Irena

There's also the matter of whether it's the Japanese or US version which is clearly noted on the rear panel tag ("Made in ..."). The Japanese version is considered by some as more desirable for its Suzuki action (I am squarely in that camp), though I can't say whether that results in any sort of meaningful market premium for your purposes. I'm not exactly sure how the US vs. Japan question lines up with KK's V1/V2/V3 categorization, but I've seen some discussion forums over the years that hit on that, along with the "short board vs. long board" question, with the long logic board being more desirable for the firmware upgrades. Again, not sure how any of that impacts the actual clearing price; my hunch is not much-- in my experience most MB owners aren't aware of these nuances. For whatever it's worth, over the past 2-3 years I've seen Midiboards advertised at between $700-$1200 depending on condition. Best of luck.

Louis is a great keyboardist as well--rhythmically amazing, and very tasty. Early pandemic I started transcribing snippets of his clav and synthbass playing to try and get some of it in my hands. (I wish I could say I have...) He's humble and articulate in interviews too. I can't think of a more interesting musician working right now.

Lots of good suggestions here. You've said you don't need anything super-accurate, so I'll pile on some of the other posts that favor listenability. On that topic, I personally find Genelec's to be among the most fatiguing monitors I've ever worked with, esp in untreated rooms. If I were stretching towards the top end of your range, for an all-purpose home setup like yours I'd consider the Neumann KH120's (the first, less expensive version without the DSP room correction, which doesn't seem necessary for your situation) over options like the 8030's that sit around that price point. On the low end of that range, I am a big fan of the iLoud MTM's--list price $800 for the pair, and they go on sale for $600/pr every three months or so. They are accurate enough for nearfield mixing, tons of fun for playing keys at home, and easy enough on the ears to double as sweet desktop speakers for prerecorded music. Years ago I tried swapping them out for a very tony pair of Genelec 8330's at 3x the price, and (heresy alert...) ended up going back to the iLoud's as my nearfields.

Ha, my brain went straight to the "Giant MS-20" as well when I saw the topic title. You are exactly right about it being developed as a teaching tool. Alex Ball did a great feature on it recently that's a fun watch, and offers the tantalizing revelation that Korg occasionally produced upon request the even bigger and rarer Giant Giant MS-20!

Many great suggestions. For some spicy/outside fare, I'd add Dave Liebman's "A Chromatic Approach to Jazz Harmony and Melody"

I stumbled across Fishman a few months ago in this unfortunately-titled Louis Cole video and was really impressed. (Fishman plays in “Version 1”, though “Version 2” is also worth a watch for Logan Kane’s spectacular bass playing.) Amazing to see that Metheny has already snapped him up. While it’s hard for me to watch anyone playing keys on early PMG tunes other than (sigh…), Chris Fishman seems like a great choice.

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the tried-and-true options listed. I've bounced around between Beyer 880's/990's, Senn HD280's and workhorse AKG 240 variations and been happy with all of them. A few years ago I treated myself to AKG 702's during an early pandemic price dip and adore them. They are by far the most comfortable and nicest sounding set of cans I've ever owned, and still under $300 last time I checked.

By historical standards of what qualifies as a great keyboard department, the 34th St Sam Ash may not be shock-and-awe comprehensive, but I'd still say it's a step up from the average metro-area Guitar Center Fantom/Motif/etc. displays. When something splashy like the Moog One or OB-X8 comes out, Sam Ash on 34th reliably gets one on the floor and set up for a test drive. Ditto on niche brands like the Hydra, which they had in stock and demo-able days after its release. Sam Ash is still worth a trip if you're in NYC on that side of town. Agreed with the posts on B&H's keyboard department, but I'll add that they are one of the few places in the U.S. outside of Fort Wayne with a legit studio monitor room with models on display beyond budget nearfields. You're not going to find spendy mains in there, but B&H will usually have models up to and including high-end midfields like Genelec 8340's, Neumann O310's, etc. The room is usually locked, and you'll likely need to wait a bit for someone to help you, but if you're thinking about dropping serious coin on high-end monitors, B&H can be a great resource.

A real improvement. And the presets he's bundled with it are a nice surprise; upon first audition it seems like there may be a few keepers. Thanks very much for the link.

More than just a few songs, and in fact an entire genre. Jungle/D&B rests on the Amen break as its foundation. Jungle producers start by cutting their teeth on intricate Amen beats in the the same way a developing bop player would shed Rhythm changes. There are dozens of instructional videos on YT that walk through rudimentary Amen edits.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1236US--standtastic-1236us-wire-utility-shelf-36-inch Standtastic used to make a 48" as well, though they are getting harder to find.

A few years back I remember seeing this piano for sale. Too far for me to drive to try it, but it piqued my interest and I found a few posts from piano rebuilders singing the praises of WNG's composite components' performance and maintainability,

Since Surface Pros have entered the discussion, I'll add the Asus ROG rigs to the mix, which often seem to be overlooked here. All of them have gamer-spec Ryzen or Intel "H" CPU's that crush any Surface's capabilities for hosting a bunch of thirsty VST's. The Flow Z13 is their tablet model, and be configured up to a 12900H CPU (insane for a tablet), and the Flow X13 and X16 are similar setups in a 2-in-1 format. I've been hesitant to pull the trigger on one, both because of the price (though still arguably a much better value than a Surface), and because I worry about heat management in something so compact running with that much processing power. Instead I've been using Asus' slightly bulkier G14 that has the same beefy CPU config, and feels a little more solid. It lacks a touchscreen, so I run live with a ultrathin 15" touchscreen display (much slimmer than Viewsonic's models) that I picked up for under $200, and the display rests solidly on a controller keyboard. In addition to ticking the boxes on power, ports, etc., I've found this setup gives me (maybe irrational) peace of mind knowing that the single-point-of-failure brains of the operation are a few feet removed from the action, with the comparatively cheap remote touchscreen display feeling more or less like a tablet.

This looks like the lineup from Decoy (pretty sure they're jamming on the last track from that album), with Darryl Jones on bass before he hooked up with Sting. Likely '84. From the footage I've seen, it seems like any and every posh Oberheim poly was fair game for Miles in the mid 80's. I think he may have, er, accessorized with a Matrix-12 at one point too.

I'd add Native Instruments A61 to the list. Barebones features compared to some others in this price range, but If you don't need much beyond some knobs and a solid keybed, I've found it to be one of the best <$300 options for build quality and playability.