After a month of research and debate I took the plunge and bought a used M3. Now if the Mr. UPS man will get it to me quickly. I was wondering though as I listened to the PA series sound demo's is the M3 basically the same sound engine without the style player? In other words should you be able to get the same guitar sounds etc. as the PA series if you tweak it enough?
Probably will see me around here asking more questions in the near future.
Terry
M3 purchased finally
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
Both PA2X and PA3X use EDS which is the very same synth engine you'll find on M3. The difference is that PA2X/PA3X have some additional features like RX (Real eXperience) and DNC (Defined Nuance Control) which add to the realism of the guitars. But on M3 you've got KARMA which has some pretty nice GE for strumming 
Current gear: 
Access Virus TI2 Whiteout Keyboard (111/150), Access Virus TI2 Polar DarkStar Special Edition, Gibson Custom Lite 2013, Roland MV-8800 
Access Virus TI2 Whiteout Keyboard (111/150), Access Virus TI2 Polar DarkStar Special Edition, Gibson Custom Lite 2013, Roland MV-8800