That's true, yeah you could go that route. but you gotta remember too samplers are different they play different unless you have one that can tweak formant...and those are bucks. The ones tat tweak with cleanliness are REALLY big bucks typically.

"Since I am obviously not having and luck finding just the right synthesizer."
Paul, probably every keybordist on this board has experienced that! We're with you on that one. You are defineately not alone with that experience!
It seems to me that the Virtual Analog (VA) type is most similar to how you are adept to developing sounds. I think it is worth getting the 8000 even if it is a little bit more unless you have plans on 'going really big' and tieing other equipment into a controller based system. I have an 8000 that I will eventually cut loose from my setup, but I am not near ready to do that yet. Maybe in 6-9 months but that quite a while. The XP-2 that 800dv mentioned seems to have a lot to offer for the money. I guess in the meantime, what can I tell ya...keep saving and use a soft synth on a drive you can format so you can get another trial run on it if you need it.
based system