hi folks , I've been reading this thread with interest .
My advice to you all is this :- the Grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence !!!

once you cut thro all the hype on the other brands you will find that some makes have very unuser friendly operating systems !!

many of the other brands have a great lack of song specific styles !!available for purchase .
Whilst most makes have good onboard styles very few are song specific .

i know I've said all this before , but Technics/Technote spoilt the Technics users with a good range of usable styles covering a wide Genre !!

Think carefully , don't rush into a new keyboard .
Ask yourself "will it really do all i want it to do "

Will i have to change /drop large parts of my gigging reportoire if i purchase a new board ??

Do i have the time to change !!!
it can be a big task !!!

These are only my thoughts ... for what they are worth !!!

Whilst i have 2 other brands of expander / keyboards to use with my midi accordions .

If I'm totally honest I'm only really totally happy with one make and that is TECHNICS ......for most of the reasons I've mentioned .

Best regards to you all .....Giovanni

I have never been able to wear out a Technics keyboard or organ. My old KN5000 is still going strong at a friend's home. So, I don't think it is essential for me to buy a back-up keyboard. But, I would be devastated if I lost my KN7000. I do find that I don't play the KN7000 as much as I played in younger years with the many Technics products I have owned. It is not because I like the KN7000 less. It's just that my lifestyle as I get older seems to keep me away from making music. My KN7000 looks like it has never been used. But, if I ever lost it I would pay most any premium price to find a replacement.

Interesting post! I, too, would be lost without my KN7000. When I had my KN6000, the finish on the buttons wore badly. I think the reason was because the keyboard wasn't covered. It didn't have a built in cover as the KN7000 has. Dust and oil from our fingers causes this problem. I strongly advise those that have not had this problem thus far to make sure your keyboard is dusted regularly and keep those fingers clean. This will keep this problem from happening for a long time. Arranging and editing as much as I do, I have had no problem with this happening on the KN7000. My KB looks brand new.

Scott

I sold my KN6000, KN7000, and KN2600 all at one time to a dealer because I felt the price as well as parts and service would just go over the cliff when Matsh pulled the plug on Panasonic in their reorganization.
Well a couple of interesting things happened. Matsh stock went from 14 up to about 20 but it then turned around and went back down to 14. Did they gain anything by stranding us? Apparantly not.
Do I miss my Tehcnics? NO, not at first.
I bought a tyros 2 and that was ok but after awhile I begin to miss my KN7000. So.....next I bought the new Roland E 80.
I still miss my KN7000.
I may just go back to playing my Technics KN800 that I did not sell as nobody wanted it until I run into a KN7000 that is affordable.
Happy Playing and best to all
Bebop

I would NOT part with my 7000 at any price. I satisfy my urge to try the latest, by getting a "second" keyboard, and I don't buy the top of the line for that. I bought a PSR3000 a few years ago, then bought an E50 recently. It's fun to have a new keyboard to mess with, new sounds, styles etc. The KN7000 just seems to be above the others so it's not going anywhere, hopefully it will not breakdown!

Marilyn