AnotherScott

According to the comment I posted, it's a difficult thing for them to add. There is a problem in any software or hardware development that sometimes decisions made early on ultimately determine how feasible it is to add some other particular functionality in the future, without basically redeveloping the whole thing from scratch. I suspect that when Cubasis was first implemented, they did not anticipate the resource-limited iPad becoming the kind of more advanced platform it would morph into, that it would start commonly being used for things that had previously only been done on "real" computers.

Speakers vary. Saying all powered speakers sound bad based on whatever it was you used could be as flawed as my saying, for example, all self-contained amps sound good, based on my positive experience with Motion Sound.

Unfortunately, that limitation does not itself make it "utterly unsuitable in any pro sense" since most popular music these days contains no tempo or time signature changes. My guess is that the new Taylor Swift album could be done in Cubasis, at least based on that criteria. from https://forums.steinberg.net/t/multiple-tempo-time-signature/139008 , FWIW:

I like this one a lot, it can hold a 12.9" model, and the articulations give it a lot of flexibility, like being able to mount it to a stand and come "around the side" of a keyboard rather than having to come "over the top" - so for example, looking at the picture of the stand arms in the OP, if the keyboard were deep enough that it hung off the back, you could still find a way to make this work, whereas some (all?) of the others talked about depend on there being clear mounting space behind the top board. I found it sufficiently stable. The mistake I made was leaving it attached to the stand for transport, where it banged into something and broke. It's not particularly time consuming to attach/detach, not necessarily any more than any C-Clamp design would be, but I was trying to avoid the nuisance of "one more thing I have to fiddle with."

Not everyone wants to deal with downloading and installing stuff. And I think people would complain more about paying hundreds of dollars more than before merely for a coupon and a DIY process. Also, if it were not pre-installed. the features would not necessarily be available in demo units on showroom floors (for the few lucky enough to have well stocked physical keyboard showrooms to visit these days!). They would also create less buzz with a "free coupon offer" than a "new model." As it is, some people were probably starting to get hesitant about buying a Fantom because it was a relatively "old" model (pre-dating Nautilus, Montage M, and newer Kurzweil and Nords), which can also make people think that maybe it will be replaced soon. This rebadging re-establishes it as a new/current model, that would now be expected to be around for a while. And I think nobody would benefit from the coupon approach... it presumably costs Roland the same to manufacture the board whether they pre-install the new software or have you do it yourself.

I think the Go is more a CT-S500 competitor than a CK61 competitor, both by virtue of the Yamaha features it lacks, as well as the Casio features it shares. CK61 advantages (over either) include... ... 9 slider drawbar organ engine ... extensive front panel real-time controls ... 4 MIDI zones ... two split points for 3 internal sounds (vs. 1 split point for either 2 or 3 internal sounds) ... 5-pin DIN MIDI ... USB audio interface ... more effects capabilities Casio/Roland features the Yamaha does not have... ... drums ... arranger/accompaniment functions ... MIDI recording

I saw something elsewhere indicating a likelihood that the Fantom will be re-badged Fantom EX and come with the EX upgrade pre-installed. No idea how/if that would affect its selling price.

What's probably missing is what's described in the subject line: "module" (i.e. preferable to bringing another keyboard)... which is consistent with his point of reference being a Roland MC101

Would you consider an iPad?

When I was talking about the step-up models to the TX308, I was thinking TS308 (which I have) and TS408 (its replacement). I never looked at the bigger ones, I always keep things as light as possible. 😉 Good info though.

Gotta love that keyboard setup...

It's a bad recording, but I really like this performance. If you're not familiar with the song, I'll also include the original well-recorded version below (that one is just audio).

Yes, the step-up TS series Altos have combo jacks.

One more variable to keep in mind... some powered speakers don' offer mic level on their line inputs. If your keyboard has XLR out, you can use a mic cable. But if it doesn't, you'll need to run a 1/4" to XLR if you want to engage the mic level preamp on your line level signal.

You can lower the height of the playing surface, unless you already have it set to its lowest.