buying a used MPC LIVE II?

Hey Fam,

I'm an old MPC head and want to get back into it.
Really like what I see on the LIVE II.
Thoughts on getting a used one?
They seem pretty well built, but they are electronic....so I'm hesitant on getting a used one at a discount.
But I'm also broke lol. Any recommendations? Anyone have any issues with theirs?

thank you lampdog. if this was sweetwater I would jump on it.
Musician's friend has been getting bad reviews lately.

more or less wondering how durable these things are...
I had a 5000 blow up on me like 13 years ago and Guitar Center covered it....as it was new
anyone have any issues whatsoever?

THX

Perrin&Tonic wrote:thank you lampdog. if this was sweetwater I would jump on it.
Musician's friend has been getting bad reviews lately.

more or less wondering how durable these things are...
I had a 5000 blow up on me like 13 years ago and Guitar Center covered it....as it was new
anyone have any issues whatsoever?

THX

The Live II is very durable, but buying second-hand has some major risks. Mostly, if the previous owner tampered with the stock factory storage (as in deleted anything off of it or accidentally or purposely deleted folders or folder structure), then you are in for a world of hurt. There's currently no way to "restore" your MPC without sending it directly to Akai for repair, and you wont have a warranty from a used/second-hand purchase. Other than that, depending on the Live II's age (like did the seller buy it right at launch?) then your battery may have some wear on it.

Other than that, the Live II is freak'n awesome IMHO.

Perrin&Tonic wrote:thank you lampdog. if this was sweetwater I would jump on it.
Musician's friend has been getting bad reviews lately.

more or less wondering how durable these things are...
I had a 5000 blow up on me like 13 years ago and Guitar Center covered it....as it was new
anyone have any issues whatsoever?

THX

I've bought dozens of products from both Musicians friend and Sweetwater over the past 2 years and I've had great experiences with both retailers. (Just my personal experience.) I got an iPad Mini from MF in December and its worked out so well for me that I used the points I earned to take a huge discount off of some new speakers. I also got a used MPD 218 from MF so I can practice using Melodics, no issues whatsovever.

Sweetwater definitely has better customer service and return policy, though, so I do see your point.

I will also say that I just bought a used Live MK1 off of Reverb.com on May 31st, no issues whatsoever with the seller. The Live he was selling had a strange issue where all audio cut out after 10 seconds, but when I got it home I updated the firmware and it works perfectly (with Fresh Brand New Pads, YAY!)

How durable are these things? So durable that I bought a second Live MK1 even though my first one still works perfectly fine after 5 years (I got my first Live from Zzounds back in 2017) I'm sure the MKII is better, since it's newer. Hope all that helps!