Analogue-sequencer

for me, the change from v3 to v4 is, to use a wanky business term, a paradigm shift.

I used to use v3 like a regular sequencer but with a better interface, sort of like an alesis mmt8 with knobs on. that's a very simplistic description, but it gets the point across that one could build song-like structures using playlists.
I was one of the users most likely to stay with v3, because of this.

v4 is like a midi-looper, in the context of my current use anyway.

there's no denying that it's changed the way my band works, btw. 

so in a given bank, I will set up the tracks with patterns of different lengths. some of them are one bar, some of them eight. some of them are programmed the hard way, some of them set to record from a keyboard. some of them have "normal" aux events, some of them are used to record polyphonic parts. some will play berlin school bleeps & pulses, some handfuls of piano notes/chords, some percussion parts, legato cello lines, you get the idea.

the point is, I have stopped trying to use the p3 to do what an mmt8 could do, & started to use it as an adjunct to my own hands, i.e. as a performance-enhancing tool. 

in this respect, the p3 has no peer. unless you are comfortable with using a laptop on-stage (& I am not). & even then....

paul will tell you, aswell, that if you enter the realm of random accumulators interfering with the track contents, it can be like having another band-member copying what you do & then extemporising.

by all means use it to write songs, but for reliable repeatable replay of pre-written parts, you might be better off with the alesis or some other multi-track sequencer. 
currently, in my set-up, I use both, sometimes substituting an emu xx7 or even a little yamaha qy70 for the mmt8. these latter are usually downstream of the p3 so as to capture it's output for later editing.

just my 20p's worth-

duncan.