If I were still performing, and not fully retired, I would use the keyboard that is easiest to use, sounds great, and I'm most comfortable with - (like Dave with selecting redheads!
)
I really don't need onboard speakers, but when playing in the office, they are the ones I use all the time - they sound great and were designed and installed just for this particular keyboard. The keybed, at least IMO, is meaningless. It really doesn't change anything in the way I play or performed on stage or at home. That's just my opinion, though. Some folks really have to have keys they can pound on like Jerry Lee, but I was never one of them. I got conned into doing a one-hour piano job many years ago, and I told the person hiring me that I was not a good piano player - she didn't care. She just wanted me to play her Steinway and sing soft ballads, which I did. At the end of the job, I could hardly grasp the steering wheel on the van because my fingers hurt so badly I wanted to scream. NEVER AGAIN!
As for the PA, we all have our druthers, and I blame this completely on UD. Woe is the day that I traveled to Philly with Fran and entered that Italian restaurant where he was performing with his Bose L1 PAS. I ordered mine the following day and have been a big fan of Bose ever since. Dave has been a good influence on me, though I hate to admit it, and so has Fran and Donny, the Three Amigos.
The only problem I ever had when I was down to one keyboard is I had a constant fear that my primary board would drop dead one day and I would have to work that day in order to keep making enough money to support the family and my bad habits, boats, booze, books, bad food, etc... Consequently, I have always purchased a duplicate keyboard so I had that instant backup, which I usually carried in the van, just to be on the safe side. After a while, though, I stopped lugging it around in the van because in all the years I was on stage, I never experienced a complete keyboard failure - NEVER! So, the backup stayed home in the office, but was updated every time I added new songs and styles - can't have too many backups.
As for the vocal harmony, Uncle Dave influenced that aspect as well. He never found an onboard harmonizer as good as the stand alones, and neither did I. I eventually, with the advice of Don Mason, went with the Harmony-M, I still have it, it has been very reliable, sounds great and fit nicely inside my custom console. I know that UD relies a lot on his vocal harmony for his performances, but for the most part, I rarely use mine and rely mostly on my singular vocals to get through the job. So far, no one has thrown rotted fruit or vegetables at me, so I must have done something right in all those years.
So, in answer to the OP's question, go with a keyboard that you enjoy playing, one that is reliable, one that sounds great and one you can lug around until you're ready to fully retire. After you retire, you just may find gardening or golf more enjoyable - YA NEVER KNOW!
Hey Guitpic, I though you were gonna get out of this business.
Gary
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