mpc 1000 pads

ive just joined the forum and started havin a look around,i had a 2500 and sold it and i now have a 1000.there not that much differance,the feel isnt quite the same but my beats are sounding as ill as beats from the 2500.

my question is wats the deal with the pads there are a lot of posts saying they breack or dont last is this true?

(directed at lots of people on here, not just you)
dont beat the shit out of them.

seriously i watch mpc videos on youtube and you do not need to be all dramatic, your keeping your hand 10" above the pads then punching downwards on them.

the pads on my 1000 are just as sensitive as the pads on my 2000 were. sensitive like you can keep your hands at the mpc and strike down less than an inch with your fingertips, more like you are typing or playing piano than doing the five-point palm exploding heart technique.

when you learn the lightest touch you can use that will trigger a pad you will be able to add much more dynamics to your playing.

nah man i dont do that, ive been using mpc's for 2 years now and ive never heard people saying the pads breack,but people seem to be saying it about the 1000

for the most part that's true but i wouldn't say the 1000 are as sensitive as the 2000 at all. But yea, if you treat it right, it will last. I've had my 1000 for 2 years+ and my pads are still pretty straight.

Bought mine in Dec 2004. I use my mpc all the time. I do NOT bang the cr@p out of my pads. They are still in perfect condition to this day.

I'm not defending the pad design in any way. I do think the pad design on the other mpcs is better, however; if you treat your mpc1k with care like it is a fine instrument and don't beat it up, it should last you a long long time.

i owned an mpc 2000 classic from 1999 to 2005, used it daily.
to me the differences are:
pad size
pad/machine sitting height and angle

the actual feel of the pads (once the are broken in) and sensitivity though, i think are pretty equal.

(directed at lots of people on here, not just you)
dont beat the **** out of them.

the actual feel of the pads (once the are broken in) and sensitivity though, i think are pretty equal.

a little misinformation here
first the problem with mpc1000 pads is not because people are beating the shit out of them - they break due to a design flaw

http://excommence.com/thepadfix/flaw.htm

2nd, there is nothing really to "break in" at all. the sensor itself doesn't get broken in, and the rubber is hard and thin--won't really soften or "break in" either...

i didnt say they break because of people hitting them too hard, i said people are hitting them too hard.

are you tryin to tell me that glue that is definately in a postition to recieve some of the energy from every strike to the pad is breaking, but it the glue breaking has nothing to do with the amount of pressure?

if the silicon glue (akai's design flaw?) is just going to break down on its own, due to temperture changes or whatever may cause it (that shouldn't) then why the BONUS ROUND on this page??
http://excommence.com/thepadfix/fix2.htm

also i know the pads shouldn't break in but they do. mine on my 2000 did. the ones on my 1000 are definately broken in compared to a brand new one. there were discussions of this back when this forum only had 2000 and 60/3000 forums (before the 4000, 1000, 500, etc)

look at it this way, spec wise on paper (not in the real world application) from a chemical point of view, the silicon glue should be lasting a lifetime and the pads should not ever change in feel... yet you are selling pads because of the glue...

I see both points of view here. I conclude the following:

The mpc1k's pads will break apart from the glue if you beat the crap out of them due to a design flaw, whereas, the other mpcs have a better pad design that allows the "bangers" to do their thang without fear of breaking. So with a better pad design, you should be able to beat the crap out of your pads and not worry about them breaking the glue.

Anyway, that's how I see it based on the complaints I've read here and my own personal experience with my 1000.

I don't bang my pads at all. I use full level and 16 levels for different velocity hits.

If my pads ever do break, I might change my entire viewpoint though.

then why the BONUS ROUND on this page??
http://excommence.com/thepadfix/fix2.htm

call it an insurance policy.
however, it's also important to note the following

- akai sensors used 4 dots of silicone glue which bore the brunt of all your pressure. they relied on 4 dotes of silicone for all the moving parts.

- what is listed as my bonus round is not for moving parts, but rather as a sealant. silicone glue adheres the sensor to the sensor strip in my fix, but the only moving part is actually within the sensor itself - the silicone is expected to support no moving structure whatsoever.

