MPC400 to MPC X. Upgrade?

Received my New X today.....Excited to get a new machine opened it up powered on and

Not good....

One of the Oleds is not working, seriously pissed big time now....this is a brand spanking machine only shipped to the retailer from Akai a few days ago


I think my Time with the X is done....I've had two new units in less than a space of a week

sorry Akai what the hell has happened to your Quality control!!!Absolute joke

Think I'm gonna stick with my 4K

Thats a shame.Seriously unlucky.The 4K is. A solid beast when it works properly.Ive had quite a few issues with the old units in the past tho.My new X is working perfectly so far.Did you get to play around with it before you sent back?what you think compared to the 4K?

I’m really impressed with the X , that’s why I’m so pissed about it I’ve never had any issues with any of my gear in the past 30years and I’ve loads of equipment over that time trouble free and in the space of a week this Epsiode has really made me feel depressed over the X experience,plus it’s made me cautious about Akai’s quality control.

what I’ve seen from my brief usage of it I really like it,and I’ve taken to it quite easily it just took some time to navigate and find where the usual things I’m used to on the 4K were placed,although there are a few things differently the extra things the X has is awesome and I’m really excitied about using one in the future,just what’s happened in this last week has dented my confidence at this time,they did offer me another new unit but I declined for the time being.

I’ve sent this second unit back because I only have under a week left in the money back period so rather than them send me yet another unit,Incase this has any issues I would fall out of the money back period,and not be able to return it back in time The retailer have been brilliant but because of the limited time left I would rather my money back at this moment.

I can live with the 4K for a little while longer,now I know the X can load in my work from the 4000 this has made me want to get the X for sure,I’ve always been an instinctive person and something just doesn’t feel right with the X at this time.

I love the X from what I’ve seen and can see myself having many great times with it eventually,once I’ve been refunded and had a bit of time to take stock over it will probably get another one surely can’t be unlucky the third time

Awww Damn Bruh! Im sorry to hear bout ya X

Was your unit brand new.Im wondering if they been sending out returned units.

As far as I’m aware they are brand new,the first X I’m not so sure it was totally new,as the circular tape they put on the box to seal it had been cut as if the box had been open prior to me receiving it and the first one didn’t look as pristine clean condition as the second one which I’m certain was new but either Akai have zero quality control or it’s refurbed unit being sold as new,wondering why the OLED was not working if they had done a quality check on the unit surely would’ve picked that up.

I’m also wondering why if they have been shipped from Akai to the retailer recently surely they would be loaded with OS 2.10,the units I had both were 2.9.1 hasn’t this newer OS been available for some months now,so thought Akai May been shipping new units with the new OS by now

Uncle Dieppe wrote:As far as I’m aware they are brand new,the first X I’m not so sure it was totally new,as the circular tape they put on the box to seal it had been cut as if the box had been open prior to me receiving it and the first one didn’t look as pristine clean condition as the second one which I’m certain was new but either Akai have zero quality control or it’s refurbed unit being sold as new,wondering why the OLED was not working if they had done a quality check on the unit surely would’ve picked that up.

I’m also wondering why if they have been shipped from Akai to the retailer recently surely they would be loaded with OS 2.10,the units I had both were 2.9.1 hasn’t this newer OS been available for some months now,so thought Akai May been shipping new units with the new OS by now

it’s easy to blame akai but this could definitely be a supplier issue not an akai issue. I got my X new and frankly it’s been spotless with 0 issues. I’ve never had a crash even. suppliers can save money selling refurbs or b stock as new if they think they can get away with it and I’m sure they often do.

Jawbrizza wrote:

Uncle Dieppe wrote:As far as I’m aware they are brand new,the first X I’m not so sure it was totally new,as the circular tape they put on the box to seal it had been cut as if the box had been open prior to me receiving it and the first one didn’t look as pristine clean condition as the second one which I’m certain was new but either Akai have zero quality control or it’s refurbed unit being sold as new,wondering why the OLED was not working if they had done a quality check on the unit surely would’ve picked that up.

I’m also wondering why if they have been shipped from Akai to the retailer recently surely they would be loaded with OS 2.10,the units I had both were 2.9.1 hasn’t this newer OS been available for some months now,so thought Akai May been shipping new units with the new OS by now

it’s easy to blame akai but this could definitely be a supplier issue not an akai issue. I got my X new and frankly it’s been spotless with 0 issues. I’ve never had a crash even. suppliers can save money selling refurbs or b stock as new if they think they can get away with it and I’m sure they often do.

