Something I never thought would even cross my mind...

It shocked me when I was looking around online yesterday and realized that I was considering a new keyboard! I thought I'd never see the day when the honeymoon would come to an end with my PSR-9000Pro. And indeed, I still love it to pieces! No, I'm not considering a replacement, I'm considering an addition.

It is true that there is still much uncharted territory with my 9000Pro, which I've had for 2 years (plus 2 days, to be exact...although the first week I had it, I was so intimidated that I just looked at it and never turned it on). I've barely scratched the surface of its possibilities, and yet even with my rudimentary knowledge of the beast, it still manages to churn out some pretty impressive music. So no, I absolutely don't want to trade up. I just want to add up.

Part of my longing is based upon using my keyboard at church. It's the last of the big heavy sturdy substantive performer arrangers; it's a tank, and quality through and through. But that nearly-50-pounds of bulky weight is quite a load to remove from the stand, put in its protective wrap, strap to its very own dolly, down stairs, lifted into the van, lifted out of the van, back up more stairs, reverse the strapping and wrapping, perch on the keyboard stand at church, hook up the various cables...and then reverse THAT process an hour later...and again the following week...

So, while my budget won't allow for another keyboard for quite some time, I have started to dream again. I won't be able to afford the Tyros3 top-of-the-line arranger. But perhaps the PSR-S910...T3's cheaper but quite impressive cousin. More voices and styles than I'll know what to do with, and will record straight to a memory stick (my 9000Pro uses a floppy disk, if that tells you anything about its age) - but only 2 RH voices and 1 LH...I really love being able to stack up 4 total voices with my 9000Pro, and don't know if I'd feel cheated with the loss of a voice. I suspect I would, as I was often frustrated by an old Casio with only 3 voices.

Maybe the now-outdated-but-still-way-more-modern-than-the-9000Pro Tyros 2? A used model of course. People trade up to the T3, and while the market isn't exactly flooded with them, I have seen the occasional T2 for sale. Maybe not as new and shiny as the S910, but a big step up from my current model...

For now, it's all talk. It's a lot of money, and we have plenty of other uses for that kind of change. And my trusty 9000Pro is the last of its kind, and way more than adequate for my purpose. Yet, every couple of days I still find myself clicking my way to eBay...just to see...