I'm going on stage again after 15 years(!) and need to upgrade my gear a little (and when I say little I mean I don't have much to spend).

I am planning to buy a M-Audio Keystation and use it to:

1. Control my Microkorg via MIDI. The reason is the Keystation is nicer to play than the microkorg (bigger keys)

2. Play a piano sound for one song via the USB on the Keystation connected to my Macbook. I think I could use the GarageBand piano sound for this or maybe there's one that comes with Ableton Lite which is included with the Keystation.

Anyway, does this sound like a good plan? Would anyone recommend an alternative? Does Ableton Lite have good sounds built in? How would you recommend I hook my Mac up to the PA? Are there other sound modules you would recommend? Is a software version of the MicroKorg XL available?

I really value the advice I get on here, so thanks!

Cray

I have absolutely no advice or experience playing live; GOOD LUCK THOUGH!

I also haven't played keyboards live in over a decade. Personally, I'd skip the M-Audio/laptop and just pick up one of the older Kurzweil models (e.g., PC88 or K-series) or something like a Roland stage piano or even Alesis QS8.x. You can probably pick one of these up for not much more than the Keystation Pro and, this way, you won't have to deal with latency, crappy soundcard output, potential computer crash, etc. Besides, I owned one of the M-Audios for a short while and, while it was decent, it doesn't compete with the ones mentioned above for piano feel. Also, this way you have the added benefit of loads of onboard sounds to use in your production or live. I have a Kurzweil PC3X and it's definitely the keyboard I would use if playing live these days - their piano sounds and keyboard action are simply awesome.

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