Hello. My problem is thus....
I am in a band, playing keyboard. We play melodic, adventurous Rock, edging towards Prog. All my bandmates have spent large amounts of money on equipment so I think I should purchase my own Keyboard / Synth ( I still use a hired one from a Studio ). The problem is my synth knowledge is about as limited as my musical talent. I don't have a clue about any synths or keyboards, and I don't even know if there is one synth that will give me all I want.... but I do know what I want.
I require something that can play loads of strings, organs, choirs and many spacey synth sounds, plus a few crazy effects. One that has good piano sounds also. It has to be able to play a few sounds at once, with pedals and pitch shifters. Plus be portable and not ridiculously big, for gigs. As I am just part of the band, I don't require the synth to save backing tracks or create whole songs or anything. I don't mind downloading sounds, as long as it's free and not too much hassle. I'm as technical as an old shoe, so I don't want something that will require a million extra bits.
I'm not sure if what I'm asking for is impossible, or painfully simple. The only keyboards you can buy where I live are like the ones at college, or small ones used for dance music. The two keyboards I have used for the band have been Rolands, which have been decent but not what I want. I don't really mind spending a large amount of money, but the keyboard has to be great if I do.
If anyone could point me in the right direction, or give me some examples of synths I would be painfully grateful. I suppose I could look around some of the many sites, but I don't have a clue where to start. Hell, maybe if I get the right keyboard I might even learn to play it.....
Thank you for reading.