Keep in mind that when I first began using an arranger keyboard, which was about the same time John Paul Jones joined the US Navy, they cost about $350, and mine was a Samsung (don't remember the exact model) and it had 35 styles and 30 voices. Sounded damned good at the time, it had no storage at all, and every song had to started from scratch, style, voice, tempo, etc. Each style had 2 variations, and no attached voices. Everything was selected on the fly, but I managed to keep my dead time down to just a few seconds at most. (a bit of pre-planning went a long way.)

Today, my aged Yamaha S950 has more voices in a single category than my old keyboard in all categories combined, the sounds are so very realistic that no one in the audience, and a lot of enterprising musicians, would be hard pressed to tell the difference if they had their eyes closed. Much of this lies in the hands of the performer and his or her ability to bring those sounds to life. My dear, departed friend, Don Mason was an absolute master at not only the guitar voices, but also many of the brass and woodwind instruments as well.

I could easily afford to purchase the best, top end keyboard available today, but I currently have all I truly need. I have explored every aspect of the operating system, and taken advantage of all the onboard programs. This brings a very important question to mind - Why or what more would I need that would make me sound significantly better to myself or my audiences (if I were still working) as an onstage entertainer? Realistically, NOTHING! I would not be able to decrease my dead time, which is currently less than a second, if I wish. In fact, I can actually blend, seamlessly, from one song to the next. Using the onboard MFD, I can actually search for one song, while performing another and select it with a single push of a button.

Today's keyboards are no longer manufactured from case hardened steel. Consequently, they are less than half the weight, yet just as strong, or stronger than their heavy, bulky predecessors, thereby making them easier to transport, which is a great feature. I clearly remember my old Roland 800, which if I recall correctly, tipped the scales at 52 pounds. It brutal just to get in on the X-stand. Back then, a lightweight amp weighed about the same as the keyboard.

Some of the new sound modules really sound great, however, I really do not see the need for one. Especially when you consider that the vast majority of today's arranger keyboards have all those sounds, and onboard software that has the ability to tune them with a huge array of effects. This provides you instant access to those tweaked and tuned voices with a single touch of a button or two, plus you don't have the hassles of connecting up another piece of equipment that must be interfaced with the overall system on order to play.

Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but I have always felt the KISS aspect was the best way of performing music comes into play here. I learned a lot from another, departed old friend, by the name of Lefty Kreh. He was the most famous fly angler in the entire world, and published more than 100 books during his lengthy career as an outdoor writer. When I asked him to edit my first outdoor article, which was published in Outdoor Life, it contained 8,000 words. He took one look at it and said "Hell, you didn't tell me you were writing a book." He went through the manuscript with a red pen, then said: "The secret to success is to use the least amount of words, with the lease amount of syllables to get the point across. This applies to everything in life." He later said, "You wouldn't replace an enter wheel on your car to fix a flat tire." He was among the most intelligent people I every knew in my 81 years on this side of the ground.

Good luck,

Gary