I am the proud owner of a brand new EX5 and I adore this synth! However, I feel a bit like an old lady with a brand new Lincoln not knowing what it can do. I'm reading the manual and picking up stuff that way but if anyone has any pearls of wisdom concerning this keyboard I'd appreciate the help. One problem already is that I have to have a case made for it since it doesn't fit regular standard cases. Thanks

No, you don't have to have a case made fo this. Synths come in many flavors 49 keys, 61 keys and 76 keys being the most common.

As a result, you can pretty easily purchase a case for the EX5.

There are several web sites that deal with this keyboard. Nigel has links to them on the Yamaha sub-page.

I will gladly help when I can.

Yamaha has a quick start guide that you can download on your computer. Also Yamaha will send you the book "The Joy of EX" Both of these publications are concise and to the point and allow you to start doing fun things with your new EX5 without wading through the lengthy manual. Tha manual is fine for later on - when you need to go deeper into your machine, but to get started, these publications are great.