A new series I want to bring onto the site, we’ll call it Hardware Hacks. Up first…Getting the 8 output board for your MPC 2000 xl for much less than the $180 – $280 price from the normal outlets.

The normal MPC 2000 / 2000 xl 8 output board is model Akai IB-M208p. The S-Series samplers (s-2000 and s-3000) use a board model number IB-208p, (no M – I’d imagine for MPC). The cool thing about this is that it’s the EXACT same board, just on a different mount.

You can pick up a board for closer to $100 (I found a new one for $90, just in an old box), or you can find an old s-2000 that has the 8-outputs installed an pull it from there. Those can be found anywhere from $10 – $100.

Notes:

1. You’ll have to extend the IDE cable (34 pin) in order for it to reach the connector. This isn’t terribly difficult, just be careful not to break the pins or you’ll end up taping and gluing the plastic connector.

2. You’ll have to either purchase some washers and screws that fit onto the plugs.

3. For extra support, you can use old PC parts to help stretch it out.

The Hack:

1. Get your board – whether that means pulling from the old Akai, or just takin it out of a box.

2. Crack open the MPC, bottom panel only needs to be taken off.

3. Replace the IDE cable on the 8-output board with a longer, standard 34 pin IDE cable. MAKE SURE all the holes are open. A lot of old floppy drive cables have a hole plugged for some annoying reason. The best cable to use is probably the one from the MPC Internal Floppy Drive if you still have it.

4. plug the Ide cable in to the motherboard.
DONE!

Here are a few pics nabbed from a post on this topic over at MPC-Forums.

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In the market for a second hand MPC? Chances are if you’re an MPC user, or if you’re on this site, you’re always on the lookout for new gear. Check out these 10 options that you might not be aware of. The world doesn’t revolve around eBay, and chances are you’ll get a better deal at one of these sites

1. Future Producers Forum

A very large array of individual users selling/trading their gear. You’ll find a lot of the usual low-end gear, and you can also find some MPC’s pretty easily.

2. MusicGoRound

A long-time favorite where I’ve found gems for years. Picked up my Digi 001 from there about 5 years ago for $125, back when the 001 was worth more than that. Pretty much anything you could ever want they’ll have for you. If you’re looking for any of the Recession Gear pieces, you’ll find them here or you’ll find them nowhere.

3. Daddys Junky Music

Daddy’s used to be a pick-up only chain in the Northeast but a little while back they started doing mail order like every other online retailer. Thank god for that one! Now you can find amazing deals that are updated daily. They usually have a ton of MPC’s at any given time…hopefully this post doesn’t stop that.

4. UGHH Producer Board

One of the longest standing Producer communities on the web. I’ve been a member for about 10 years now (for real, since 1999) and it’s a very cool and trustworthy group. Not always a lot for sale, but if you put up a request, you can usually get it. I found my MPC-60 through UGHH and I sold my MPC-4000 through UGHH

5. Guitar Center Used Gear

So when you think Guitar Center, deal doesn’t usually pop in your head. But there are some deals to be found in their Used Gear. I once walked out with an MPC-60 and an ASR-10 for $850 from a local Guitar Center. Best bet is to call the store and make an offer.

6. Craigslist via SearchTempest.com

Craigslist is nothing new, it’s a classic medium for finding gear. If you’re selling, watch out for the lowballers! If you’re the adventurous type, try SearchTempest. You can search every craigslist site at once. You’d be amazed at what people in Kalamazoo are selling, and most people will ship if you PayPal it.

7. Kijiji

Not as popular as the classified monster craigslist, but still gets a decent amount of listings, especially if you’re in a big city. Just check it out, it can’t hurt.

8. Rogue Music

Last but not least. One of the all-time greatest music stores. I purchased so much from these guys over the years and everything was great. Can’t say enough about them. Good prices, great products. I’ll always have love for Rogue since they were where I got my SP-12 Turbo for $350 back in the day. Now they have one for $750 w a drive…oh how I wish I had $750 to pay for that right about now..

That’s it for now, get searching! And when you need any accessories or customization, be sure to visit the store!

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So it’s been a while since I updated the progress of the 2kxl rehab, but it’s all done now.  Went from a standard 2kxl with audio problems to a Customized Akai MPC-2000xl with full memory, internal Zip, 8-outputs + Digital in/out, and of course, a great custom design.

Take a look at the transformation in the pics below:

This was before. Falling apart, busted floppy drive, rundown pads.

