I've had an sr16, esi32, pma5 and Rebirth and this crushes 'em all by miles. Combined with my filterbank I don't even fancy the 909 anymore. This is quite simply THE way to fine-tune each and every aspect of your drum sounds. Pitch, EG, modulation,pan, amp, LFO((!!!), filtering, FX etc. Being able to build layer upon layer of knob moves and Modulation is a godsend....it's a lot like having a PCM monosynth on every track , infinitely tweakable. Not as deep as many synths, but then this is not a synth it's a rhythmbox. The 2 synth parts are limited to simple melodies, basslines and arpeggios- not very powerful but still useful and for a box this price it's a bonus. Everybody (that doesn't have one) will dis the tubes but I'm glad they're there - even the crappy stock tubes add some welcome girth and grit. My gripes are few: The sample management system is slow and clunky. Stereo samples can only be used for specific parts - NOT much of a problem since this is a rhythm box, not a workstation. For hip-hop, house & techno, this box is extremely useful.

The samples sound clean but warm and the tube add alot of depth and enrgy to the sound. Im using this for hip hop and u need to set the machine to 32 steps and 4 measures otherwise ur likely gonna end up with some stiff sounding drums.

The main things missing from this unit r a usb port to transfer samples from computer and a wave editor scr would also b welcome.

But in summary a machine that will put the fun back into music making and allow u too make release quality music full of neat tricks and sounds almost by accident.

mpc = static beats. esx = tuned, tweaked and awesome.

effects are decent though more params would be nice. still way better than the week effects on the mpc.

and korg - how about some lfo -> sample start and end points! loop point controls?

look past the mpc's pads and see how weak it is! if you want good beats you need to be able to program it then start adjusting each sound until the whole thing is right. with the esx this is easy with the knobs. mpc - menus? no thanks!