By andreat668
Sat Oct 04, 2025 6:47 am
I’m really happy to see some appreciation for the MPC1000 and MPC2500. They were my main samplers for so many years, I had them side by side for over a decade. I used the 2500 mostly in the studio, while the 1000 was my go-to on the couch or outside.
I still remember around 2010 when people would bash them hard on the internet, saying they sounded thin or bad. Personally, I always thought they sounded good.
Unfortunately, I sold the 1000 during COVID and I still regret it. But I still have my 2500, which I bought back in 2012. It’s a fairly robust machine overall, but the tact switches were a nightmare, just like on the 1000. I remember the “Mode” button failing after only six months on both units. Later, the “Function” button completely stopped working on the 1000, and a few months after that, the same thing happened on the 2500.
So, about a year in, I finally opened them up, pulled the main boards, and replaced all the tact switches with better quality ALPS ones. Honestly, if you’re still rocking an MPC1000 in 2025, it’s probably because you bought it second hand from someone who already replaced all the tact switches. There’s no way these MPCs would still be fully operational otherwise, you’d have to replace a lot of buttons, if not all of them.
By comparison, my Akai Force has been built like a tank. I bought it as a demo unit from a DJ shop, even dropped it from a one meter high table, and nothing broke. In six years of heavy use, I haven’t had to replace a single button or encoder. I even dropped my iPhone onto the Force’s screen from about a meter and a half, and the screen didn’t crack.
So, in my experience, the Akai Force is the toughest sampler I’ve ever owned. I’d guess the MPC X is probably in the same league.
I still remember around 2010 when people would bash them hard on the internet, saying they sounded thin or bad. Personally, I always thought they sounded good.
Unfortunately, I sold the 1000 during COVID and I still regret it. But I still have my 2500, which I bought back in 2012. It’s a fairly robust machine overall, but the tact switches were a nightmare, just like on the 1000. I remember the “Mode” button failing after only six months on both units. Later, the “Function” button completely stopped working on the 1000, and a few months after that, the same thing happened on the 2500.
So, about a year in, I finally opened them up, pulled the main boards, and replaced all the tact switches with better quality ALPS ones. Honestly, if you’re still rocking an MPC1000 in 2025, it’s probably because you bought it second hand from someone who already replaced all the tact switches. There’s no way these MPCs would still be fully operational otherwise, you’d have to replace a lot of buttons, if not all of them.
By comparison, my Akai Force has been built like a tank. I bought it as a demo unit from a DJ shop, even dropped it from a one meter high table, and nothing broke. In six years of heavy use, I haven’t had to replace a single button or encoder. I even dropped my iPhone onto the Force’s screen from about a meter and a half, and the screen didn’t crack.
So, in my experience, the Akai Force is the toughest sampler I’ve ever owned. I’d guess the MPC X is probably in the same league.