DonaldS, TheXP80 is a great keyboard, Anyone who has programmed patches and performances,Know's that the keyboard is better than the competition[Korg , Yamaha, Kurzwiel,Alesis etc.] And as a controller[routings,up to 16 per patch] and 16 external midi channels,with their own parameters as well as the 16 parts internal. The RISC 32 bit processor can handle these ,more efficiently then the others. The actual pcm samples are cleaner and acurate[ compare with no effects to the Korg]..The instrument , probally not suited for novice in programming, but there are great patches in the presets..The exspansion boards offer the best sounds barring no one....As for buying a XP80, the only drawback ,the rumor of a new model, which I have no verification at the present[Most likely a June-Sept release , if there is a new model]....Fran