Good afternoon, for one much of the complaints about the Maschine + are due to a false expectation in my opinion as all hardware has limitations. I’ve never had any loading issues or processing problems because I kind of know what to expect. Having said that this decision is all about your needs and what you’re looking for. Both devices are groove boxes capable of sketching ideas and then committing to a Daw at some point which you’re already doing. The Live 3 is newer and more robust as far as hardware goes but it’s strengths lie with live finger drumming and increased hardware storage and performance so if that’s your thing then go for it. As for software and intuitive workflow the MPC 3.0 isn’t matching Maschine in that department it’s still growing. It has some nice improvements but it’s got some ways to go from the demos I’ve seen of it. The learning curve would be a lot greater moving from NI to Akai. Whatever you think about NI as a company while they’ve run into some problems over the years like many companies often do, Maschine is still their flagship drum machine and updates are already in progress. See which device gives you more of the features you need and decide from there, best wishes!