I've been using a KP3 in my band for vocal effects and vocal sampling for about 6 months now, and I can attest to the difficult learning curve of this machine. At first it seems that with it's unique interface it would be easy to pick up and start using right away, but it takes time just like all a lot of other pieces of gear out there. All I can say is keep at it because it is really great for live sampling and resampling. And those numbered keys are crucial to your success in quickly switching from effect to effect. If you haven't organized them yet, I would highly recommend that as a starting point. I know that with what I am doing with it I'm barely scratching the surface because this thing has a lot of potential.

I have on occasion used it chained to my 404sx and had a lot of fun with that. I sampled from the 404 on to the KP3 and built chains of effect on top of the KP3 samples by resampling.

Anyway, it's always good to see other peeps using the same gear and interesting to hear what they do with it. Good luck with it!

Ok, i've had the minikp, the kp3, and the quad.

the miniKP was sweet, but my issue with it was the noise floor (a little hissy) and output; I swear it killed the signal a few dBs and it was noticeable when you had to boost it on mixdown.

The KP3 is great, like you said it can be a little hectic or have some un-musical effects, but its pretty awesome for what it is. I have *just* recently used the sampling on it after having it for a couple years, and I recommend it even if you have an SP - it does a fantastic job at live looping (small 4 bar crap) like a 4 track version of the 555 loop capture...AND you can add effects and resample w/o ever stopping.

The kaoss quad is great for what it is, but does NOT replace the KP3 for a few reasons - waaaaaaaay less effects, no MIDI, no sampling.
The effects that are there are good (B- maybe?) but when you combine them like grain + delay + filter it becomes a different beast than the KP3.

So I didn't really help; I have both and I like them too much to sell either. For your purposes (don't care about sampling, live use) I think the quad might be a better choice though, if you like the effects because you have like 20 as opposed to over 100 in the KP3.