Sorry for the cross-posting but this discussion dovetails the one entitled "An Exercise in Frustration", and I wanted to share a post I made in that thread which relates to this thread:

You may recall the thread I started here some weeks ago about the "Gigstation": a concept keyboard based totally on softsynths. I've taken it a couple of steps further and the rough draft image below is the result. The keyboard is simple: a case that houses an 88-note controller, a computer and two monitors. At first I was going to go with one big dual monitor but I decided that two monitors on either side would work better and would leave open the possibility of a music stand in front. The computer is built into the QWERTY keyboard for live use (http://www.cybernetman.com/), or you could have a regular computer workstation with the CPU underneath or wherever. You could substitute a laptop but my eyesight isn't getting any better and I need large screens closeup (touch screens would be a bonus too). I designed this with live performance in mind but it works just as well for the studio. Ideally I would like to mount the monitors on some sort of swivel so they would swivel & fold down over the keyboard and a lid would cover the entire workstation. Legs could fit into the case lid for transport. Open Labs, the company that makes the overpriced eKo which is similar in concept to the Gigstation, is releasing a new desktop OS especially for working with softsynths/VST's called Karsyn that looks very promising as the desktop for the Gigstation. One other option would be to also use a JLCooper CS-32 mini-mixer so that you'd have sliders that could act as volume controls for the different instruments. BTW: I estimate that this keyboard, depending on the components you chose and not including the softsynths, would cost under $2500 to build.



[This message has been edited by The Pro (edited 02-17-2004).]