9 the main reason i bought the mpc was the need for me to get away from the pc for composing. Manual actually translates well to english. You wont need it though. Very easy to use. 10 Polyphony is 32.
Pads are great.
8 Sampler is great for drums. Sequencing actually DOES have some kinda magic. No effects, the akai effects board and the new filter board both suck. It crashes every now and then. Only thing bad is its hard to make a bad track on it.