The Bumble Bee - MPC 5000
Ever thought about customizing your MPC? I’ve thought about it and even contemplated it for a long while but I never thought to go for it until recently. I know some people may wonder what’s the use… Hell some people may even say “What’s an MPC?” 
An MPC is… forget about it. If you dont know what it is you probably dont care about customizing one. So start here or here first. Now, let us begin.
Initially, I began by purchasing 10 new gold tipped knobs from, where else but MPCstuff.com, to replace the volume, record level and all 8 qlink knobs. I also purchased bright sunshine yellow color replacement pads. Some might think its an eye-sore but I like how it jazzed it up a bit. It actually inspires me to make music. Especially sitting next to the DSI Mopho for the ill contrast.
Dig the contrast with the Mopho!!!
Given a little time with the new knobs and pads on the 5k I thought it would be cool to take it further. I cant lie, I may have been influenced by cats over at MPC-forums.com or maybe it was my little obsession with that tv show American Choppers where they make and fabricate super customized choppers.
Anyway, a lot of cats over on the forums have customized MPC 1000’s and MPC 2500’s but when i got my MPC there were very few custom 5k’s. So at one point I actually found a dope wood-craftsman to make some ill wood panels like this one but cat wanted hundreds of dollars and I’d have to leave the MPC with him for some untold amount of time. Not happening. I later found a fabrication and machinery silk screening place in So Cal that would custom paint the entire box and re silkscreen it to manufacturer specs including my own logo. This place had done customized tour gear for folks like Madonna’s band members. It had a reasonable price tag, unlike Forat, but its no fun to let someone else do all the work, even if I cant get as intricately detailed as they can.
So, after a little research on forums (mpc forums, hobby forums, gamer forums) i found that a lot of gamers and MPC owners were painting their boxes themselves, especially the plastic parts. All one would need is some model car spray paint (Testors or Tamiya), primer, acrylic paint, slim detail paint brushes and sand paper from the hobby shop. So there I went and spent a whopping $30 dollars on the aforementioned supplies.
Paints from the Hobby Shop (brushes and sand paper not pictured). 1 can of gray primer, 1 can of clear coat, 2 cans of gloss yellow, 1 container of acrylic yellow.
To be continued (str8 up come back I have pics of the entire process… I’m waiting for the panels to dry for 48 hours) see you soon for part 2.
