If your unit is not under warranty try opening the MPC up and remove the pads. Next take a soft lint free cloth and wipe the pad sensors clean.
I had a simular problem once and just cleaning the sensors fixed the problem.
Look in the service manual for instructions on how to open the MPC. The service manual is available for download on a website somewhere. Use the search function and see if you can find it.
If anyone needs it, here is The Akai MPC4000 Service Manual (click "FREE" and then enter some code and the download starts. Thats a safe site, no porn or anything)
If anyone needs it, here is The Akai MPC4000 Service Manual (click "FREE" and then enter some code and the download starts. Thats a safe site, no porn or anything)
@OP: the pad sensors are in a layered, printed sheet, and they are the same for many (all?) of the mpc's with the exception of 1000 and 500.
my used 4000 came with one dead pad (top right, happens to be a trace on the "outside" of the flex-connector) and a new sheet (thru VST) was about $70 IIRC.
it's a sticky back sheet and adheres to the metal frame inside... you use a razorblade to remove the old sheet as clean as possible, then carefully put down the replacement like a big sticker.
use care with the flex-cable because the printed traces are thin inside.
if you pads are dirty then rinse them in some warm soapy water while you have them out of the machine.
djflame: it is easy, just use a good sharp razor to help remove the padsheet as clean as possible. leftover sticky residue won't matter much, but the razor can wedge under the goo easy to lift it up. putting the new one down is just a matter of working from one side to the other like a sticker or window-tint or whatever.
the metal frame which the sheet attaches can be removed from the second metal frame it sits on, if i remember correctly. making it easy to put the sheet down with it detached, then connect the ribbon and last "fold" the plate back into place and attach with screws. certainly, don't try to connect the ribbon to the circuitboard before putting down the padsheet.
it's really over hyped now, an easy fix. cheep too, i feared the sensor sheet to cost hundreds of dollars, esp. since it's sort of a core part of the unit.