Mpk49 octave up not working!

S

Sam_Trees

Guest
Hey everybody, first post but a long time lurker.

I just set up my Akai Mpk49, which is over a year old, on my new laptop. After solving the first few issues everything seemed to be working fine. Then when I tried to change the octave setting using the UP key, nothing happens. The octave down button works fine though, so I'm afraid its a hardware issue. Should I try opening up my controller and cleaning that key from the inside or something?

If I can't fix this somehow, is there an easy work around using Live?

Any and all help appreciated

---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:43 AM ----------

Just to be clear, I know you can use the transpose function in Live to change the octave. I'd much rather get the button to work though, that way I can easily change it on the fly.
 
Thanks for the response, but what/where is the actuator? I'm guessing it's a part underneath the broken button.

If I do end up needing to replace the button, where can I get one online? I found the whole panel on MPCstuff.com, but its $140, and I'm not trying to pay that much to get one button to work. They have other parts that might work, but there's no pictures of what they look like so I'm not sure.
 
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The actuator is the bit that gets pushed.

Tactile switches are cheap and usually not that hard to replace provided they are soldered through holes in the board and not surface mounted, the main thing is getting a replacement that is the correct height, the height is usually more important than the size of the switch because if the switch is smaller than the original you can just stretch the legs out.

All you got to do is read up on some soldering basics and practice on a cheap toy or something until you got it down.
 
Man thank you so much, I'm glad to hear its not that hard. I've actually done some soldering before on a guitar, so I'm pretty familiar with it. I think I still have the soldering gun too. You just saved me a lot of time my dude, thanks again.
 
You will also want to use a solder sucker when removing the old switch. One thing you will need to look out for with replacing the switch is the orientation of the legs, you should be able to match the orientation of your replacement switch with the octave down switch next to it.
 
Same problem here. I've had my MPK49 for 3 years and for the last year or so all of the buttons that I use some what regularly(octave up/down, transport, s1-s8) have started to fail. Some of the buttons will work after only 2 or 3 presses but some won't even work after 30 presses and a prayer to the synth gods. Let me know if you find a solution that's worth pursuing. I found the entire upper right panel on mpcstuff.com for $140 but I only need to replace the actuators. All my knobs and faders work perfectly fine. I'm not going to cut a check for $140 and do the repair when I could throw down a little more and get a new Novation or an Axiom.

Let me know if you somehow get in touch with the actuator guy on the line at the Akai factory. Tell him if he wants to make a little extra dough all he has to do is stick a bag of actuator switches down his pants before he clocks out.
 
All you have to do is go into RadioShack and buy the right size replacement switches, it's not like they are some exclusive parts only made by Akai.
 
I swear I'm not a basher/masher. I even evolved away from using the pads because hitting them hard enough to get a decent response(even with the electrical tape mod)seemed so ridiculous to me. Now that I'm getting some feedback from you fine folks I've retained some hope that I just got the odd defective unit. I love the layout of the MPK better than any other controller I've researched and I don't really want to have to switch to something else. I would really llike to hear that all the MPK users out there are doing just fine.
 
where do you find the tactile switches? Radio shack has the ones with 4 pins and this controller needs two. Anyone know where I can find them?
 
As we are becoming a throw away society less and less people are fixing things and retailers often reflect the trend by not stocking so many parts, so you might need to look on the websites of switch manufacturers and then order your switch.
 
Interesting, I'm having the exact same problem... octave down button works fine, but octave up has stopped responding. Is that just a weird coincidence?
 
aphrodite said:
Interesting, I'm having the exact same problem... octave down button works fine, but octave up has stopped responding. Is that just a weird coincidence?
Click to expand...

I just found this thread through google because I'm having the exact same problem. At first I just noticed the octave up button, but the octave down button is occasionally cutting out too. If I hold the button down firmly and for a second or two it normally will work (up or down) but it sure feels like it's probably on its last legs of usability.

I've already sent this unit in once for service while it was still under warranty for problems with malfunctioning buttons, 2 months without a board waiting for them to repair it.. I really like the layout of this thing but if these buttons are already going out I have to say this is the last Akai product I ever buy.

It's a shame because I bought a Novation controller at the same time as the MPK, but ended up selling the Novation even though I liked the feel of the keys better, I liked the pads and general layout of the MPK, plus some features like the note repeat. The Novation seemed to be a far more stable and better built product though.
 
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Having the same problem here. The octave buttons simply refuse
to work unless I keep pressing for more than 5 tries, which of course
messes with the creative flow.

Any solutions? Anyone know anywhere I can buy the
replacement actuators?
 
Hey folks. I had planned on getting a new controller altogether and then replacing the switches on the MPK(in case I messed it up terribly). I can't seem to come up with the scratch for a new controller and those buttons are driving me nuts so I think I'm just going to go ahead and do it. If everything goes to plan it shouldn't be out of commission for more than a few days. I'll be sure to let everyone know how it went and give details on the fix so as to help you guys out. Wish me luck!
 
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