quote] ok and what was your decision??? LOL.. why spend $150. when you can go to Guitar Center and play with one for a few hours?? Oh I forgot if you can find a 4000 in a store right now...[/quote]
At guitar Center, sam ash, or any place other than your own studio u are never gonna be able to put any piece of machinery thru it's paces. Maybe a hobbyist can get by like that. But anyone serious about making music & making a living by making music does not make purchases by window shopping. Your main objective is to not have any downtime. "How does it interact with ur present equipment?", if u have a zip100 or HD on ur 3000, do my programs/sequences load in full?" "Is the extra button pushes in the user interface a big adjustment for u from ur 3000?" "Is it worth it?" "should I just use the money and get a motif or new triton ex or fantom srx?" U need more than 20min at a store and the word of a salesman, who don't know jack or never used the item you inquiring about 90% of the time, to make a big switch. Search this post in relation to that nonsense- that's real bad advice.
http://www.mpc-forums.com/viewtopic.php?t=10108
My decision? I got one and put it in along side of my mpc3000, 2000xl and patched it in. Used it once on a new styles p song for his upcoming album that i did from scratch using 4000, motif, a-station. However, had to come back down and lay tracks into ProTools because Powerhouse doesn't have a 4000. Only 3000 & 2000. So I still haven't really used it in a work situation. I will say that seamless integration from 3000 to 4000 is not quite accurate. I had to adjust filter & resonance settings and I had to put sounds back on pads after loading. It has alot of stuff in it I would never use because a computer can do things so much easier but even w/ the extra button pushes the 4000 is not a bad machine. Just remember it's an update of the 2000 not the 3000.