I have been playing the classical guitar for about 20 years. I have recently become bored with the limited sound of the guitar and repertoire and want to learn some classical and other forms of music on the synth.

Since I am used to the concept of dynamics in music such as accents, crescendo, etc., I would like to buy a synth with weighted keys.

Which is the synth with the best key action?

Hey dvdslws..... First of all let me assume that you want all 88-keys and definitely weighted. Now let me tell you I haven't used a few of the synths I will mention (in particular the Kawai and Alesis)

It would seem to me that the Kawai MP-9000 would be the best (judging by it's specs alone, not personal experience) It has wooden keys and appears to have actual piano-like hammer action.... The keys activate a hammer which goes up and hits an electrical sensor (instead of the strings inside an acoustic piano). Of all the synths I've seen, this one looked to me to be the most realistic (key-feel wise) There is also an Alesis keyboard called the DG-8 that looks quite good.... it has all three pedals and onboard speakers... looks very professional.
The Yamaha P-200 and P-80 are also good (I have used these in Guitar Center, but not for very long... so.......) They felt good to me, and the sound was good... the P-200 has onboard speakers so you wouldn't have to get an amplifier.... the P-80 lacks these. I own the Roland XV-88.... it will not have the Graded Hammer Effect that most digital pianos have (By the way, this is probably the most important thing to look for... past weighted keys, If you want to get really close to an acoustic piano) (GH makes the higher keys easier to press and the low ones a bit harder... like an acoustic piano) Back to the XV-88, I was looking for a synth with weighted keys when I bought this (I did not want just a digital piano however... I wanted other sounds) The only synth (excluding digital pianos) that compared to the feel of the XV, in my opinion, was the Yamaha S-80... Yamaha's full-blown synth version of the P-80.

In case I've confused you with talk of digital pianos, synths, etc... let me explain... I am calling a digital piano a keyboard that is meant for piano and organ playing... a DP will not have very many different sounds... probably about 3 or 4 pianos, 3 or 4 electric pianos, 3 or 4 organs, 3 or 4 string sounds and then a few more such as brass, choirs, etc. The DP's I mentioned were the Kawai MP-9000, Alesis DG-8, Yamaha P-200/80. Now for synths... A "synth" as I am defining it is a keyboard that has many different sounds... everything from distorted guitars to thunder and lightning effects.... If you are interested in having a large variety of sounds (as well as good feel and piano), look at the "synths" I mentioned... Roland's XV-88 and the Yamaha S-80. Well... that should do it, does this help any??

------------------
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What do you mean by classical music?
If you want to do standard sounding classical music with your standard instruments (Brass, Strings, Woodwinds etc)I cant offer any advice. Ive played Classical music on the Piano and Trombone for ten years now and personally dont think synthesizers emulate these instruments well at all. For most styles of music these imitations are fine but for serious music like classical, the only emulated sounds Id use are electric piano, organ and accoustic piano voices. (you mentioned you wanted variety and that is not very varied)I use synths for strange sounds. This doesnt mean I dont do classical on it, I just dont use the imitations of standard instruments. This may be what you need since you wanted variety, unless your willing to go with the three aforementioned sounds or cheap sounding imitations. I dont even like the way the Virtuoso 2000 sounds.

Have you ever listened to anything by Wendy Carlos, John Cage, or Tomita. (especially Tomita) They do classical music on the synth that sounds great and not cheesey.

I have the S80 and it is really quite good in my limited opinion of synths. The pianos sound really good to me, as do some of the other sounds like some strings, and you can set the keyboard into many different zones so that one area can play one sound while another plays a different one, ie: piano and strings, etc. The keys are weighted but not graded hammer action. If you want an even more realistic feelin keyboard, I'd go with the P80...real nice feel, but not many different sounds. It's piano voices are really nice, too. I've played acoustic piano when I was younger for many years, then got away from the piano for about 20 years, and am just getting back into it. I think these two are good, and also the XV88, but it's also a lot more money than the other two. Hope this helps a bit.

I suggest the Yamaha P80 for piano feel and the Roland XV5080 for a massive, expandable powerhouse sound engine. You can make some astounding arrangements with these two pieces. If budget is a concern - get a JV1010 instead and load it with the orchestral or vocal card.
P80 - $975 US
JV1010 - $399 US
EXP card - $ 225
Not bad huh????????