replacement pad verdict - same build, better glue

so i just got my order of 2 replacement pads from VST and the first thing i did was took em apart. i noticed that the glue is MUCH stronger/more rubbery in the replacement pads than in the original and it also covers more surface area.

this leads me to believe that replacement pads, left as is, will last longer than the original pads did.

HOWEVER, they will not last forever. the glue still only holds the 4 corners down to the edges of the pad sensor. they will eventually, with sufficient use, come loose from their glue moorings and sail off course, even with the stronger glue.

i pried off my graphite and i'm in the process of gluing it to the back of the rubber pad itself. this provides more surface area and what feels like better sensitivity. you can be rougher on them, too.

i suggest everyone does the same. however, let this be known - the replacement pads ARE in fact built better than the original - but only because they have perhaps a tenth of a penny's worth of more glue on them.

also please note that replacement pads must be soldered before they can be connected to your mpc, so please keep that in mind and don't go out buying 1000 new pads unless you have soldering experience and/or dont mind learning.

peace.
nym

So the only problem is the glue right?

fudge that man but thanks for the info

hutchthemack wrote:fudge that man but thanks for the info

what?

yeah soyo the only problem is the glue, that's the ONE AND ONLY physical problem with the mpc1000 pad build as of now.

nym, does the glue on the replacement pads appear to be of a better quality than the original pads? i'm curious to know exactly what type of glue is being used now if it's different from the original. could you post some pics of the original and the replacement pads to show the comparison?

can't post a picture, as i have no camera, but i was a journalist for 5 years so let me just describe.

the original glue was stiff and tough stuff - very very viscous and durable. that was the problem. what would happen is that use of the pads would eventually peel off the underside of the graphite where the glue was attached.

the new glue (if it is indeed new and not just a different grade of the same stuff) seems more rubbery and is applied more generously - instead of just a dot on each corner, it appears that they put more on this time around. it also is less tough and more "sticky" if you will - it was harder to peel the graphite off. however, the same thing happened - it took a small layer of graphite away with it.

the problem is simple - surface area. there's just not enough surface area with only 4 corners of the graphite glued down.

thanks for explaining it further for me. knowing that the replacement pads have a better glue job, i'm still wondering how long it would be before the glue eventually wears off. if i repair my pads instead, i'm still unsure what the best type of glue i should use. the thing is, that i really don't want to deal with this re-occurring problem every few months. i'm just trying to weigh out all the options to avoid the downtime of continuous maintenance (which i feel is entirely unnessesary to begin with).

distorted - i know how to make em last forever........it will take 2 hours of your time...try using anything flexible. i used gluestick only cuz it was on hand but you can use anything pliable.

gluestick, as in the stuff used in glueguns?
http://www.gluestick.com/
if so, i got what i need and i'll give it a try. just let me know if that's correct.

or maybe, you meant this type of gluestick, since it adheres to carbon (not sure about rubber, though)...
http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/172179

I used double sided addhesive tape and it works very well. Nym is right thats about size of glued surface. Its impossible to move carbon square witch is glued on whole size of square. Only thing that Iam afraid of is that you may rub off carbon square by these copper contacts. You know these contacts is little bit exserted. But it may not be a problem at all.

Jura

Yeah pretty sure he means the second kind.

One thing i'm worried about when glueing the whole surface or graphite to the rubber pad is, if they were bonded close together, and pounded continuously, wouldn't the graphite eventually crack - because the rubber is alot more flexible than graphite? And the possible deformity of the rubber couldn't be matched by the graphite. I don't know exactly, i'm just picturing it in my head...

because the rubber is alot more flexible than graphite?

nah. the graphite is actually more flexible than the rubber. the graphite is really more rubbery than like anything else anyway.

i'm telling you - my technique works.

so when you stick the graphite to the underside of the pad itself, how do you deal with the domed rubber bit? do you just stick it on, or do you fill up the gaps at the corners?

cheers

allow the graphite to mold to the domed rubber. this way, the graphite is perpetually bent in the way it would bend in the normal build - in "strike" mode, shall we say. it bends back to what owuld be "normal mode" when you strike. it's an inversion if you will.

don't compensate, just glue glue glue, or as the man said, tape. i think tape may actually be more durable than glue, but i'm not sure. whatever it is, you don't want something that will strip off a layer of graphite ala akia's design - but realize that even if it does eventually , there's MUCH more surface area - so it'd take a LOT longer.