Wanna talk some equip - Help for a new guy?

i just purchased a 2000xl  ive got alot of ideas and i want to start doing something about it.  i want to record live instruments.  can i do this in any way with the mpc? how much can i actually do with this thing. i want to be more expressive than the 16 pads and i want more sounds. maybe a sound module and keyboard? and multitrack for live? i would like to eventually put my ideas on an audio cd. i know you guys talk alot of equipment. could you help out a "first-time digital" brother who is on a budget.
ps i dont want to bring my slow big pc into the "practice room" but i will if i have to---i have a friend with a pretty nice laptop tho....[/color]

Sorry, the MPC doesn't record live instruments. You will need a multitrack recorder to do this. There are plenty on the market right now. Depending on the amount of tracks you want to record live will determine how many tracks you will need. Always leave room for growth though. I don't know what your budget is but here is the minimum you'll need.

1. Multitrack recorder.
2. Synthsizer/keyboard - for your basses, strings, etc..
3. CD recorder - Some use there computer for this and for #1.

These three things alone will help you sketch out your ideas. There are many price ranges in each of these categories, but you never gave abudget so I won't speculate.[/color]