Jock,

My above post was in reply to MBL's comments:

By todays technology, the Musical Keyboard should just be an INPUT device. It shouldn't need CPU, memory, floppy disk, hard disk, display screen, programming buttons or knobs, input ports, sound chip.
ALL of those things belong in the computer. It should be very easy to DOCK a portable PC into such a device.

I take no issue with your point about lack of advance in packaging of synthesis technologies. Although I understand it from the point of view of keyboard makers (if I were them, I'd also want people to buy several high-end samplers and JV5080s with loads of expansion boards, rather than a single keyboard, however expandable), I would agree that the instruments today do not take full advantage of the technological advances of the computer industry. Having said that, I will contend that most high-end arranger keyboards have very realistic sounds, at least to my ears, and, in fact, at this point sound realism is a very subjective matter, determined more by your style of play, rather than the limitations of your instrument. In fact, I have no problem with the sound quality of my G1000, which is a generation older than the current high-end instruments (it is the usability that bugs me). If you want to record a truly realistic sound, you can just play real instruments on a multi-track (that is what you are doing anyway), and a number of us in this forum can play quite a number of band instruments (drums, bass, saxes, pianos, trumpet, guitar, etc.) - I myself have played a number of these semi-professionally. But let's face it, while half of your audience will be impressed with the realism of in dividual sounds, the other half would say it did not sound quite as well as the arranger keyboard's accompaniment. So the technology behind the sounds is only a partial measure of the end result, and the really professional musicians can put on a great show with a $100 Casio - just listen to Uncle Dave's recordings.


Regards,
Alex


[This message has been edited by Alex K (edited 10-15-2001).]