The best way is to never change your board, then you will not loose any feature, or need to learn a completely new OS, you can then just update it with the latest technology, sounds and features pretty much unlimited.
But most important “Enjoy whatever you play”

Bill

Spalding
What you say is certainly correct from a technical standpoint. However, when bringing in the human element into the equation, some people seem to need a new piece of equipment to rekindle their fervor.

Case in point, I have had my KN7000 for four years and certainly am not proficient at getting the most from it. Knowing this, I try and revisit my manual, but it is the same old keyboard, however good. I buy a PA800, ostensibly for a backup. First of all, I'm amazed at the advance in technology in four years, making it easier and faster to accomplish things in performance. I now am fired up again and begin learning all I can.

Does it make me a better player ? Only if I put this new unbridled passion to work on honing my skills. In other words, it is a mental state of mind that acts as a catylist to some, including myself.

I hear you Bernie and there is no denying that a new toy can fan the flames of creativity but how much of what the PA800 does could your KN7000 also do ? I am guessing about 80%. What if someone did a DVD instructional tool that showed you how to do 50- 60% more using the same features already onboard your KN7000 in a musical way ? Would you spend 50-60 even $100 to get inspired again or spend another $2000 on another instrument to do pretty much what you were doing before ? From the feed back we have had so far, individuals are being inspired all over again by the same instrument they have been playing for the last two-3 years (PA1X DVD) simply because they are seeing new ways of using the instrument and learning what the instrument is capable of.

We all get inspiration from somewhere but there has to be a cheaper better way than buying a new instrument whenever we get in a dry patch.

Great topic. I'd say I know about 30% of what my Yamaha Clavinova can do and that's pushing the upper limit. And with the Korg Pa800 I recently purchased I'm about scratching the surface.

As Gary Travlineasy, said "I suspect that 90 perent of keyboard owners, both arranger and synth, know little or nothing about the inner working of their keyboards and associated operating systems. Most like what they hear."

From my view, I just want to play and concentrate improve playing skills vs. spending many hours learning an OS. I often wonder where my actual piano playing skill and technique would be if I spent the time practicing instead of trying to create, Songbooks, Registrations, Renamed Styles, Reworked Styles. etc etc. However, I will say it can be more fun doing that the the discipline required for concentrated practice.

Hey Guys

This is a great topic. Haven't posted anything on this forum for a while now.

I currently own a Tyros 2, and very happy with it. The Keyboard which I use on my gigs ina PSR 7000! (what I hear you cry! ), but i've use this great board for many years, and know very in depth features it has to offer (such as the voice creater/regestrations/dsp effects etc), it does the job for residential homes . I would say I know more about the features on the 7000 than the tyros 2 at the momement.

When you have really explored a board, I feel that tasks especialy on live situations become a breeze. even tweaking something on the spare of the moment, its a great feeling.

The beauty of staying with a certain brand is that you learn a common OS and when you do decide to upgrade to a newer model, there is a much smaller learning curve.

I would say I know my PSR-S900 arranger very well...mostly because it is part of my job to know it in depth, but also I enjoy digging in to explore it's vast capabilities.

Ian

True enough, but in my case, I had just one 4 yr old board and needed to know I have a working instrument at all times. Since Technics is out of business, I made a good choice. The advantage for me is that upon learning the PA800, I have the best of both worlds. For example, I have hundreds of registrations set up in the KN7000 that are geared for big band, for one. Conceivably, one could take either keyboard, depending on the occasion. However, I admit that eventhough I might need a backup, I developed gear lust.
Bernie