Don’t Buy An Akai MPC 5000 Until You Read This

Akai MPC 5000

Don’t buy an Akai MPC5000 until you read this: hip-hop producer Just Blaze’s rant on the MPC Akai calls “the most advanced MPC on the planet.”

“THIS THING IS COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE!” says Blaze. “Some of the bugs in this thing are ATROCIOUS.”

He goes on to detail a litany of bugs and limitations he’s encountered in trying to use the MPC 5000, and summarizes his experience like this:

“I…recommend that you don’t buy the MPC 5000 until they release the next operating system.”

“Please don’t do this again Akai. As a fan, avid user, supporter, and friend. Don’t let the decline in hardware sales (or whatever is contributing to this) allow this to continue.. Quantity over Quality, Numbers over Blunders, Sales over Sincerity and Profits over Professionalism, it makes for Bad Business, Disgruntled Devotees, and Cold Hearted Customers who will Cease, Desist and Discontinue their Dilligent support of a Diluted brand.”

Ouch.

97 thoughts on “Don’t Buy An Akai MPC 5000 Until You Read This”

  1. I agree with the user. I’ve had problems with akai products in the past. Contacted akai customer support; I never received a reply. Never bought from them again. I want great products and great customer support.

    1. Why never bought from them again? Akai doesn't make quality products? Why many Dj's, and anothers musicians use AKai products? Maybe marketing? I want a answer because I want know if don't bother to buy an Akai product or not. Thx a lot!

      1. the reason is simply the akai MPC has no other competition out there, what else is there, Roland and yamaha have counterparts that are available but nowhere near filled with the capabilities of the mpc’s. Akai customer service is atrocious for sure. I also have had negative experience with it.

    2. I disagree. I have gotten great customer support from them. The individual who I spoke with was very informative and friendly.

    3. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    4. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    5. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    6. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    7. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    8. whats yall Digital Dallas here im having problems with my mpc 5000 as well the hard drive freezes up and i have to reboot in the middle of a project in the middle of a recording session
      you can loose every thing if your not care to save every thing every few minutes i love the power of this machine but i dont love the bugs they really need to fix this problem. by the way try i found this great vocal spray called you can find it here http://www.platinumvocalpower.com its great for your vocals.

    9. seems like zou are doing somtéthing outragious just like trying to make a car fly.Use zour manual from akai.learn how to appraciate the work they do to put up such a machine.What is it that you can create.All i can say is its tech is challenging you.Think out of the box

  2. Mine works fine. No data lost. Much easier to use than the MPC1000. The synth is dope. I’d like to see some global editing options and to be able to automate all the synth parameters. It’s a huge step up from the 2000xl and the 1000 for sure.

  3. I’m in a love hate thing with Akai right now. I been roc’in the mpc 1000 for a couple years.
    I always knew somthing was wrong with my pads , cause they didn’t feel like my friends 2000. Come to find out there not the same pads. Instead of the pads all being in one set Akai decided to take a short cut and use a cheaper single pad system.

    This is not the same hardware we’ve all grown to know and love.
    All the new modules of the mpc1000 have the pad fix upgrade at the same price, But to by the pad fix is $180.00.
    Here is a link to a petition about the fix.
    Not that Akai will care but what else can we do.
    http://www.petitiononline.com/mpc1000/petition.html

    Pz

  6. just blaze is crazy. ive worked with a 2000(where the screen did not flip) , 2000 xl (with zip drive), mpc 1000( 1000 was a monster!). now i have the 5000. this machine is a beast! i havnt had any problems. some people talk bout no good tech support! man please…. find out how to use the machine on your own! other clowns talk about the synth…. take your time, go through all of the sounds. tweak the sounds you like and save the settings. STOP BEING LAZY PEOPLE! you dont always need samples. play tunes. with this 5000 machine you really dont need nuthing but a midi keyboard.the world changes everyday. deal with it!

    1. i too as just have been on the mpc for year i still have the 2000,but this 5000 is trash dude
      whatever bugs are there are true because im sitting in front of one and
      have been for a week without it turning on its been initianilzing for two week.has nothing to with knowing the machine the people owe me money!!!!!!!!

    2. Uh, JUST BLAZE is like One of the Greatest Hip-Hop/R&B Producers of Our Generation…if he made this statement, there must be some truth behind it! I hope he's wrong though because I was planning getting one soon…ho-hum…and the intense research goes on!

