I have always used a mult-keyboard setup and at times included midi pedals (and the old Taurus pedals before that). One of the main ways it differed from my old B3/C3 days was the placement of the keyboards on top of each other. There was no way to get the right height between keyboards without covering up some or all of the controls of the bottom keyboard; uncovering them made the top keyboard too high for comfortable playing over a long period. Not having one set of controls controlling both keyboards made them always feel like the two seperate instruments that they were and further distanced them from the "organ" playing experience. Some of us placed them at right angles and learned to adjust to that awkward configuration. I have played gigs with as many as five keyboards and while entertaining for the audience, it was a nightmare to set up and a malfunction waiting to happen. In any case, no matter the configuration or setup, it never felt like an integrated instrument (organ).

I guess the closest one could come would be a full-featured keyboard controller on top and your favorite keyboard properly positioned on the bottom and completely controlled by the controller (sounds redundant), but we know how difficult it is to control every feature of a modern synth from a controller keyboard. But then again, why bother? We already have the ORGAN. If only it weren't so darn heavy and cost so much .

chas

Hi Bill Reed,

You're right that most of Wersi's top players are lightning fast when it comes to manually registration changes. The fastest that I've seen so far were Franz Lambert and Curt Prina. I had the pleasure of seeing them in concert several times, even had a talk with them. Very down-to-earth guys, I might add.
Also have seen Hector Oliviera when he was still playing on Kawai organs. Very fast too. Mike Oudewaal, now playing for Wersi, is pretty fast too. I attented a concert of his when he was playing for Technics. Still, a snail compared to Franz and Curt.
Max Takano, attented one of his concerts just after the EL60 came out, is also pretty fast but again, Franz and Curt outdo him.
Have a DVD of Claudia, guess she's playing in Cornwall, but she takes it rather easy on that one. Still, I know for a fact that she's lightning fast.
Then there are the manually produced effects. Franz and Curt once again shine in that department although Franz is the King.
Now, the Wersi Abacus isn't just a keyboard as it can be upgraded to a complete organ and be played like one. It has a feature that says Manual 2 and Pedal. Registration changes are made realtime from the Abacus. I don't think Yamaha, Korg and Roland keyboards come with that option. The Mediastation, on the other hand, does have that feature and I've seen the upgrade on a photograph.
Like Chas says, you just don't get the same comfort level by playing layered keyboards and using a controller. Close but no cigar.

Taike