Analogue-sequencer

Couple points:

I'm also one of those people that has bought (and sold) gear because 
of the interface.  Still have the Matrix 12, Wave, JP-8, etc.  
(although I still kept the Cyclone despite the interface.  What is 
does is just too cool to pass up, and the P3 is a lot like that in 
some regards).

The P3 was one of the hardest buying decisions for me.  I downloaded 
the manual, read it and decided not to buy it - too much info packed 
into too sparse an interface.

I revisited it monts later and started bugging Paul N and Duncan 
since both of them have/had Notrons and P3s.  I think the Notron 
gives you a lot of realtime interaction w/o much thought or fuss (if 
you grok their overall approach to things).

After much hesitation I decided to spring for a P3.  What helped me 
get started was reading (and re-reading) the manual for about a month 
before the P3 arrived.

I'm still not nearly as fast as the more experieced on the list, but 
I do find that for pattern/song creation it's pretty easy.  When I 
want to do more advanced stuff I need to either scroll through the 
I/F or look in the manual (which I find easier since I get more of an 
explanation).

One reason I cut down the amount of gear around here was that there 
was too much new/different stuff to learn.  If the P3 is going to be 
your primary sequencing tool then you'll learn it fast enough.  If 
it's just one of many sequencing tools in your arsenal it will take 
much longer.

Use it every day and you'll be comfortable.