Its not the retailer,I've used them for well over 15 years for my Gear purchases, never had a lemon in that time ever and I've bought allsorts of brands,They do sell B stock items but always tell you, everything I have purchased from them new has been new, you can tell, the first unit I bought from them they told me it was the last one they had in stock as they have a realtime stock system online,so I could see that when i purchased it when i phoned them to arrange a replacement the guy told me it could have been in stock for a long time but it was definitely Brand new, although I'm not 100% convinced on that given it didn't have that "New" Smell you usually get when unboxing, and it looked like it had been handled at some point the Data wheel looked like it had been touched, perhaps it may have been the display unit, plus the two circular Sellotape tags on the MPC Box itself had been cut like the box had already been opened at some point, the Replacement didn't its was properly sealed

The replacement they gave me was from brand new stock they got in a few days ago,I could tell it was new, the box has the date on it was shipped to them so i know they only had them in a few days ago, plus the realtime stock system showed they had got another 4 units in, thats why I took the replacement rather than wait for them to get stock in again otherwise i would have had my money back straight away, they were more than happy to collect it and give me a refund given the probs I've Had

I'm more inclined to think that Akai are sending out refurbished units to resell as new, the amount of people I have heard that have sent units back because of faults,Akai must have a stockpile of units they need to recycle,Korg have a stockpile of their synths they refurb and resell on so whats to stop Akai doing the same.

I'm not dissing Akai,I have no reason to doubt them as a brand I've had my 4K for 20 Years trouble free and had loads of their samplers over the years so i trust the brand wholly, but to have a new unit have an OLED not working is either a combination of cheap components or a lack of Quality control before its packaged,I don't expect that from a New item,I don't care what brand it is, its unacceptable

The Retailer guy I spoke to told me they have sold a lot of Xs over the years and its one of their best selling items but have also had their fair share of issues with them and had customers return a few units in that time with various Hardware faults, they are checking all the other units they got shipped with this batch to see if they are faulty,The chap told me they just ship them back to Akai anyway

Its not put me off getting one,I'm blown away by what this unit has to offer,beleive you me I so want an X but have decided to get my Money back and see what Superbooth 2022 Brings,as Akai are exhibiting there so I'm going to see if they introduce a Keys version like has Been rumoured,If not I will jump on the X again and get another

Seems to me,being phylisophical about it,a combination of Akai quality control combined with bad luck (i think your 4K might have something to do with it )) Alternatively you could get a deal second hand hardly used on EBay for $$$ less with the possible assurance that the personal seller has given it the ok,or money back.Bit risky tho if you have a problem down the road.

Big Ticket items I tend to prefer to buy new,then at least you have some guarantee should things go wrong,maybe the law of averages has caught up with me,I've been pretty lucky with everything I have bought over the years,I have never encountered any issues with Gear so perhaps this is my payback at this time.,I did look at Xs on the secondhand market but prices aren't that far away from the new retail price in my country(UK)

Either that or I look at it on a higher conscious level that maybe its some kind of sign to tell me that its not meant to be at this time,I've had this feeling that Akai are about to drop something new at Superbooth,Its funny in that since I sent it back,I've looked back on the 4K and realised the joy of why I had this machine for so long,and when you look back at when it was released it was well spec'd and still holds its own even now

it kind of feels like I'm cheating on the 4K to move on to the X,I don't think I could ever part with the 4K,but at the same time feel like its time to embrace the next generation of MPC and from my first impressions wow

its like the 4K is your loyal Wife always there by your side but now looking a little ruff around the edges from age,and the X is that hot chick who you lust after who you know is only eye candy for a few brief moments

I've always been a trust your instincts kind of person anyway, go with your Gut,I am so drawn to the OS on the X but maybe the signs are there to hold off for a while

Lampdog wrote:I read the manual prior to purchase, knew what I was getting into, confident with where the machine was, it could only get better as it was still growing.

Thats the Problem...I've dipped my toe into the OS of the X and it just is begging me to embrace it, if only i could just get a functional unit to restore my confidence in it

Now I've had a little time to get to know the layout of the X and feel comfortable in its environment it just feels natural to menthe only thing I dont like is the Footswitch sockets, why they didn't put them on the rear panel is beyond me,I'm not keen on the jacks sticking out the front as I do use the Footwitches as mine are plugged in all the time as I use a pedalboard with the 4K to send MMC to start stop/Recording etc and use it to move up and down tracks as I'm recording in realtime,

migrating onto the X wasn't such a daunting prospect,I haven't really looked at the manual,plus Ive been watching some Youtube vids over the last few years keeping an eye on it as its been updated, so kind of felt I already had a subconscious rapport with it

Using the 4k,the OS isn't a million miles away if you just apply a little bit of Logic to where things are going to be, there are few things that are not so immediate but once you navigate round the X you see the Akai lineage of the Way things work

For me the biggest change is the Button layout,Ive built up a Muscle memory on the 4k,So the X caught me out a few times, looking at the Button layout The MPC one seems to be more in tandem with the 4k,but its only a matter of time getting used to it on the X I did originally look at buying the MPC one and then keeping the 4K alongside but to me the Full Blown X just looks the dogs nut now Ive got the chance to use one in person its really nice,plus I need all the I/O that the X offers, theres too much of a compromise with the connectivity on the live/One for my studio setup

Theres an MPC X on Uk eBay right now for 950 or offer,like new.