MPC build quality throughout the years

the data wheel on the mpc 2500 is still one of the worst input devices on any musical gear i have ever used and that is particulary bad because it is used that much every day!

on my machine the axxis of the wheel was silghtly bent from the beginning and so turning with one finger was uneven from the very start. using it with more fingers grabbing around the edge is also not working correctly everytime - often it misses the first click and reacts only on the second click or even later what makes fine adjustments or switching from one program to the next some sort of a hit and miss game that is not very reliable when used in a live situation where everything has to happen fast and errors are a no go!

also it slows down the workflow very much because you could not just turn it faster to increase/decrease greater values, but you have to press other buttons first to select the digit and then turn the wheel which was a very bad design decicion in the first place! the wheel on the 2000xl was lightyears ahead already, so why did they change that just to save a few bucks? it only caused bad reputation which can cost the company way more money in the end!

the rest of my machine is still working fine only some of the backlight on the screen is not lighting evenly after some years of use.

peace, jo

Here is my experience:

2500:
-First MPC. Within 6 months I had tact switches failing and pad problems. Guitar Center actually let me return it, and I got a new 1000.

1000:
-In the year that I had it I had no problems. It was the one with good pads, I just needed more outputs. Build quality didn't feel good, but it never broke so I can't complain.

4000:
-I have had my fair share of problems with the 4000. Mainly screen issues and connection problems. For the screen, I had to send it in to VST to get a new cable, and now there are lines appearing in my screen. Only a matter of time. Tact switches and USB ports have died, but DeOxit fixes that most of the time. The jog wheel is awesome. It definitely doesn't feel like it would last gigging a lot. Feels heavy and solid, but brittle at the same time if that makes sense.

3000:
-A tank. This thing is just solid. I have had tact switches be slow to respond, but DeOxit brough them back to functioning 100%. machine feels much more solid than any other MPC I have touched. I will never sell this or my 4000. Pads feel awesome, and the jog wheel is the best of any MPC that I have used. 10/10 on build quality.

ive owned the 500, 2500, and 1k. and for very short i had the 4k. ive also used a 2000xl and demo'ed the studio at guitar center last week.

500: its build quality was great imo, except the pads sensitivity sucked. i should have tried the tape method, but i didnt know about it at the time i had the 500.
i can remember one time that the note repeat button wasnt working and i thought that it was broken so i was pushing the shit out of the button, really really hard, and was actually thinking, **** i hope i dont break this; then i realized that it was because the tc wasnt on
the buttons always felt solid to me, it felt like a little tank build wise imo. then again, i dont really have any complaints build wise in any of my mpc's. i dont know why people say the newer ones are so shit, because honestly, if you dont beat the shit out of the button each time you tap it, it wont break.
i cant really comment on the 4k or the 2000xl build wise because i used them for such short amounts of time, but they felt pretty solid to me when i was using them.

the one thing i noticed about my 2500 was that the play or stop buttons were a bit wobbly and the noise from the rotary wheel was annoying. i will say that i thought the wheel itself functioned well enough though. on my 1k the jog wheel is the weakest feeling thing on the unit by far. it seems like if i were to accidentally push down on an edge too hard it would snap the encoder, although it feels pretty good in use too.
i could see it breaking if it were in a box or backpack and some weight got shifted on one side of the jog wheel.
the only new mpc i have bought was the 500, so the wobbly transport buttons on the 2500 could very well be from someone that owned it before me and used to beat the shit out of it.

the studio's build quality felt pretty good, except the pads were a bit lacking, it might have been because it was on a wobbly display case though, so whenever i would hit a pad, the stand would wiggle. if i remember correctly, i think the buttons on the studio were a bit softer feeling maybe more like the xr20 buttons (but not quite as nice as those), i was thinking this was weird, but i could get used to it.
it would be awesome if they made an mpc with most of the buttons feel like the xr20's. it feels very very solid imo.

I see that Jah has casted his vote.