Replacing/fixing a cursor key

Hi,

One of my cursor keys is stubborn. I have to press pretty hard on they key for it to work. Is there a home remedy for this? Do I need parts? Do I need to take it into the shop? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Chris

take off your faceplate and tell us what you see. is the button itself cracked? if so, call vst fora replacement. is the actual depressor underneath broken? call vst again - and get a soldering iron. any case tell us what's up.

I took the faceplate off and I could see no problem with the button. It was not cracked. I pressed it down and it appeared to do the same thing that all the other ones did. Anymore suggestions? Thanks.

And the depresson underneat appeared to be normal.

hm. this particular problem is unfamiliar to me, although i have a sneaking suspicion that the same thing is happening to my UP cursor button.

do you notice that the problem is getting worse, or is it staying the same?

either way i would call VST and ask for Nick. i'm willing to bet that the issue is that the depressor underneath is getting worn out. don't worry, the solution is really cheap.

i wouldn't send it into the shop unless it was under warranty, but even then it is a really simple thing to solder in a replacement part. if i were you i'd make my decision based on your skill level/confidence with soldering. it's only really scary because it's unfamiliar - sending an mpc to the shop and paying out the ass to fix it is like sending your sneakers back to Nike to get em to tie them for you.

I think it's staying about the same. Sometimes it does seem like I have to press harder then other times. Funny, it's my UP cursor button that we are discussing here.

I have very little experience soldering things. Although I have friends that are excellent at circuit bending which requires soldering, and I trust their abilities, so I could have them do it.

hmm......

in any case you should call VST to find out how much the replacement costs. make sure you tell them it's the part underneath, NOT the actual plastic button itself.

how long have you had your machine? i'm on the greater half of 1.5 years now, almost a 2 year aniversary. i used the HELL out of the up/down buttons, too so it'd make sense that one of them would go. my fingers are really fast on those buttons.

I've used my machine roughly the same amount of time as yours. This is the first problem I've had with it.

Yea, I think I'll call Nick at VST. What's the number for VST? Thanks for all the help.

http://www.vstservice.com/954971.html

the number is at the bottom right. call and ask for nick, make sure you ask about the right part. Get the name of the part, as well - the bit underneath the data wheel is called the data encoder...i don't know exactly what they call the button sensor.

if you don't mind could you tell me both what it's called and how much it costs?


edit - you said that's the first problem you've had. that's cool. pads in good shape? has your data wheel started misjudging your rotations? my issue was that it had worn down to the point where when i was spinning it clockwise, it would sometimes flicker back and forth between increments. this was particularly painful when i was trying to hit "extract" or "discard"...big frustration!

No problem. Check back here sometime tomorrow.

Yeah. I haven't had any of those problems. The Korg ES-1 used to be my main sampler and the data wheel would flicker back and forth between programs, so I know how frustrating it can be.

rarndaraki wrote:I think it's staying about the same. Sometimes it does seem like I have to press harder then other times.

same here with my right cursor , soetimes feels like its getting worse but... i figured out the trick thou. when u push the botton from a certain angle it works better lol. i have to press in and down, kinda in a diagnal motion, that way i dont have to press it as hard. thanks for postin the thread, it let me know im not alone with, and i dont know shiit about soldering, let me know what happens

when u push the botton from a certain angle it works better

that really clears things up - that's enough for me to diagnose this DEFINITELY as a worn sensor issue. how long/how rigorously have you been using yours?

the bad news is that you have to order a replacement piece/soldering gun. the good news is that once you learn how to do this, your mpc1000 will be virtually ageless. there is not one piece of hardware in the mpc1000 which will break in the forseeable future that costs more than 10 dollars to fix.

this does not include the screen, which is more expensive - and also has a looooong life. don't worry about the screen.

as for pads, buttons and data wheel, it's all cheap (cost and manufacture). we're lucky to have vst.

that being said, it took me a year and a half for my DW to start messing up, and nearly 2 years for my button to start messing up. i'm happy with that, especially given all the people crying about how the "mpc1000 feels like a toy."

honestly, i'd rather do minor repairs on a piece that i spent 700 on and can carry in a small bag than anything more expensive

Okay. I still have not called VST. I'm very busy today and tomorrow as well. Thursday looks like I'll have some time to go home and sort things out, so expect an update here on thursday. Thanks

StrongSolderingAdvocateNym wrote: That's cuz you guys got "greasy fingers"

Haha I couldn't resist.

But seriously, I was having a similar problem with my LEFT cursor key, but after a couple of weeks, it disappeared... makes me think that something got in there, then came out.

Who was it that said they had little ants in their mpc... haha that was crazy. They must have had greasy fingers too.