ableton live is a really dope production software. if you using loops at all it automatically beat matches the loop. the only semi weak point is in order to chop your samples just right you have to use a different program. i use live with soundforge.
i got a sp1200 emulator vst plug in. its been the buzz around the mpc forums, but gyeah man hit me up on aim, i can hook you up its a small file. gyeah