  7. These are my thoughts as well. I’m a mulit platinum producer as well as Just Blaze. I hate the 5000! I’ve bee down with Akai since the mpc 60. this is the worst machine ever! I’ve nothing but problems with this machine. Midi just stops sending signal to my gear for no reason. The hardrive freezes up and sometimes erase all the sounds. There is no muti program and sequence save function like the 4000.( Why lose the best new feature in the akai family) “Please don’t do this again Akai. As a fan, avid user, supporter, and friend. Don’t let the decline in hardware sales (or whatever is contributing to this) allow this to continue.. Quantity over Quality, Numbers over Blunders, Sales over Sincerity and Profits over Professionalism, it makes for Bad Business, Disgruntled Devotees, and Cold Hearted Customers who will Cease, Desist and Discontinue their Dilligent support of a Diluted brand.”

  10. I have the Mpc 5000 too. I agree with Just Blaze shit I will believe someone in the game before someone local. I am having problems with the 5000 too. It has bugs that affect the way you make beats. Right now my sounds static and turn down when I put them on a program from the edit menu. For anyone who does agree keep using it and you will find out.

  12. Wow… whoever thinks the five thousand is great is out of their minds, i have both the 4000 and the 5000, i use the 4 at my studio and the 5 at home, the 5 comes with a piano and string patch i cant even sequence with it the notes stop, yes the synths sound decent and i have wrote some nice stuff, but i bought the 5 so i could make full productions at home and sing and play gitar ideas in the unit. well im about to buy a rackmount motif so i can make this happen…. i mean you cant even mix the piano patch, if you want reverb on the piano you have to go though 61 samples and manualy add effects to each pad… my 4000 is way better internally… i hope they just make a new op system that mimics the 4000 cuz i love the synth and the ability to record ruff ideas on the road and at home…i hope akai actually listens and trys to do something…. cuz i am still and always will be an mpc user… ive had every machine except the 60 and im very surprised about all the stuff that should be in my unit…. im willing to pay for the add ons i need in my 5000…. ill pay $500 for the ability to use multis, the smpte option(which has tighter timing than midi), the ability to save my vocal tracks as .wavs to load into nuendo( with stem start points), and independant volume and effects control for programs…..Please lord make this happen

  13. ive had an mpc 60 2000 3000 still have my 4000. thought the 5000 would be like the 4g but with improvements instead its going backwards with so many things what kind of shit is that they should be evolving with thier technology and with their customers im pretty disapointed to say the least. i do like some of the options it has but lost so many good things that the 4g has still.ive had my 4g f0r 8 years never got it refurbished finally need to but thought id buy an 5g for the time being and use it, looks like ima rush my 4g to forat to get it bac on deck cuz i feel limited with the 5g. akai should be ashamed of themselves for real youd think theyd only be gettin tighter ..but not the case

  14. thanks to everyone for slaging off the new MPC 5000.because of all the bad reviews I managed to get my hands on a new 5k for half the original price with all the optional stuff and full waranty and some extra sample cd’s.i only had it for couple of days and it’s working fine.all i need to do now is wait for os updates to sort out what ever wrongs they have.this is my first mpc so i’m still learning,and i think its good that i don’t have previous experience with mpc’s.can’t do any comparing.

  16. Sounds like opinion of the 5000 turns on experience of the 4000: those who never used the 4000 love the 5000, while those with the 4000 think Akai have fallen off the wagon.

    So are there any 4000 users who actually like the 5000? Have any of the 4000 haters (and I know you’re out there) tried the 5000 for comparison purposes? (or have they simply abandoned Akai completely)

  18. My question is is it worth buying a 5000 or no? Because I am about to build myself and 4 others a studio and along with the mpc there will be a korg keyboard and a mic and editing programs and someone said there is a machine called an 808 wth just you guessed ot 808’s that we might get, so I really want to know b4 i buy it and can somone recommend me a good keyborad because the Korg TR76 had good reviews please?

  20. some people just cant make beats even the platinum beats makers they make comments because the think they should be respected the 5000 glinch will be fixed just like any other new machine that first touch the market peach Atl GA

  21. All I can say is he’ll no I’ll stay with my 2000xl I’m old school all I need is a mpc60/3000/2000/or 2000xl n a Roland mc 505 n it’s on n over 4 my competition real talk it’s not what u got that makes u hot it’s how u use what u got that make u hot peace

  22. Rio Beats is real. Believe it

    Why buy a brand new MPC5000? buy a couple of used MPC’s.

