Well it's up to me to provide an alternative view again I guess...

Playing bass robs you of one of your most important assets: your left hand. What a beautiful chording instrument it is... but not if it's turned into essentially a monophonic player. If I didn't use SMF's or my arranger to their fullest and still needed bass then I would go the Steve Winwood route - he's doing some amazing stuff with bass pedals currently.

Speaking of which - I don't know why so many of you guys are so adamant about not using midi files. It really takes the guesswork out of a performance, and for me personally it allows me to explore new chording and lead territories everytime I play. I discovered a new right hand riff on stage last night that just confirms this. I know some of you aren't confident with your keyboard abilities but jeez if you lock your left hand into playing bass then IMHO you miss out on the chance to improve your piano skills.

But hey, lots of ways to skin a cat...