Its not a dumb idea at all. Just not possible for that price.

What you are asking for is a samper. There are lots available. Steinberg makes Halion ($400), NI makes Kontakt ($500), and then there's GigaStudio.

Then you need a sound library. For anything remotely good, you'll need to spend $900. I'd suggest Colossus by EastWest. This is a great sound library, and can always be expanded with the greatest instruments -- better than anything any arranger (inc. Ty 2) can offer.

Then you need one man band software. I'm not sure how much this goes for, but lets say another $300.

Finally you'll need a supercomputer that is fast and powerful enough to find and produce at least 64 samples at any given time. 128 - is even better. For this you will need a dedicated computer with a powerful CPU - preferably dual-processor, priced at no less than $2500. And even then, there are no guarantees...

Of course, you will need a lot of know-how and will need to invest a lot of effort, to make this all work.

So there you have it: For little over $4000, you can have your fully customizable and expandable keyboard.

Be aware however, that additional instruments come at an extremely steep pricetag. On the flipside, they are the real thing -- simply amazing. Additionally, your computer is not made for this; CPU issues will plague you.

To tell you the truth, I had this option: I have the knowhow, and I was prepared to spend the money; but I still chose the Ty2 over it. I also have a pretty good laptop from which I trigger solo instruments, and this setup gives me the best of both worlds. Since I got the Ty2 however, I haven't been using my laptop as much. Yamaha have really improved themselves and although the new sounds are not necessarily as good as samples; they are deffinitely comparable.

Chony

[This message has been edited by chony (edited 04-08-2006).]