roland mc-909 ???

[tocsin]

Also. Its funny how people say "it doesnt matter what you use" then say "use abelton" when hardware gets mentioned... just because they couldnt figure out the RM1X or whatever!

dismissing hardware = dismissing a lot of amazing techno music that was made with it, limitations & all.

I think it's fair to lean towards software when giving "advice" nowadays based on affordability and range. Fact is, you can't pirate hardware and you're limited in what can be done with it. To expand your sound with hardware setups tends to require buying more hardware. Doesn't have to be a knock on hardware though.

Personally, I've done hybrid deals probably more than anything else, often involving an MC-303. The sequencer on it is basic and easy to use. None of the knobs send MIDI data though so it's REALLY limited in how basic it is. For the MC-909, I've messed with one and, in my opinion, it isn't worth the cash.

If the goal is to be able to do anything, owning a "techno in a box" tool isn't necesarilly a bad idea. Even the MC-303 has some decent sounds when run through some distortion. But, it is basically a glorified sampler at that point. I've used it's sequencer to trigger internal sounds run through a wah and distortion pedal, while also using it to trigger/sequence VSTi/DXis. I think one could probably find something just as useful as an MC-909 in that regards, but also cheaper.

For the record, software nazis are just as bad as hardware nazis, who used to drive me up a wall back in 1997. What I find kind of amusing is a solid majority of people who were hardware nazis back then are software nazis now. Fact is, if one has only toyed with something, or never done more than hear someone talk about it, one shouldn't give advice on it. They're doing nobody any service with that and become rather transparent to those of us who have used various pieces.