Used on eBay right now
Akai Professional MPC1000 Sampler/Sequencer Black 16 Pads USB MIDI S/PDIF CFUsed · Buy It Now$425
AKAI Professional MPC1000 Music Production Center w/ 128MB CF Card TestedUsed · Buy It Now$475
Akai MPC1000 Music Production Center Sampler w/ Box 128MB SNK10807022311276Used · Buy It Now$678
Akai MPC 1000 Custom – 128MB RAM – JJOS2XL – New Fat Pads – Tilted LCDUsed · Buy It Now$1,200
Akai MPC1000 MPC 1000 MIDI Sequencer Sampler Drum Machine Music Production 128MBUsed · Buy It Now$600
Akai MPC1000 Sampler and SequencerUsed · Buy It Now$300
The Akai MPC1000 is the MPC that fit in a backpack. Released around 2003, it brought the classic 16-pad workflow to a compact body with CompactFlash storage and USB, at a price a working producer could afford.
JJOS
The MPC1000 has a cult following thanks to JJOS, a replacement operating system written by a Japanese programmer known as JJ. Free and paid versions added audio tracks, non-destructive chopping and other features Akai never shipped, and the best-loved paid version, JJOSXL, still adds value to a used unit.
The hip hop connection
In a 2008 HipHopDX interview cited by Sampleface, Large Professor called it “the MPC version of the [SP]1200” and said he used it on The LP. It became a common machine for underground and independent producers through the 2000s.
Buying one today
Check the pads with the “wiggle test”: newer pad sensors move together when you wiggle one pad. Check how much RAM is installed (16 MB is tight) and which OS it runs, since paid JJOS licenses stay with the machine. Look for bent pins in the CF slot, and don’t confuse it with the smaller MPC500.
Akai MPC1000 videos: demos, history and breakdowns
