thank you so much for that update! wow. I'm back to being interested again.

have you explored the phrase sampler? I'm wondering how easy it might be to do the following:
sample a 2-bar percussion loop via Audio In, assign to a pad
then build up the loop using internal voices -- bass, guitar, keys

I checked out the Casio digital piano that uses the touchscreen interface and it does seem to be light years better than the current Casio arrangers for workflow....is that your experience? (ie, is it as easy as Yamaha to set up a registration?)

thanks so much for these insights....