MOTM

I've never used an MPC4000 but I can offer you some general advise 
on recording the MOTM.
First off, there is a big advantage to having 24 bit versus 16 bit.
Secondly the sample rate is not nearly as important as the quality 
of the converters and most importantly the quality of the lowpass 
filters.
Thirdly the importance of clock stability cannot be overstated.  
Jitter can do some really weird stuff to your recording and you'll 
pull your hair out trying to figure out what is causing it.
There is nothing wrong with recording at 44.1Khz or 48Khz if your 
converters and filters are high quality.  I use Apogee converters 
almost exclusively.  I almost always record at 44.1Khz, because my 
stuff is intended for CD.  There is no such thing as a perfect 
sample rate conversion from 48KHz or even 96KHz or 192kHz to 
44.1kHz.  With the right converters and filters, and a stable clock 
recording at 24 bit and 44.1Khz will certainly capture the nuances 
of the MOTM.  If you record at 24 bit and are going to convert to 16 
bit be sure and add some good high quality dither as the last step.
I never have added any EQ to the MOTM when recording either.  
Although I haven't tried using FIR filters, the typical IIR filter 
will mess with the phase relationship between the harmonics and can 
smear the sound.  To me the MOTM sounds best recorded straight in, 
with no compression or EQ, just a little attenuation.