Hey all. Bear with me, this got huge.

I currently have an M1 for my own use and tinker on a Trinity at least once a week (at my church) and now feel that it's time to ditch the M1 for a more serious-sounding keyboard. Face it, when you own a VW but drive a Porsche a few times a week, you tire quickly of the VW.

However, I'm in a dilemma. I have no idea what I should be looking at.

For the features, the N264 looked to be a good choice but I didn't like the springy keys on it, and the sequencer isn't HUGE... I'm used to the classic Korg feel -- no weighted keys, but very responsive to touch.

Now I'm drooling over ads for the Triton Pro but it's out of my reach, financially, unless a miracle happens. Even the Trinity would be sweet, but I dunno.

(I run a web development business which is poised to get huge very quickly so finances might not be the issue in a few months)

Anyhow, here's what I'm looking for: REALLY good piano sounds, REALLY good organ (esp B3), and a huge sequencer (the 200,000 note seq on the Triton made me choke on my drink when I saw it). I'm looking at something multi-purpose -- home recording, once-a-week gigs, and sturdy for small tours.

Should I be looking at the N-series? The X-series? The i-series? Triton vs Trinity? Should I just keep my M1 and shut my mouth?

The biggest problem I'm facing is the pricetag. I have no idea what I want to budget for this, and have no idea when I'll actually get around to buying a new keyboard.

I'm looking for some advice from anyone who wants to Email me and chat about it.

Cheers,
Ian

Oh yeah...

Looking for something with 76 keys. All the 88's seem to be weighted which kills me to play, and the 5-octave boards seem too restrictive.

Thanks,
Ian

Hi Ian-
First of all, I'm no expert by any means, but I had an X3 for a couple of years and truly loved it. The N264 seems like the logical way to go if you ask me since it's very similar to the X series but with more sounds and a few nice features added.
If I were you, I'd do all of my sequencing on a computer and forget trying to use any on-board setup. Words can't describe how much easier it is.

Go for the Triton if you can, obviously. The sampling & enhanced FX put it through the roof. Be wary of the touchscreen; it might be too awkward to use easily if you have big fingers like mine. They revamped it a bit from the Trinity version, making it more ergonomic to use.
Going for an X would surely be acceptable, although an N would be somewhat better, both offering 76-key models. All Korg synths sound good to me, but you CAN tell the X5 soundset from the higher-end 01/W set. Its a memory/price-point tradeoff. Even then, run an X5 through an exciter and you close the gap considerably.
Don't sweat on-board sequencers. They're always going to fall short of their software-based cousins, although Korg's are damn good. If you use your computer in your music, go with a good librarian (I'm partial to SoundDiver) & a modest sequencer. Those will let you get a better overall grip, SD circumvents the program/combi limitation by plucking individual things from its MUCH larger available database and you can maximize your 3.5 disks by setting them up with the high-octane system and porting them over to the Korg.
If you don't, simply take the time to shuffle your data. Its not at all hard to whittle things down to 5-6 disks that cover 95% of the bases. I can play for a couple of hours with these 3 disks I massaged carefully.
Almost any wavetable-type synth SHOULD give you all the tools you need for a monstrous piano and any kind of Hammond you want. Sometimes the piano waves are wonky, but Korg's are winners. Double the piano octaves, balance their relative volumes and add in a bit of moderately crisp string section for a rockin' beast with oomph to spare. You can get a solid sound suitable for everything but Rachmaninoff, because those huge glissandos will choke most synths.
Program several B3s side by side and use the joystick/wheels or assigned pedal to adjust yer Leslie live. Live with the lack of proper drawbars in favor of all the other things the synth gives you. I know that's somewhat weird; I've played a B3 and its another world, but we ARE talking about useful tradeoffs.
The 01/Wfd might be a bit long in the tooth for you, but in my opinion, it was the first synth to get the M1 idea right across the board. They run about $1000-1200 2nd-hand now and they pop up here & there.
If you become a mega-star, you owe me a good pitch-shifter for my trouble. Hotcha!