Dennis,

I am in the same camp. To this point anyway, I've kept my PA80 and Tyros 2, mainly because I still do about 15-20 live solo performances a year, and it has nice acoustic emulations. My MZ2000, though I love the synth voices, will be going up for sale soon since space is getting tight. Eventually, either the PA80 or the T2 will go too.

I'll keep one, but that's all I really need. I know I'd get much more return for the T2 than the PA80, and the styles on the PA80 fit more to the type of music I play, but I'd miss those acoustic panel voices on the T2.

Still, for quite a while I used the PA80 and Motif ( Classic ) in tandem for live work, and I can still do that if I choose. I also have the added capability of using VSTis for live work. It's a bit more complicated, but for the small amount of live shows I plan on doing, it's not that big a deal.

There was a time not that long ago I was considering going in the other direction and parting with my Motif ES, but I've reacquainted myself with it, and added a Korg M3 to boot. The Karma functions absolutely rocks, and so do the synth sounds and scapes. I really had wanted to go for the XS, and it's a great sounding board, definitely a step up from the ES, but I'd really miss my plug in boards if I did. The M3 and ES in tandem is a great combination, and I use the VSTi's as well, though not so much like before, now that I have 2 pieces of hardware that I like working with.

Like you, I'm not very much interested in playing cover tunes these days. I don't like the T2 drums at all, no matter how they are tweaked, and the sampling function, especially for drums, is pretty much useless. Say what you might about styles vs arpeggiators, but after working extensively with both, for me there is no comparison. Plus, I like a lot of synth sounds, and no arranger, not even the PA series, which I still think is the best of the lot, can provide anything close to the soundscapes possible on the top workstations and even quite a few of the free vsti's.

BTW, BFD and EZ Drummer totally rock. I definitely agree with Diki on that one. Jamstix virtual drummer rocks too, and really gives me that live played sound that I miss in most hardware. For that matter, even the older versions of Jammer Pro, ( all before version 5 ) with the right drum modules, give me a much better variety and live feel in a song. The ghosting function allows for a real feel,and except for what Jamstix and some of the Karma patterns produce, I've found nothing that comes close to it, but for whatever reason Soundtrek dropped it from v5 on.

Good Luck and best regards..

AJ



[This message has been edited by Bluezplayer (edited 08-24-2008).]