Is it safe to buy the MPC500?

I've been having lots of doubts about which sampler to buy in this price range. The MPC500 seems like the best choice, I'm just worried about the bugs. I've heard several complaints such as lost data, unreadable memory cards, etc. Has the most recent OS fixed most of this? I don't mind the thing crashing sometimes, but then again I don't want that to happen every day.

So the main questions are:

1. How many times does it crash?
2. If it does crash, is it just a matter of restarting the thing, and how long does that take?
3. Do I have to worry about losing data?

Once I have some answers, I might finally feel safe to go out and buy the MPC500!

Thanks in advance.

Mine has never crashed, well there was one time, wouldn't call it a crash but I lost a beat, overall tho my 500 has been pretty dependable.

Data is pretty ez to manage.

I'd recommend it, it's a great sampler in my opinion

very safe. no danger involved here

max out the memory and stick with the latest os updates and theres no problems

In the past this unit were werry unstable, but all the updates have maked it rock solid. There's no reason to worry bout anytin. You wont regret it.

yes

Just update to the latest OS when you get it and you'll be fine.

Its an awesome machine. It has more functions than I can even use. Plus its small size means you can pack it around and sit on your bed fooling around with settings a lot easier than I would imagine with a fullsized one (1000).
But I have to differ with the other posters above, my machine is pretty buggy. Less so after updating, but still kinda bad. Nothing so far that cant be surpassed, but its very touchy and Ive lost lots of work while figuring out ways around its quirks.
If you aren't as concerned with portability I think you may be happier with the 1000, which is about the same price used, has the JJos and has more functions and options.

glue a piece of foam on to the backside of the battery door, and you'll be straight.

I think that the JJ os has more bugs than the original 500 software (what i heard)

Hi I keep getting error messages on my MPC500 and it keeps crashing. The problems tend to happen when loading and saving. Errors messages include:

CPU Addr (read)
PC(884b0660)


Inv. gen. inst
PC(a50184c4)


Finally, a question mark suddenly appears before all the samples whilst I am assigning them to pads. When this happens no sound can be heard.

Does anyone know what these mean?

alec151190 wrote:Hi I keep getting error messages on my MPC500 and it keeps crashing. The problems tend to happen when loading and saving. Errors messages include:

CPU Addr (read)
PC(884b0660)


Inv. gen. inst
PC(a50184c4)


Finally, a question mark suddenly appears before all the samples whilst I am assigning them to pads. When this happens no sound can be heard.

Does anyone know what these mean?

Are you using wav format samples?

alec151190 wrote:Hi I keep getting error messages on my MPC500 and it keeps crashing. The problems tend to happen when loading and saving. Errors messages include:

CPU Addr (read)
PC(884b0660)


Inv. gen. inst
PC(a50184c4)


Finally, a question mark suddenly appears before all the samples whilst I am assigning them to pads. When this happens no sound can be heard.

Does anyone know what these mean?

the samples arent being recognized because they are not in .wav format 16-bit, 44.1


onto the original question
1. with the latest OS, mine hasnt crashed at all.
2. if it crashes, it usually freezes which mean yes you have to restart. BUT, that just teaches you to save more frequently and again, just get the latest OS.
3. no. make sure the power cable is plugged in all the way and make sure your batteries arent low when your not using the power cable.

i'd recommend the mpc 500 to anybody. i've had mine since 2007

my 500 has been a saint its crashed twice... oddly the crashes only seem to happen when ive been out and about with it in my backpack... its like the thing gets shaken up and thinks 'screw you man!' and decides to act abit iffy... but thats solved by restarting. Other than that, the only beef i've got with the 500 is the screen size and lack of the chop features a 1000 had... but since i paid £150 for it im not complaining.

zayusiam wrote:very safe. no danger involved here

You are neglecting to tell him about the plutonium core... that part is very dangerous.

In the year I've had mine, it has only crashed once. This was while I had it operating on battery power and I am quite certain that I just hit the pad too hard and temporarily had it lose power. Not enough that the display stopped working, but long enough for the CPU to fritz. Given what/how it happened, I'm confident to say that it was my fault and not the MPC's.