Hi Spalding and Chas,
I know you guys are only joking around, and I did have a chuckle, because I think we have all said that at some time or other
, but seriously it will be.
Because Dom has built this from top grade components the hardware side of things will last a very long time.
The actual sound-set capabilites are pretty much endless, with no waiting for manufacturers to come up with an annual or bi-annual token gesture, you know, saving the BIG improvements to the next model release. (And even then they won't match the power of the MS)
The world of VST's is HUGE.
Anytime I want to change the sound or even a total soundset "make-over", I just use different software via VST's.
The arranger side of things is well taken care of as far as "engine" (not styles), with the Qranger, whihc give far, far greater depth of style editing than anything available now, or maybe well into the future. And now of course, Live Styler has been incorporated whcih allows Yamaha styles to be imported and played.
And there are thousands of styles available, and yes I know they need tweaking, but my style requirements are very minimal, so there will not be too much work there either.
It will run MP3's, I can display charts, I can link all the data via the Performance function, I can record directly to the hard drive. I can connect a keyboard (qwerty). It goes on and on.
It has a huge 8 1/2 " touch-screen, something I do not believe any of the current makers wil incorporate anytime soon (although the Roland G may have but I cannot remember its size), and I can continually upgrade the operating system as new features are developed.
Hell, I can even change the whole motherboard and processor..Try doing that on a "conventional" arranger or synth workstation.
So guys, yes, this (accidents aside) will be the last hardware keyboard I buy.
Dennis