hey I own a MPC 2000xl and its like my favorite shit. the sound is amazing, hard with thump. but be prepared to have a hand full of old records to sample from because its pointless with out them. in terms of wether its a 1000 or 2000 or 2000xl is a big factor. the 1000 is cool but small and the editing fuctions on it are hard almost impossible, you really need to have a software editer to cut samples up then load them into the mpc1000. but its nice because you can travel with it, also if your like me the pads are everything. the 2000 is a lot older and can have some problems with the os but still a great peace of kit and sound, you can pick one up for like 500 bucks on ebay so becarefull. the 2000xl is a great peice of kit. has one of the newest os for it.and is a joy to work with, just ask pete rock or dr dre. one thing you need to take into consideration is that is sampling a big part of your production, Im mostly sample based and the mpc is a main part of my productions, I'd be lost with out it . if you want the best sampler out there then the mpc range is the way to go. if you want to talk with more people about wether its right for you check out
http://www.mpc-forums.com
this is all my just my opion though
peace