I'm suprised too, Fran. Most true geeks wouldn't have a keyboard five minutes, much less 16 months, before getting under the hood to "see what she'll do". So what were you too busy collecting SMF's? Glad you were able to shed some light on that one-finger-chord thing, though. It's good to be an expert in at least one area.

On the whole busines of sound design, there seems to be a divergence between the super techy and the super player. There are always exceptions, of course (Wendy Carlos), but in my experience, their interests and goals are usually completely different. There is the supergeek/tweaker who is always looking for the 'perfect' piano but when they finally find it, it rarely inspires them to produce a great piece of music with it. Just getting the sound is what turns them on.

There are so many variables in every thing related to music that it's impossible to say ANYTHING with any certainty. That's why all opinions are equally valid (except mine, which is usually somewhat superior).

chas