Everyone, you must listen to this...

[DW_KarmaKat]

Motif XS

Karma, you would know of a cheaper pro quality keyboard would you? This one looks like what I want but it is nearly 3,000 dollars...

Well...the good news...that's a pretty nice start on an electronic drum kit...and it's on sale! :D

Now..the somewhat not so good news about keyboards...you really do get what you pay for. You have to decide what it is you want it to do...the Motif series is pretty much a studio all by itself. It has a lot of the processing, recording and editing features built in. Do you expect to utilize those features right off the bat? Or are you looking for something to learn how to play on? Hard to choose...I know! I'm a bells and whistles kinda geek too...hard to turn down all those goodies! The price may seem high, but what you're really buying is a very sophisticated computer with a variety of ways to interface to it...from the human standpoint or the electronic one. It's nice that they bundle Cubase4 with it..good software that! Weighted and balanced keys..nice..makes it more like a real piano...nice specs all around. There are so many keyboards on the market...I can't even begin to point you in any particular direction..only that once you decide what you want it to do, start shopping for price on the keyboards that have the features you -have- to have. And be sure ya do go to GuitarCenter...try stuff out!! You might like all the features but find a 'board that plays like crap!

KKat

[Savage]

Well, I guess the most important feature is for it to work with a computer and be programmable. It itself does not need to have a built in computer... I don't think... I was always told not to waste money learning when it comes to music because you will need to go pro sooner or later so you had might as well invest the right money the first time around... that is what the Taylor guy told me anyway. I don't know how true it is but... It don't need to be a full keyboard with a million keys or anything because I plan to play a tune and upload it to computer software and then change the sound and play another tune and upload it all the while mixing it in the software and so on... If that helps.