Fot this instance, definately software would be the choice. With drum trigger pads there is way more you can do with software based, especially with the launchpad. However hardware is the shit when it comes to synths, keyboards and hardware effects too, it allows more creativity I think, when your sitting at your computer with your midi keyboard you can get board and annoy, but with a mad keyboard synth with no computer screen in front of you I can sit for like hours just playin around and you get some pretty sick ideas, its just more organic, and hardware effects and compressors just look mad