mpcstuff.com/mpc-1000-memory-card-slot--head-phone-b.html

If it's beat up there may be other issues. I'd mostly make sure it is one with the new pads, since the originals are known to fail. To fix that, you're looking at a few hundred extra. http://www.mpcstuff.com/akai--mpc-1000-pad-set--new-version-pad-fix-upg.html

getting a hard drive could be an obvious work around, but i'm not sure if you can swap the OS from the hard drive... and you definitely wanna get JJOS in there.

wdcline wrote:The unit I'm looking at is a beat up 1000.

In that case don't bother unless you know what you're doing. You could end up spending more just putting it right than you would if you held out for one in good condition.

Coz wrote:

wdcline wrote:The unit I'm looking at is a beat up 1000.

In that case don't bother unless you know what you're doing. You could end up spending more just putting it right than you would if you held out for one in good condition.

+1
The 1k is the worst MPC to but if it's been battered.
Lots of potential for d@mn that broken too.

It's just safer to make your first endeavor into the world of the 1k with a known unit.
The fixer up path is better for those who are familiar with the unit.

Unlike some MPs 1ks are very plentiful and can easily be found in working condition.

Thanks folks. I'll do a little more research but you have me pretty convinced, i'll save my money for a more fully equipped unit.