Scott, your right when you say that it's how well you perform and not the sound quality, for certain individuals. I say this because a friend of mine plays out with a Casio and does very well. I personally am sure there are others that would prefer to have the sound quality and feel of a real back up band. Depends who your playing for and what type of events. If you play for 500+ as I do then you want sound quality at higher volumes, this is where you can tell the diference from one keyboard to another, at low volumes they all sound decent. I use a triton in the band I play with. I own a Pa80 which was given to me as a gift, I took out of the box when I first got it and then put it away. I can't have the arranger features up on stage, "could hit the wrong button" purchased the triton to replace my yamaha and am very satisfied. Again, it is really personal preference but the 3000 even feels like a toy, sounds do not compare to triton.

[This message has been edited by SYNTH_GUY (edited 12-24-2004).]