I'd be kind of hesitant on getting an MM8 Tim. First of all there is only 32 note polyphony and you or someone else will quickly find out you're running out of poly and having subsequent note cut-off during your live play. I would hate to see your church members with all these inquisitive type looks on their faces as you start running out of polyphony left and right during a song set. Or worse yet, having them get up and head for the door as they mumble words under their breath that the keyboard player is ruining the worship atmosphere.

Also, the MM8 doesn't have Aftertouch which is quite limiting when you use other type voices than just the Piano voices. I would think your keyboard player(s) would want the ability to add some 'expression' to their playing when necessary or if need be. The MM8 does have Mod wheels though which is nice, but you would need to interrupt your left hand playing if you decided to use them manually. OTOH, you may be able to set up the Mod wheels in conjunction with the foot controller, but I'm not sure if that is actually possible on the MM8.

The price is definitely much lower than a high-end Workstation like the Motif ES/XS, etc. If your church is looking to be more frugal in their music instrument purchases the MM8 sure falls more so within that particular category i.e. with frugality in mind. Although you may be able to get much more polyphony and even an aftertouch feature on some other keyboard products from other manufacturers without necessarily having to break the churches bank account in the process. If I hear of something I'll let you know and get back with you. >> There might be something from Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, to name a few, but I'm not sure if something from those manufacturers fits the bill at the moment i.e. having 88 keys, at LEAST 64 note polyphony, aftertouch, and won't break the bank. Oh, and easy to use. Like I said, I'll let you know soon if I discover something.

All the best,
Mike


[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 06-13-2009).]