    MPC3000 for the sounds & Library $1000- Cant be Beat
    MPC4000 for the programming power $1500- The Standard
    Maybe a 2000xl w/Compactflash Option or MPC2500 $600 – $900

    Any combo is better.

  23. I also agree with Just Blaze. The same exact problem happened with a brand new MPC5000. I recieve the MPC In the middle of my 1st sequence and 12th track the machine froze on me. So, I send it back for another machine. That one froze on 1st sequence and 4track, the second time. the Akia sould place this product on RECALL. It dont serve it’s propose.

  31. Ok so I want to buy MPC5000 and my guess is this is a very old thread not sure. I see no dates. What is the result today with the machine and the new os?

    Dave

  32. every one i will like to no if the mpc 5000 is good know pls becuse i wonted to by one my self and no one wonted to say nothing wot is rong pl over haer saying its good but every one is scared to bye it can some one say sumthing pls i hav the 500 and the 1000 yea evin the 2000 i wont to go big now i wont u BABY THE 5000 PLS HELP S.O.S S.O.S

  33. iam selling my mpc 5000 shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    ill go back old school use my mpc 60 mark 1 and mark 2 no midi problems there . got the mpc 5000 when you sync with nuendo software the mpc 5000 throws every thing out of sync
    no time for shit gear peace

  34. I been using mpc’s since mpc 60 and I had them all now I got 2 mpc5000’s with the new 2.0 o.s. other than having 2 more banks,little more sample time ,sampling 24 bit but u have to be a dog to hear the difference of 16 bit to 24 bit plus u want to sound like its school fattness u dont want your drums sounding computerized like reasons and it dont have the punch like real machine stop playing with fake software but its cool little brother mpc4000
    still a good drum machine but the mpc5000 kills it man buit in synth plus u make your own and save them,now key grouping like the 4000
    and it has audio tracks too. come on man do your homework . peace…PHANTOM G

  35. the machine is cool and all but it HAS cost me time & potential money on significant production opportunities. i wont drop names but it kills me knowing i had what i had on the table then 'freeze'

    all data gone.

    over. and over. and over again.

    they blew me off in person but the tech support people are really on it.
    they deserve to rebuild it, not the same people who are either now fired or demoted.
    like anything you have to navigate though it, learn it, and adjust you previous production flow – nothing is perfect but they really do need to address this bull because i have had a seriously unfun time with it more than anything.

  36. the machine is cool and all but it HAS cost me time & potential money on significant production opportunities. i wont drop names but it kills me knowing i had what i had on the table then 'freeze'

    all data gone.

    over. and over. and over again.

    they blew me off in person but the tech support people are really on it.
    they deserve to rebuild it, not the same people who are either now fired or demoted.
    like anything you have to navigate though it, learn it, and adjust you previous production flow – nothing is perfect but they really do need to address this bull because i have had a seriously unfun time with it more than anything.

  37. ladies and gents it really is this simple.akai been and gone,prob never really got there. roland is where its at.as far as products of this nature go,you will be very hard pushed to try and beat the roland mv8800. it is the best money can buy and will blow akai and the shitty primative mpc straight out the water,its a world beater and it does exactly what it says on the box.personally i wouldnt piss on the mpc,roland all the way,dont just take my word for it research it for yourself and im sure your mpc will find its way to ebay and into the arm of someone else who didnt quite have the cash to buy the real deal roland.

  38. whats up guys ? this is PHANTOM G !
    as to the guys hating on the MPC 5000 man , read above please.to what.i wrote on feb.14 2010. now to the dude selling his mpc 5000 and going back to the 60 man all you got to do is get a better midi interface not those bang for your buck kind LOL.. and try this to change the 16 bit to 12 bit and covert the sample rate to 2200 hertz and you got that grimmy sound like the 60 and the king of the old school emu SP1200 but to keep it real nothing sounds like a SP1200 but a SP1200 . I got one fully redone new drive buttons the works but, the MPC 5000 is the new king now . dont hate on the MPC5000 man , i got 2 MPC5000’s and 9 keyboards all midi and i have no problems . its just people dont take the time to read thinking its like the other mpc family but, there is a learning curve to the MPC5000 . PEACE ……. PHANTOM G ….. 2010 …..