Some of the problems I discovered after picking it up:

1. No Power – FIX: Simple Fuse

2. Bad Floppy Drive – FIX: Installed Internal ZIP

3. Audio In/Out not working – FIX: Installed 8-outs w/ Digital I/O

4. Beat Up Pads – FIX: New Black Pads

5. Ugly banged up case – FIX: Custom Skin

After all the simple fixes, this is what it looks like today:

It took some time between getting all the printing and finding time to do everything while handling duties over at Philly’s best Web Design company.

More details on the specifics coming soon…as well as a new project! Also if you want to get your Akai MPC customized, just check out the store for more details!

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This is the BeatStatus Original right here. In Honor of Old School NY Hip-Hop, almost a little Shaolin-esque. You can see from the pics below that everything is a precise cut, and all the labels are present. This was a custom job that was designed to be the showcase piece for BeatStatus.com. Want to get your Akai MPC – 2000xl customized? Just stop by the store for a few of our stock designs, or get a personalized custom design!

Note: All of our stock designs are limited to 25 prints. After that, the design is retired for good! So if you see something you like, act fast!

The Pics:

Also, we ship WORLDWIDE all at a low rate, so if you want to get started, go to the store or contact us today!

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So you’re thinking of how awesome it would be to customize YOUR MPC 2000xl, or your 1000, or your 60. You say “eff it, I’m gonna do it!” Then you realize you have no idea what you want to do with it. Maybe some of these great examples pulled from the web will get your creative juices flowing.

Let’s call this one the St. Patty’s Day Special:

Very simple, very plain, very GREEN. This a good way to go if you happen to be Irish, an Oregan Fan, or the Philly Fanatic. Of course, doing a different color is always an option, sleek black, crisp white, maybe even a bright yellow?

Let’s call this The A-Team Van:

Really hot, very simple. I really like this one because of it’s simplicity. Letter was never put on, but it just looks great. Almost looks like the SP-1200 reissue. More than anything though, it looks like the A-Team van, see what I mean:

This is one is BY FAR one of my favorites. I’ll probably end up doing something like this to mine, something I always wanted to do. Introducing, the Ski Resort.

You can see how it’s just some off the wall type of ish. I’d really like to see it with some kind of wooden sides and front plate, but that’s a whole different carpenter issue. Wish I still had that spot in Port Richmond right next to the woodcutters, they could’ve hooked it up easily.

Let’s move on to the color changer. Looks like those cars they put out a while ago that changed colors, was it the Matrix? We’ll call it that anyway….

I really like this one. Not sure why, I guess it’s just the simplicity and cleanliness factor. Almost looks like an exclusive stock release. Like some kind of Special Edition that WASN’T really ugly. Good job Dj Dessex.

And last but not last, the Krush Groove!

Something about this just SCREAMS old school New York. It’s not the best Graff Job I’ve seen but it’s got that whole kind of “I saw that in Krush Groove” kind of feel.  Great job, super custom, that’s the kind of ONE OF A KIND Customization you really look for.

Hopefully these 5 examples gave you something to think about when you’re thinking of you want your gear designed. If you’re a designer and creating a design for printing, make sure you’re using HI-RES (300 dpi) if you want to look it’s best. If you need any help or want to have your akai MPC customized, just reach out to us by e-mail and we can help you get started.

This is just Part 1, I’m sure there will be plenty more posts showing custom designed gear…wink wink.

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This is the first project of many that will be posted on here. I picked up this little monster up for just a little more than $100 here in Philly. It had some nasty problems so it became a nice project piece.

When I first bought it home it refused to even power up, but with a little disassembly and a replaced fuse, it booted right up.   Screen has a few lines and the Headphone jack is trashed, but other than it, it’s not a bad machine, now waiting for parts to finish it up.

Installing one of my custom card readers (which will be available soon) and installing and 8 output board that will need some modding since it’s from an akai S-2000 sampler. After all that I’ll be giving it a custom BEATSTATUS skin.

I’ll post some before and after pics once I get it all completed, right now it looks like this though:

Stay Tuned

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There are a lot of good resources out there for MPC Owners, here’s a quick list just to get you started

MPC-Forums: Great Helpful Community for most problems. From the most challenging, to the simplest, someone here can most likely help you out.

UGHH: Another forum that has a lot of knowledge people to help you out.

HipHopProduction.com: A Production blog that gives you a little bit of everything beat related.

FutureProducers.com: Not as Many MPC users as the others, but a really group, great for the newbie who needs help with indirect MPC stuff such as MIDI, Syncing, and stuff like that.

That’s it for now, so get involved!

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