Humm it ain't so easy 2 answer as a lot derive form personal pref. and experience.


Soft.

Logic if u r a mac man
SX for PC

If u want somethin a little simpler but not necessarily less powerfull...
Fruity Loops / Reason


Hardware ...

MPC1000! (others from the mpc range can do the work aswell).

On another note u can easily "addapt" something like an rmx1 or an electribe 4 the job (but I would go with something that as at least 16 parts).

Z