  39. why is it that anyone who talks at length about this thing uses terrible grammar. I seriously can't even read half of these. I'm not grammar cop, but come on! Re-read what you write before you post it. You all sound like you dropped out of 3rd grade.

  40. why is it that anyone who talks at length about this thing uses terrible grammar. I seriously can't even read half of these. I'm not grammar cop, but come on! Re-read what you write before you post it. You all sound like you dropped out of 3rd grade.

  43. Ya, im sure Akai wuld take u seriously when u rant but sound like ur not even educated enough to use the equipment ur complaining about.. ha ha ha! that’s using ur brain man.

    But really, new OS upgrade fix these issues that (to me) sound like a whole different issue than “learning curve”. You don’t have the thing crash and lose ur data like that when u have atleast used, how many previous versions of the product???

  44. I just made a boo boo! I bought one of these MPC5000 9 days ago. Tonight I played using some samples and synth's and poof it crashed when hitting mode and pad 13 My YouTube is up you can check it out at tonybtv.com I am so glade I can return this junk box MPC before I got stuck with it!! Also I wasn't even playing a lot of samples only 2 and the synths. Anyone have a unit that does the same as this without the crashes?
    DJ_Tony B

  45. I just made a boo boo! I bought one of these MPC5000 9 days ago. Tonight I played using some samples and synth's and poof it crashed when hitting mode and pad 13 My YouTube is up you can check it out at tonybtv.com I am so glade I can return this junk box MPC before I got stuck with it!! Also I wasn't even playing a lot of samples only 2 and the synths. Anyone have a unit that does the same as this without the crashes?
    DJ_Tony B

  46. maybe the first batch was trash but i've had mines since late 2009. i love it. it doesnt freeze at all. it does what it says it does. it does what i tell it to do. synth is dope. features are crazy. there may be a bit of a learning curve because of so many new features but this machine is un rivaled. the mv8800 may be cool but roland stopped making outs for it WTH. MPC 5k is ill. Cats gotts stop listening and following the fav producer on gear. they are jsut men with opinions and a lot of loot, they can cop a 5k and toss it in the closet aand disregard it. if U buy this as a regular working cat u better learn it and use it. it works if you not lazy. i think its jsut too much machine for some people.

  47. maybe the first batch was trash but i've had mines since late 2009. i love it. it doesnt freeze at all. it does what it says it does. it does what i tell it to do. synth is dope. features are crazy. there may be a bit of a learning curve because of so many new features but this machine is un rivaled. the mv8800 may be cool but roland stopped making outs for it WTH. MPC 5k is ill. Cats gotts stop listening and following the fav producer on gear. they are jsut men with opinions and a lot of loot, they can cop a 5k and toss it in the closet aand disregard it. if U buy this as a regular working cat u better learn it and use it. it works if you not lazy. i think its jsut too much machine for some people.

  48. Jon:

    It’s because this type of equipment naturally attracts talentless wiggers whose closest approximation to creating music is to steal samples of others’ works and put them on auto-repeat. Try putting some sheet music and an instrument which doesn’t do all the work in front of them, and you’ll find they’re just as literate in music as they are in English. The irony of it is that these DJs puff themselves up on being master wordsmiths–yet they can’t even communicate intelligibly.

    2. You, my friend, are a massive fucking chode.
      Literacy in notation has next to nothing to do with being a good musician.

      I'm not the biggest fan of 'urban' music, but your argument is a particularly nasty, bigoted and elitist little outburst.

      Also, please bear in mind that the English language is itself a constantly changing mongrelization of German, Latin, French and a whole range of other cultural influences. You might not like the way they speak, but to suggest slang equates to illiteracy is yet another indicator of you, well, being an elitist twat basically.

  50. Calling other people talentless wiggers is intelligible communicating? O.K….

    Now to the topic; I'm glad Akai still makes workstations like the mpc 1000. It's portable, on the other hand it has enough analog outputs and midi connections for my three synths, and it's powerful when it has the JJ OS installed. I can call it the heart of my lab and I wouldn't swap it for anything. I'm considering adding an older mpc like the 60 or 3k to my setup when I can afford one.

