Amelius
yes, I would greatly appreciate if you could post your evaluation scheme here, not just for me but also for all our friends in the arranger world. When you ask my opinion about GEM keyboards you make me feel a bit unconfortable, because from the reply to your previous post I have realized that there is always a risk of hitting on someone else's susceptibility. Maybe there is somebody who has just bought a GEM keyboard and likes it, so... It is true, however, that when you buy a keyboard you somehow make an investment and some brands (like Roland, Yamaha, Solton) preserve their value over time more than others. I think that George Kaye expressed some very interesting FACTS about the difference between a GEM keyboard and the Roland VA7; I have nothing more to add to his conclusions. In the past I used to be a real keyboard-collector; I had five of them in my house and the funniest thing was that I spent more time reading manuals and programming than actually playing. Now I try to analyze my needs and to avoid spending money for things I really don't need. I tend to listen a lot to other people's opinions, to avoid making the same mistakes. For the kind of music I play at home or together with my friends (who keep inviting me mainly because I play for free, I guess) Roland keyboards seem to offer the best styles. I like Yamaha sounds, but not Yamaha styles (personal opinion); I am thinking to buy the new Roland VA76, to preserve the ability of playing my G 800 styles (G 800 has wonderful styles and an overall sound quality which I would define "full of punch", or "gutsy" - I don't know if I give the idea), but when I said that the G 1000 did not convince me (sound-wise: it sounds thinner, more ethereal, in my VERY humble opinion), well...some people here reacted like angry rattlesnakes (just kidding: I love you all, folks!)
So, if my keyboard-collector-mania hits again, maybe I will end up buying a Roland VA 76 AND a Solton SD1 (or maybe I will wait until the SD1 expander comes out!)
Ciao
A R from Rome