Wow, I definately feel like a newbie. I've been playing piano - classical and the occasional Broadway or ragtime thrown in - for close to ten years. About a year and a half ago I got an interest in composing and an interest in playing in a rock band about the same time, and bought myself a low-cost synthesizer to take care of both new hobbies, building a small MIDI setup with a computer and working my way into a band a few of my friends had formed. It took about a year before I realized the limited possibilities of the Roland XP-10, but once I bought an XP-80, it was synth showtime within a week. (I formed my own band, too.)