Andrea,

Sounds are so subjective as we always say. I find the piano's ( acoustic and electric ) to be better on the Motif ( electrics and particularly the "Rhodes" a lot better ) . The guitar emulations too. I'd give the nod to the 9000 series on sax and horns though. As far as cold though.. not at all to me. If seanbaker is looking for more electronic and "cutting edge " type sounds, ( as i find myself doing more of lately ), then I'd have to recommend the Motif. Drums are my "achilles heel" too, but if you don;t need them in a live setting and can compose with a the aid of a computer, there are more than enough excellent programs out there that can assist with drums, and that don't have the limitation of providing "locked" patterns like an arranger does.

I really can't say that any of my arrangers have been the better tools for composing. Even if I were to use a lot of the auto accomp in a song, to get that more realistic feel, there is a lot of midi editing to be done later.. subtle things like changing accents, velocities, slight timing variations.. all the nuances that go into trying to emulate a more "real" or "live" performance.

AJ

I haven't seen much discussion on exactly what application Sean has, and I think that's the most important topic when comparing keyboards. The 9000 Pro seems meant to be the central or only keyboard in a live "one-man-band" act. It's music database exhibits it's target market with setups clearly designed for live performance of songs from Proud Mary to the Chicken Dance... it's a "wedding-singer keyboard". I think that point was missed in the magazine reviews of the 9000 Pro... when studio musicians reviewed the 9000 Pro, they did so with their own applications in mind. The reviewer for Keyboard magazine used the 9000 Pro to sample and remix music for a tv commercial, which was her speciality. She really had no use for the music database so it wasn't mentioned in her review, yet it's one of the 9000 Pro's strongest features IF you have an application for it. The 9000 Pro is overpriced if you don't use all it's features, but it's a bargain if you use everything it potentially offers as a one-man entertainment center. If you haven't seen a 9000 Pro, at least check out the more common PSR9000 which has many of the same basic features.