Bachus, most of us have, at least at one time in our lives, had stacked keyboards. And, for the most part, those of us that have been there and done that will never, ever go back to that configuration again. Fortunately, today's arranger keyboards, MOTL and TOTL have everything we need in a single package.
I could be wrong, though,
Gary
The only reason for that is. Probably the fact that you are gigging musicians and dont want to haul two keyboards to every gig...
It might be different for homeplayers like me.. I currently only have a single keybed, and i very much miss the flexibillity of a 2nd keybed... Not just for the extra flexibillity, but also for the difference between hammer action and synth action keybeds.. ( keep in mind they never leave my home, so things like weight are not a burden for me )
Currently i am set up with just a T5 ( i traded it, with some extra money for my PA3x last week) And my macbook running ableton live, logic rewired and my VST collection) when i traded the T5, i knew there needed to come a 2nd keybed... As i missed that also a lot with the PA3x...
I am now trying to find a keyboard, with great 88 key hammeraction, .... That also fills the other less strong points of the T5 ( since there is no perfect keyboard, which got me thinking, might there be a perfect keyboard combination )
And so i sat down took my typewriter and made a list of things i missed or could be improved on the T5, and instead of writing letters to Yamaha, find them in my 2nd keyboard. Which, however should not be an arranger, as one arranger fits my bill..
So i came to this list :
- 88 weighted keys
- synth sounds ( compared to synth workstations )
- synth engines ( i miss the VL, AN and DX engines of yamaha, or the stuff i did on my v- synth)
- knobs, for real time controll over cuttoffs and effects..
- piano sounds, however i will never get the cheer quallity of my Pianoteq vst,( yes i am spoiled ) having better or more diverse piano sounds in hardware is allways nice..
- real time controll ellements like ribbon, D-beam and vector stick
- daw controll
- touch sensitive drumpads
- t5 has very small sliders
And i must admit, most typical arranger players will not miss this stuff even half a seccond, i do.. And i want to find it in a 2nd keyboard...
Oh yes... I am really enjoying my T5 right now, i fell in love with the possibilities of the ensemble voices... Its so much fun... Yet i bought the T5, knowing that there eventually would be a big 88 key brother.. But i have learned from the past, that one of the things i like, and the main reason i change keyboards a lot, is the fact that i just love discovering new features and learning how to tame the new beast.. And lately i have accepted this fact... Not being a gigging musician makes it quite easy to change keyboards.