Marcus:
I bought an Alesis keyboard to add to
my Yamaha DX-7; however, the LDC on the Alesis must be made in Switzerland -- so small, hard to read. So, long story short, I sold the Alesis to a upcoming recording friend who had children who studied piano -- silent practicing with the headset.
A keyboard can be a workstation: if the keyboard has a sequencer, you can record most all the parts of a song right on the keyboard except the drums. Although some boxes do come with drums, the learning curve is very large. With my DX-7 I add keys/piano/organ/etc., to a track AFTER I HAVE THE DRUM TRACK RECORDED; then, I add the bass; with my 8 track MD, I have 5 tracks to do horn solos, strings, or additive drum chops. Then, the real work begins by mixing, adding/shaping reverbs. Some tracks, like from a drum machine, are already reverb sampled and you don't have to mess with drumming the drums.
The DX-7 does not have a sequencer so I do my cuts as briefly described above. Sometimes a four minute cut can take more than four hours to assemble and mix. So, getting a good cut does require time and patience and practice and reading those unreadable manuals. [plus turning on this site for more chat and help]
If I were you, I'd rent my next keyboard/sequencer for 90 days and try it out. If you like the model, then shop around on those 800 numbers for the best price. Free Compass is one place to check; have bought my last three boxes for my studio from them and have sent back material with no problem. You can get their site on the net.
Have fun because music even makes me forget the IRS.
The Green Hornet
