Hi EdB,

You're right. The Triton is not crap. However, it may not be the keyboard to fill the shoes you need it to fill. It will not get you the best sounding orchestral type sounds (and you've already figured the piano out too). You may be happy enough with the lead and organ sounds though.

Personally, I find the Kurz piano a little bit overrated (but for a sample playback piano it is good).

I don't really like sampled organ myself so I don't think that your manager's suggestion will fit the entire bill either. You may want to look at other alternatives possibly. Maybe you can scale back on the E-mu a bit and on the Triton. If you really like the Triton (although it is more geared towards the dance/synth crowd) maybe you can get the rack version, the PC-88 and get the E5000 Ultra instead.

This should put you roughly around the same mark as the PC-88 and E4XT Ultra. Well, actually a bit more expensive but should fit all of your needs. Don't forget that you need to budget for sample CD Roms as well. You will not get an excellent orchestral sample set included with any sampler. Most run around about $1000 US or more for just the CD's alone. There is also RAM to consider.

To fit the bill for the time being until your CD makes it big and you can afford all of the goodies, maybe you can scale back a little. Get a PC-88 and then one or two of the Proteus modules (like the Virtuoso and B-3 modules). If you have enough cash, go for the Triton rack as well. You can avoid buying a bunch of sample CD's now, still have some decent sounds and take it from there.

A Triton alone will not do it for you and I wonder if it is worth the $3k for you, given your situation.

HTH,
Fernando