akai pad 'upgrade' (replacement)

yo,

been trying to get more info on this - as i'm sure countless others have also.

akai got the lip firmly buttoned, only releasing that it will be available in
'the near future' which is close enough to lend a sliver of hope... but
vague enough to really frustrate.

so i started talking to the cat's who are akai's licensed parts dealer here in
aus (theres only one company for the whole country... cue the bad jokes)
and the dude there told me initially things were due for
september release

but i spoke to him yesterday and after he contacted akai again he's
expecting parts in 4-6 weeks.

I'm just wondering if anyone's got some similar news from repairers
anywhere else in the world? particularly the US as i guess this is where
parts are coming from...

cheers

New Akai Pro products will be announced at the show and attendees will be able to get their first hands-on demo of the amazing new MPK49 performance keyboard with MPC pads.

Well hopefully at the next mpc master class in the ATL,they will unveil the pad upgrade..

http://akaipro.com/news/articles/07_091 ... tlanta.php[/quote]

i doubt they're going to "Reveal" this.
no matter how they spin it, this is a fix to faulty technology that they released
i bet you it'll just be a quiet release.

While I firmly disagree with the concept of calling it an "upgrade", I could understand why they might call it this.



But they blew all their money on the remix hotel shindig for the mpk getting the hotel and Scott Storch so for the unveiling of the padfix all they have left in their budget is a 6 foot party sub from Subway and Sir Mix a Lot

I am currently embarking on the 'NymFix', and I ordered the sensors and clips from the company. I just think that even if I have to make some retarded pads a few times until I get it right (If Nym stays really busy for awhile and I get restless), it will be well worth it to have a pad structure that will be bulletproof, and custom.

Nym, What company did you order the shore 20A compound from? and would you be willing to release the secret to how you made your pad mold? -PM Me if you are willing to disclose your genius molding methods!

so what i was trying to find out was:

has anyone spoken with licensed/unlicensed akai repairers and received an approximate date for availability of the repair/upgrade?


if y'all got any dates etc - i'd be interested to know. I've been told 4 weeks
by my repair guy.

So are you saying that we'll be able to buy different pads from Akai or are they releasing MPCs with new pad designs or neither?

they are releasing what they are calling an 'upgrade' which is technically true...
everyone's pretty pissed off about it cos the whatever they upgrade to should
really have been standard all along. i.e. pads that work.

the details of said upgrade are not being released - though i suspect it will
have to replace a fairly significant quantity of the hardware in the box to
actually fix the problem.

any clearer? do some reading bro, theres about a squillion posts on this issue
on this site.

MMMMM. Buttons. My hands are shaking already.

So, I was just f'n around with these new buttons that Nym recommended... Pretty dope.

I have come up with a way for these buttons to work with the stock pad. Its ghetto, but functional. Ive only mocked up one and tried it, and the way I did it this first time does not respond well to corner hits. I assume this is because I have not cut the stock pad-frame into a circle yet (its a rectangle now).

But on the pad sensitivity side of things, when you hit the button normally (i.e. somewhere near the middle), I am getting as low as a 4 when slightly pushed on, and up to a 127 when hit medium hard. I have the sensitivity at 16 right now.

What I did:

1. I took the pad apart.

2. I cut both the stock sensor's edges off (basically removed the entire middle sensor section by cutting all the way through the fiberglass on either side of the square sensor).

3. I reversed the metal piece, and the fiberglass so the order now is: (Pad-Metal-Remaining fiberglass sides) (then crimp back together)

4. With the new sensors soldered to the stock wires and plugs, I centered the new sensor in the stock metal hole, propped up by the two fiberglass pieces on either side. (this puts the sensor really close to the metal part of the pad, so I used a tape layer to safeguard a short).

by using tape on all metal exposed surfaces (including the stock pad frame and sensor frame), so there is no shorting out of the new sensor, I temporarily taped the sensor in place and put the button under the case.

Bingo! Ultra Ghetto!

Now, I am only going to use the tape method for now, as I am hoping to acquire a more sophisticated pad setup soon (cough... ::Nym:: ...cough) (I hope its hot-pink!), but this method will be solid... esp. when incorporating the use of hot glue for mounting everything together in a more permanent fashion, and after drilling out the rectangle (in the metal of the pad) into a circle (to hopefully get corner hits to respond better). So far, no ghost notes as far as I can tell.

More to come when I get the circles drilled tomorrow.

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...removed...

well - i'm sick of waitin for this pad upgrade to turn one day - lifes too short waitin for akai to do the decent thing.

so i'm gonna take the plunge and order the sensors nym spoke about
and try grubs ghetto fix.

i suggest we all do the same, an tell akai to stick it - when the eventually get their act together.

cheers

f

GRAB YER DRILLBITZ!!

I am quite pleased with the performance so far! But I might mill out my metal sheets to a bigger hole to improve corner hits, I'll post if I do this anytime soon...

I'm so happy this thing is usable, I don't feel like tearing it apart again yet!

from the looks of it, grublet's solution tops mine. it does requires more work on the individual level. i highly recommend it and applaud his work and ingenuity.

good work, man. very good work, you've already come up with 2 really good ideas for this thing.

we should talk sometime, i'll drop you my phone number. got a couple of hardware mod ideas i'd like to talk with you about, maybe we could work together on something by collecting research and data from opposite ends.

peace to minneapolis too i just saw brother ali/toki/atmosphere last night and it was an excellent show. don't know if you're into any of those folks but they certainly know how to put on a performance.

Word up.

Thanks for the complements. Yeah, you got my email address, send the number over whenever. I'm always down for a project (research/building).

Yeah, Ive kicked it with those cats (ali/slug) quite a few times. Toki gave me props on my Myspace page once out of nowhere!

Was Slug a Sloppy Drunk MEss?