Hm. If I were you (and trust me, I'm not ) I'd sell it all and get Maschine Studio and a Vermona Profourmer (four voice analog synth). Don't fear the laptop, you're already using one for SparkLE. You mention that you "tend to make full tracks" with Maschine. So what? I don't know about you but I want my live workflow to be as uncluttered and efficient as possible. Learn one device and focus on making music. Also, because it can host and control external hardware synths the world becomes your oyster.

Of course you could keep SparkLE. I'm listening to demos of it now and frankly they sound dead compared to Maschine's stock kits.

So the Profourmer... it just sounds so damn good to me and you are not going to get that amount of Phattness from software or your Tempest's DCOs and Curtis filter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMB8Iqy4B1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n96Kq-ZniOI

So, you'd have a rig that could easily fit in a backpack with only 3 (well 4 if you consider a mixer) components that would make a s-load of noise.

I'd actually get an audio interface that could accommodate all the Profourmers outputs so you could mix them and put effects on in your DAW.

Maschine's acoustic kits sound better, but SparkLE's drum machine kits sound better. Also I prefer SparkLE's sequencer interface much more. It feels more like a drum machine, less like a DAW. Though on SparkLE you can't have more than one kit in use at a time which is kind of a bummer. I did like that about Maschine.

I doubt I'd go the Perfourmer route, I need patch storage.

A far more likely scenario would be Maschine and a Virus TI2 Polar or something like that. I'm not a huge analog purist or anything.

More than likely I will end up keeping the Tempest, and maybe upgrading the SparkLE to a Maschine, which may or may not replace my Octatrack. I just enjoy the Tempest too much, despite all it's flaws.

The only thing about Maschine is that it has no beat-wide roll capabilities, nothing like Ableton's "Beat Repeat". I have a Push but I hate drumming on it, the pads are too small and it's hard to get consistent velocities on them. As a drummer this is of particular concern. The Tempest & Maschine both allow for very expressive playing.

I'm still nowhere though, no decisions have been made.

I like the sound of Maschine but there does seem to be an awful lot of second hand units available. That always makes me think twice about a piece of gear. Why so many people getting rid of it. I'd certainly hold onto a Spark LE until Spark 2 (free to current users) comes out. The modular drum synth could be awesome fun. I've got the vermona DRM1 and (re:the perfourmer) the lack of memory does kill it's usability enough for me to move it on. It just becomes a little inconvenient when you've got pressure on whether for live shows or work deadlines.

did you have tempest or did you try it out?

I've tried Tempest out in a couple of friends studios. It looks and sounds amazing but a bit too expensive for me. As was mentioned above also, I don't think I've ever seen as much buyers remorse for anything as I have for the Tempest.
I seriously thought it might be a replacement for my 808 when it first came out but the guys I know that own it all say the same thing: amazing synth, not so amazing drum machine. So I'll keep the 808.

You summed up probably about 60% of the disappointed Tempest users' beef right here. It never was intended to sound anything like the 808 or 909, yet many people immediately have that expectation when they hear Analog Drum Machine.

I'd take a Tempest over either an 808/909 any day of the week, (resale value non-withstanding). I like the Tempest's more chunky, organic sound. I do not like instruments that sound "retro". To me that's just another word for "already been done a billion times".

I still don't understand why every single drum machine has to sound like an 808 or 909; what's the point if it's all gonna be the same? I for one would die happy without listening to another track with a 909 in it. But that's just me. Besides, you can't even synthesize with the Trs...

i certainly wouldn't replace an 808 for the tempest or vice versa. i think you could do great with both. now that i have a tempest and created sounds with it i am growing more and more fond of it. it is not an 808 replacement though. the 808 kick is fully analog and you'll have a hard time getting a kick like that out of the tempest. the 808 kick is king. it however produces other kind of kicks you couldn't get out of the 808 and then some more.

also if you noticed people are disappointed in tempest first because of the bad presets and some of the stock wave forms. once you get to build your own, you get to appreciate it. i particularly like its sound a lot. it offers great possibilities. i have a hard time thinking of something to replace it with. in my opinion the closest to it is maybe an analog four with an OT. afterall its a matter of tone. i like the tones i get out of the tempest a lot and for me its definitely a keeper

I am still super tempted by Tempest and almost traded a 303 for one, but I think maybe I don't have the time to really get the best out of it at the moment. I feel like maybe I'd need a couple of weeks in a log cabin with no other equipment. But it's something I will keep an eye on, I don't doubt I'll pick one up at some stage.
I totally agree about the TR sound being played out but, as mentioned, you just can't live without that real 808 kick once you've had it. I seriously put it on everything and it never sounds tired. Whether it's in there as the main kick or just a layer the 808 has totally destroyed me like crack cocaine. Every track I make I always feel "there's something missing here" and 100% of the time it's the 808 kick. Sad really. I need a support group or something..

LOL you have a point regarding the time you need to spend with tempest to get the best out of it and sometimes you just dont have the time but once you put it in, its rewarding thats for sure.

the 303 has a signature sound and immediately hands on. maybe it makes sense trading that in financially speaking.

regarding the 808 kick laughed my ass off. nothing can take anything away from it. each do their job