  51. I need an mpc to play drum hit samples and sequence some midi outboard (orbit, e6400,e500ultra) for live work.

    i had an mpc1000 but it just skipped between sequences while in song mode. Literally an audible gap between sequences. I’ve been using midi since 1983 so I’m really quite certain it was the machine.

    Im thinking about a 5000 because of the synth and the larger ram. I don’t care about pad feel etc… Or global editing. I’m old school and never had any of that anyway…..

    But do I buy a 5000…… Well, I wish this thread had the information in it I need. It may do but who could tell with all the pretentious language half of you are using. For the love of god, when posting, make your first concern that of getting your view across, and playing the cool backwards baseball cap hiphop producer, your second concern. …. Rant over.

    1. Ive owned both the 5000 and 2500… Just get the 2500 with JJOS… Easier to use, more logically laid out, cheaper, and no gap between sequences. 5000 has lots of bells n whistles but most of them are things you won't really miss… JJOS does almost everything you could want.

  52. All these A holes have been spitting shit bout the 5K, but nobody has actually spelt out what the problem really is ( if any ) with the 5K. I think these guys are simply illiterate and dont know how to use a mpc, and then go about swearin n cussin.

  53. wow……I was about 2 weeks away from buying one and have already heard that it was being discontinued…..just blaze…..I thank you much man!!! U “just” saved me 2 grand!! 🙂

  56. I guess the S5000/S6000 is still the best Akai sampler still!!! I have an S5k and had it since 98' and never had problems once I updated to OS 2.14. Sounds amazing and I have an HD internal plus 256MB of ram. They need to revisit that sampler, because they could learn a lot.

  58. Tha problem wit da streez rite now is da bruz needs to be straight stayin in skoo and lurnin some readn n write so they aint all illiterate fake g makks and dope dealin n gang bangin to buy a mpc to make beats so they can be rich and not playaz no more dog. why the bruz got to be makin beats and a war whenn they coud be schoolin and learnin ta write the real english and all yo

  60. All blazes ancient comments, were addressed by akai. This article should be long gone. But, since it Is up and I have had my 5000 for years and bought it new, and also still own and use a 1000″ and used to use a couple other akai boxes, I feel like my opinion matters. So let me say, the 5000 is a very powerful sound shaping engine. I use this thing to sample and make beats quickly. With all the things a sound designer can do it is a very powerful tool to someone who knows how to get deeper inside of it. With the sound shaping tools, I can completely change the samples into something that sounds new. There are layering functions that are professional grade and the results are sometimes stunning. The 1000 is a cool beat box, and I use it regularly as well, but the 5000 has an amazing feel. It’s large pads and numerous slider controls knobs etc are again, professional grade. Like I said I have been cranking out beats for years, and I work quickly. The way the 5000 lends itself to using all the faders buttons and knobs during slicing and trimming alone are part of the reason I Love the 5000. I can get in and setup chops on dedicated faders and its on to the next thing. Now that the self contained MPC is done and it is all computer based as Akai has gone all Maschine on us, the 5000 has more value to me than ever. Remember the 5000 has several audio and midi outs and if you need to kick out beats lots of them, like I do, the mouse free and computer free operation is the best for what I do. I don’t care for needing to tie up my computer for beats. I use my computers for cubase pro tools and email.
    To tie my MPC flow into that makes no sense to me. IMO the mpc-5000 was ruined by the viral nature of this one producers rant. I enjoy the 5000 as the flagship top of the line mpc machine it was meant to be. Yes, you can fully tweak the synth with the q link controls. I use it amd all of the 5000 regularly!!

  61. Who gives a big fat shit what “Just Blaze” thinks about the the MPC5000. All he makes is some shitty hip hop that sounds all the same anyways. Why would I care what some hood rat thinks and all his little followers. This machine is PERFECT for house and techno. Don’t walk right over the cliff and listen to some hip hop pot head. This machine is wicked.

  67. Hello i buy one of this used unit, the hard disk arrive with a mechanical problem and i had replace this, until now any Hard Disc has been worked fine, i formatted in the PC after in the mpc 5000 and work for minutes, after a time return a error “Invalid FS on HD”, i cant save my projects, power machine with poor operating system, i have tried a sata hard disc with ide sata converters and also with original ide hard discs and I can not solve it, if something cant help me I appreciate it so much…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *