Trying to decide between these 88-note controllers/synths. I would like to hear from any owners or players of these boards. It will be used primarily at home and hobby-related recording vs. gigging/professional. I do not currently own any other modules, so extensive MIDI control is not an immediate need. I have considerable time playing the XV-88, and like it very much, especially the action! I have much less time invested with the Kurzweils, especially the K2600XS (difficult to find someone who knows their way around this one). The only reason I'm even considering the K2600XS is due to the recent price decrease - I can pick one up for only $1250 more than the XV-88. Any comments...thoughts...advice is appreciated. Thx!

Hey! I just bought myself an XV-88 and am very please with it so far. I honestly don't have any experience on those other synths you were talking about but... what sort of price were you looking at paying for the XV-88, cos I got mine pretty cheap from a certain site on the internet. As for midi sequencing, you can't go past cakewalk. Email me back at adrianportell@hotmail.com, cos I don't check this BBS that often. I can tell you where to get cakewalk for a fantastic price.

I bought a XV-88 last October and absolutely love it!. The sounds are fantastic, and the keyboard feel is great. One small critism is the keyboard action, which isn't as quick as it could be, and can be a pain in the lower back if you are playing a part where you are rapidly playing the same note in sucession. But unless you plan to use it for steel drum parts or fur certain styles of blues and jazz, you are unlikely to find this a problem.

Hope this helps.