Hi,
I am Markus from Germany and I am still playing the MS 100 - as many musicians still do here in Germany.
At this year's Frankfurt music fair one of the developers of this keyboard told me that the MS 100 was the last board that Solton/ Ketron developed that really worked well.
When it entered the market in 1996 it was not received with any astonishment. It was regarded as it was. A keyboard that hit the market with solid sounds, solid patterns and a robust operating system. A keyboard for the live-gigging musician. This was for me a reason to buy it. At the beginning I had a minor problem with the hard disk. It did not keep the volume settings. When the operating system was updated those problems discontinued.
I am still using the Solton because of its good right hand sound (saxophone, trumpet, organ, very clear almost korg like piano, clarinet). All those sounds were almost the same on the X1. They had undergone a certain amount of cosmetic surgery but - considering the problems the X1 caused for many musicians ie. breakdowns etc. - the MS 100 for me was the board to stick to. I know at least 10 musicians who hold the same attitude towards X1 and MS 100, two of them have both boards or have a SD 1 and a MS 100. Whenever problems with the SD 1 or the X1 occur they can always rely on a MS 100.
You just have to follow those many postings on this forum concerning the endless problems with the X1 and lately the SD 1 and you will soon see that the MS 100 is still worth thinking of, especially due to the fact that you can buy it to a good price most likely.
I am not saying that I never thought of replacing it but the problems of many of the arrangers my colleages are having with their keyboards has so far always kept me away from doing so. Things may change but I am still content with my MS 100.