my opinion
REASON is excellent. so is REAKTOR. to run good samples and sounds on the pc the sound card should be a decent sounding one. the pc should also have a large amount of ram and a decent processor. i run those two programs along with unity, rebirth, acid and just about every program you can think of. i get software for FREE! not from the net either!
i run everything except for pro tools and paris. my pc is 475mhz with an amd k6 2(sux huh)and 376mb of ram with a dio 2448 sound card. i use sounds from the pc or from my roland dr.660 or from my fully expanded xp60. the hip hop card is nice and the drum kits i MAKE are cool. i NEVER use pre sets. that is a SIN. use a pre set and tweek it. just dont use a pre set....
anyhow i think software is making a MAJOR impact on hip hop. however you will ALWAYS have vintage equipment and hardware. everyone wants those "classic" moog and 808 sounds. its on the user to be creative and not lazy with the sounds. i have no problem with a producer using samples. thats what hip hop and rap was FOUNDED on. however you should take it to the next level. experiment and see what you can get going. i do music but its not the average RAP. i dont listen to a lot of rap because i dont want there stuff determining MY sound. i do what i want. i dont make beats to sound like mannie fresh or timbaland. i make beats for the listener. so they can think they are going to........HELL!!!!! my own style in a sick bizarre way.........
to me and this is my opinion of course. a person who has a pc is a FOOL for using an mpc. thats just my opinion. the mpc has some cool sounds. however lets take the price of a mpc compared to a korg xp60 or proteus with a sequencer proram such as cakewalk:
mpc is $1200-$1400 stock
a roland xp60 or korg stock $1200-$1400
a proteus $800-$900 stock
which do you get the most BANG for?
a roland or korg with cakewalk will give you far more creative power than a mpc fully blown.
a proteus with cakewalk AND a midi controller(optional) will give you more creative power than an mpc.
do the math.
as far as specs are concerned look at the mpc. 32 voices compared to 64 or maybe 128 with these other machines.
16 bit mpc ? try the pc at 24 bit
just something to think about. get the most bang for your buck.
czar