I'm a gear junkie....always looking at the next thing.

In the past, I've managed to temper my impulsivity because I had a family to care for and feed. They always came first.

Also, I'm a guitar player and managed to buy my share of new guitars. Thing is, I didn't buy many new guitars until I hit my 50's, kids were on their own, and I was close to retirement.

Then about four years ago, I tried my hand(pardon the pun) at keyboards. I learned about arrangers by purchasing a Yamaha PSR E4XX something or other. Within the next couple of years, I had purchased three PSR series, a Tyros and a DGX 650.

Now, in all fairness to me, it took me the better part of 30 years, up to age 50, to settle on the guitars that I like...now I have about 4 that I'll keep.

Thing is, at age 66, I'm not going to take 30 years to find that 'right' keyboard.

Two years ago I bought the Tyros....last year the PSR S970 and DGX 650.

The thing is, I'm starting to feel like I'm trading so much that I really don't get to know the keyboards I have. Truth be known, there's a lot of things the Tyros can do that I haven't worked with and I've just begun to scratch the surface of the S970.

Yet I think, hmmmm, that PA 4X looks, like the ticket...maybe I should have bought the Korg Havian rather than the DGX 650? .... and sure I could trade up to the Tyros 5.,.and on it goes.

This doesn't even start to address the PA systems I've bought and sold in the last five years.

Maybe it's time for me just to use what I have and be happy with that??

What does an equipment junkie do?

I always buy for a situation. There are certain sounds I need and functions I want. Buy what you are convinced will work for you. Use it... Keep using it or trade/sell if something better comes out. I count the new gear buying and trying as a hobby to supply the right gear for my gigs.

You should get a job at a music store... Best thing I did as a gear junkie. I got to try everything out before I bought.

Keep the fun alive!!!

There is a name for this...

GAS

Gear aquisition Syndrom

after a while you will look in the mirror and say to yourself .. "What the heck am I doing"?
its more of a mental state then anything else...believe me I know & learned the hard way. it's an expensive, aggravating, futile search that leads right back to where you started until you finally realize you don't need it. Your better off perfecting what you already have.

have fun.

Guitpic1, I feel your pain bro. I often second guess myself. Should I have bought a Tyros 5 instead of Audya 5? Maybe I should have gotten some 12' powered speakers instead of my Bose Compacts?

But the reality is that none of that should really mater. This really hit home after my several visits to Mexico where I saw some amazing arranger keyboard players playing on out of date keyboards and sub par sound systems. Yet these guys were musical skills over shadowed for there lack of having the latest and greatest gear.

I have to remind myself that "it's not the keyboard, it's the keyboardist"

In the end you are better served putting your energy into improving yourself as musician rather than trying to acquire the latest and greatest.

So Donny, when did you come to that realizaion? This morning? . Just pulling your chain, man. Remember, you said it, not me. Seriously though, you're right. Since I've started to devote 95% of my allotted 'music' time to the organ AND have finally gotten what, in my mind, is the best available 'clonewheel' (KeyB Duo Mark 111), I have lost the desire to keep buying new gear every five seconds. The only thing I plan to add in the near future is a good quality (but not outrageously priced) digital piano - maybe a TOTL Casio, for my 'studio'. I already have a very nice acoustic for the home.

I still have three arrangers but only use the BK7m as a drum machine for practice and rehearsal when playing alone in my studio. Whenever possible and for recording, I try to use a live drummer and my E-drum kit (Alesis Pro 10). My main focus these days is working out arrangements for a vocalist I occasionally work with and experimenting with solos for those arrangements. I'm quite happy with my current configuration which is the organ with a Roland VP770 on top midied to the Bk7m. All through a mixer into a pair of EV 250x's. For recording playback, I use one of several pair of studio monitors.

chas

I hear ya Chas,....but like all of us you have to reach the end of the road by yourself with buying new gear that you don't REALLY need over and over again,...it's almost like trying to stop smoking of which I happily did 35 yrs ago cold turkey and never went back...having the talent to play good music is the majority of it no matter how you do it....the gear is just the tools in the bag to build the house.

Good Luck

I will play devil's advocate and put in another thought or two.

Whereas, one could conceivably be a 10 instead of an 8 by sticking to one keyboard, look at the fun you missed along the way. It isn't just the destination, but, the journey.

I remember piano lessons as a child, where I would work on one piece until the teacher was satisfied. After a while I developed homicidal tendencies.

Don't forget that most of us reached the point of acceptability long ago, as far has handling an arranger is concerned.

Let us not forget about singing and entertaining, which, I think, is of equal importance.

Have fun, life is short.

As much as I enjoy getting new stuff, I think this PA4X is going to be IT for a long time. It would take something pretty revolutionary for me to change again.
All my old arrangers have been sold and shipped. What an ordeal last year was, trying to get it right. I'm convinced I am a top-of-the-line-arranger-guy. I need the controls, features and extras of the high-end gear, even though middle of line options such as PA900, SD7, BK9 and PSR S-970 have an awful lot to offer for the dollars. (I had ALL those in the past year, plus PA3X).
Now I have a TOTL that does everything I need, and has a small enough footprint and weight for me to handle easily.
As Minnie Pearl used to say, "I'm just so PROUD to be here!!"

Lol.... Don I saved this post just in case lol

Now where have I heard that before? Hmmmm!



Good luck on this one,

Gary

It's like Korg took the PA3X, addressed everything I needed, and put it all the 4X!
My favorite new features:
1. Great new guitar sounds. Also lots of other new sounds, Saxes, Violins and more. Fantastic Piano.
2. Able to save Chord Sequencer to Songbook.
3. Big new adjustable tilt screen!
4. Ability to audition or play styles from USB, needed long ago.
5. New sound engine--everything sounds better, even styles from the 3x sound better.
6. It feels even lighter in weight than the 3x. Not sure, but it feels like it.
7. A number of key or touch strokes eliminated...such as highlighting a SB entry automatically loads it, no need to hit a Select button. (This did create a small problem. Where the Select box was, there is now an Add To List box. I have hit it several times out of habit, and it automatically adds my SB entry to a Set List. No big deal, I can easily delete them if I want. I have quickly learned not to touch that box unless I want to save it though!)
8. It remembers several settings on startup that the 3x did not.
9. It automatically saves a number of parameters once you select them, no need to do extra Save procedures.
10. I really like the new Performance setup, now called Set List. I've just scratched the surface of its capabilities.
11. Ability to copy and paste styles to whatever locations you want. 3x didn't have this; PA900 did.
12. A good number of new styles, including a lot I can actually use. Of course they took out some of my old favorites, but I've already loaded them back.
These are just the things that come to mind quickly. I've had several comments from regulars about how good it sounds, and I didn't tell them I'd made a change.