HUGE difference from an engineering standpoint here.

i didnt say they break because of people hitting them too hard, i said people are hitting them too hard.

good. this is an important difference. many know it alls come on here having never taken a look inside the sensor and conclude that people break their own mpc with inappropriate force.

are you tryin to tell me that glue that is definately in a postition to recieve some of the energy from every strike to the pad is breaking, but it the glue breaking has nothing to do with the amount of pressure?

actually, yes, to an extent. granted, a gorilla on the mpc is not a good idea. but this is what happens.

the word "slough" means for a membrane's outer surface to pull away from its main part. for example, when you lose skin cells, your skin is sloughing. likewise, the black square of pressure transducing rubber sloughs, due to its nature of being carbon impregnated. on that contact point between silicone and PTR, sloughing occurs due to constant bending of a finger stroke. the sloughing is due to the rubber, and while force plays a small part in the break, it's more due to repeated stress than force applied.

look at it this way, spec wise on paper (not in the real world application) from a chemical point of view, the silicon glue should be lasting a lifetime and the pads should not ever change in feel... yet you are selling pads because of the glue...

again, all this is true, but you're forgetting the very very very important part of the glue's placement. in the akai design, the glue was like 4 poorly made pillars supporting a heavy roof which constantly is expected to withstand meteor bombardment. in my fix, the glue is not the pillar, but rather the tile floor on which a far superior meteor catcher is placed. farfetched image, but glue placement and use is completely different from the 2 pad assemblies.

IS that silicon glue?

Antonym wrote:however, it's also important to note the following

- akai sensors used 4 dots of silicone glue which bore the brunt of all your pressure. they relied on 4 dotes of silicone for all the moving parts.

that is where you lost me. the amount of glue shouldn't matter if how hard you strike the pads doesn't matter.

i should say though that i do look forward to checking out your pads someday wether or not any of mine fail.

my intention was definately not funky's claim that banging them too hard will break them. i agree that the glue could break down wether or not you ever touch the pads at all. im just saying that banging them way too hard over time *might* make them more likely to have problems.

i also feel that people that beat the shit out of their pads are likely to be too rough with the rest of the machine which i think will lead to all kinds of problems. broken sliders, broken contact switches and buttons. who knows what else since the button (not pad) presses are directly transfering force right into the pcb.

back to caskade's original question, i think that if you learn to use your machine properly and don't abuse it you will have tons of fun. if you ever do happen to run into a pad failing, nym's got your back and you should scoop up a replacement.

i don't think anyone should be afraid to use their 1000s or regret their purchase because of the potential of a pad problem.

look at it this way, on almost anything else you would have to replace the part that gets used the most:
strings on a guitar
reeds in a wurlitzer electric piano (my friend broke a few of his)
tines in a rhodes (i have a broken tine, but it was broken when i bought the rhodes)
faders on mixers
tires on a car

you *might* someday have to replace some pads on your 1000, maybe. yes that means the 1000 isn't made the same as 60s, 3000s, 2000s, etc yes that is a shame, but i'll take the 1000 with CF and usb, JJ OS and 2 sliders over a 2000XL any day of the week.

that is where you lost me. the amount of glue shouldn't matter if how hard you strike the pads doesn't matter.

hah! so soon? sorry, this kind of thing really needs visual aid which i am unable to provide on the forums. it's not hugely important though. just sometime if you get a chance, peer into one of the pads and see what i'm talking about.

reread what i said about sloughing, placement, and the "4 pillars" imagery...it should make a little more sense, but if not, oh well. seems you've got a positive outlook on this whole debacle anyway.

I did say that I agree there is a flaw with the 1000's pad design that doesn't allow them to hold up as rigorously as the other mpcs' pads. I also said in another other thread that I think Akai should provide us with a one sheet pad design like what is found on all the other mpcs.

Based on my own experience though, I cannot agree that the 1000's design is so bad that the design itself will cause the pads to break all by itself.

To me, it is BAD DESIGN plus EXCESSIVE FORCE equals BROKEN PADS.

Seriously, what else can I logically conclude after owning my mpc since Dec 04 and my pads are still perfectly in tact?

And like I said earlier, I reserve the right to totally change my mind IF my pads ever break.