Aurduino or Make Controller Kit?

I am trying to decide which to (learn) to use, The Arduino or The Make Controller Kit.

I am going to have 10 days to sit down and really get down and dirty with a new project. I am very much an autodidact type of person. I have in to build a mind a multi-touch musical instrument.

I am an artist. I am have above average Actionscript 2.0 (working on 3.0) programming skills. I will be using flash to control the multi-touch device.

At the moment, do to ease of use the Make Controller looks like the best bet, but it is $100. On the other hand The Aurduino seems to have way more how-tos and tutorials and is $35

Any suggestions, guidance or comments would be greatly appreciated.

dylan