Don, Sander and Mohawks,
thanks a lot; I am going to record another song today and it will be a surprise; then I have a third one ready in my mind, and this one will really show the power of the SD1 (we are talking fireworks here...)
Sander, I still like the VA7 a lot; I think that the SD1 has better (more useful) styles and some great features too: in "Green grass of home" the VA7 would have played a 4 or 6 bars ending and the Mohawks would have had my scalp for the third time before the last bar. The SD1 has more appropriate (musically speaking) intros and endings and the "Fill to end" button is really a blessing. Speaking of sounds, the SD1 (to me) is superior for: acoustic piano (maybe it's just the semi-weighed keyboard), organs (they have more guts compared with Roland and the sound is more "authentic") and acoustic guitars; brass and drums are more or less at the same level (but the VA7 brass have more sparkle). The VA7, on the other hand, wins for: electric pianos, accordeons, electric guitars, strings, voices and choirs, sax, reeds and synth sounds in general (both pads and leads). The VA7 has in general a cleaner sound (but the SD1 pads have a "dirty and mean" quality that can be useful to mimic old analog synths). All in all, I am glad that I have both; today I hope to use some sounds I am sampling with the SD1.
Stay tuned!
Andrea