Thanks for the great responses. I didn't mention the fact that either the Fantom or the XP80 will be in most cases my secondary board. Currently I'm selling my Yamaha S80 (I've already sold some other equiptment I'm not using enough), and with the procedes I'm getting a Yamaha S90. So I'm looking for a semi-weighted board with at least 76 keys to compliment the S90.

I've used an XP-50 before and currently own an RS-9 w/ a JV1010. (I'm getting away from controllers and sound modules, although if I go with the Fantom I may keep the JV1010 for the added polyphony for my home studio).

I will be using the secondary board (XP80 or Fantom) primarily live. The control (buttons as opposed to scrolling through screens) is what has me leaning towards the XP80. I doubt I'll get the chance to hear a side by side comparison. I've always enjoyed the XP/JV sounds and as I was closing my mind to anything but an XP80, I happened to remember the Fantom and started reading the specs and reviews from Harmony Central. A few people have commented that the XP80 is easier to control beacuse it's "push button" as opposed to "screen scrolling". Ease and quickness of use are critical to me. I play in our churches Praise/Worship band and switching sounds, adding and removing layers, and changing dynamics at crucial points of the song are critical. I had no trouble with the XP-50 here or the RS-9 for that matter, so I'm certain the XP80 will be as easy. I dumped the XP50 because I got tired of missing the bottom bass notes on the 61 key keyboard.

I do all my writing/sequencing from the PC so an onboard sequencer is no biggie for me, but playback is desired. I don't do any drumming and I haven't delved into appregiators actually.

I also only occasionally tweak sounds here and there. I'm not into creating new sounds. I basically am a preset user. I'm a piano player turned keyboardist so I don't really make full use of a synths capabilities I'm afraid.

I can see better now (thanks to you guys) just how much more advanced the Fantom is compared to the XP80. I just have to keep in mind that because of my style and how I use synths, I really may not take full advantage of these advanced features.

Thanks again for the responses they've been helpful and re-affirming... I'm still leaning towards an XP80, but I have time. Hopefully I'll have this upgrade complete within 2 months.

If anyone still has more info to add, that'd be great too. I really do appreciate this forum.


Bob
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[This message has been edited by RW (edited 07-17-2003).]