New Rig?

[Motif88]

It's been a long time since I had to move gear. I spent the 80's and early 90's playing a KX-88 and a variety synths. Then it was 3 versions of the Motif (all w/88 key weighted action) then a Kronos 88 and now a home based RD-2000 Logic & MainStage and a slew of plug-ins. I've been thinking about a new rig that can be moved and played live using a Fantom 08 on the bottom and a HydraSynth Deluxe 73 on top.

 

Not too heavy and I get the benefit of real poly aftertouch in the Hydra. It's been years since I had move gear and the thought of two keyboards that weigh 30lbs each seems reasonable.

 

Any thoughts for the old guy looking to regain some youth/inspiration and not just mouse clicking through plug-ins?

[ElmerJFudd]

You haven’t been out of the gear loop at all, imho.  There’s been nothing happening that is a jump from the tech that’s in a Kronos and an RD2000, certainly not if you’ve also got Mac/MainStage and you’ve been plug-in hunting. 
 

You might enjoy an analogue synth, if that sort of thing floats your boat. I’d definitely be looking at a minimum 6 note poly and patch saving.  
 

Lighter than the RD-2000.  There’s plenty to pick from as far as stage pianos that weigh less than the Roland.  What features are important to you and how light do you want to go? 

[Tom Williams]

My solution at the moment is a Kurzweil PC4-7 (9 kg / 20 lb) above an aged M-Audio Keystation 88es (10 kg/22 lb).  The Kurzweil makes all the sound, so I don't even need a keyboard mixdown unless I bring a keytar.   I currently favor the controller over the admittedly superior piano of my PX-5S (11 kg/25 lb), because the latter's action is a little too heavy for my wimpy forearms over a 3-4 hour gig.  A slight bonus is that once I have set up the multi preset, I only need to select on the Kurz to set both keyboards for the next song.

 

Slight hypocrisy / irony: They sit on a two-tier Z stand that probably weighs as much as the two combined.  Solid, but inconvenient.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Looking at your signature, I’m guessing you care a lot about your piano patches. If so, you’ll probably be disappointed in the Fantom-08’s pianos. I own the big Fantom and even from a nice weighted controller the SN pianos you have in the 08 (which aren’t necessarily the normal SN pianos of previous Rolands) aren’t that nice to play. Do they sound good enough in a mix? Sure. They’re just not very dynamic, pretty bright, and not much tonal change either.

 

I’d maybe look at a MODX-8. If you’re planning on doing lots of midi stuff, maybe a PC4 instead, but I prefer the pianos (and some other sounds) on the MODX.

 

I’m mostly a Motif XF, Fantom 7, and PC4 user, for reference. I did own a Krome for a while but that’s just the German Grand  sample.