casue its just a drum machine no sampler. it is talked about and used alot still. alot of hip hop and dance music still use 808s.
http://www.vintagesynth.org/roland/808.shtml
it is all presets. and its just a drum kit. i would just get an mpc and get one of the thousand free 808 kits from online. including
www.akaipro.com site.
u should get a mpc, which has a sampler, and a good sequncer, and then get a keyboard or synth. The alesis micron is pretty cool and is not that expensive.
http://www.zzounds.com/item--ALEMICRON?trk=smx
get a cheap mixer like a berhinger and some monitors and u got a good little setup. i see u with all these posts for diff gear but i think u should just start with a 1000 and go from there according to what ur needs become.