Hi

I'm finding that the flexibility of my laptop solution is outweighed by the 'distraction' factor and I am looking at a contained hardware music solution.

I learnt to sequence on a Yahama drum machine and more recently got a QY70 which is great for being quick and self-contained. It's downside is that sequencing can be a bit fiddly for more complicated things and the I/O (ie screen and keyboard) are no good for more complicated or musical pieces. Also there is no audio in the equation.

My laptop setup gives me huge flexibility and I might use Cubase, CoolEdit or Sibelius depending on what I want to do. Somehow it is obstructive in having to set aside time to boot up, connect keyboard, audio interface, not get distracted by email, disable wireless, work out how I had set it up last time etc etc. Also I can't easily move everything to whatever room I happen to be in which might change depending on baby's sleeping, missus watching TV etc.

So in an ideal world what I would like is:

A single box solution with a decent keyboard and nice straightforward sequencing (but with ability to do more complicated things like changing time signatures) in the vain of the Yamaha drum machines of a few years back (ie patterns and songs).

A decent display.

A standard midi sound set - no fancy analogue synthesizer required - and the ability to trigger external sound sources if required.

Something I can just turn on and go.

It would be even better if I could record some audio tracks over the top.

Given I am not looking for professional results, just a composing/demo tool I don't want to spend too much.

There must be something like this around (I can't be the only one to arrive at this requirement) but I'm not sure where to start.

Any help much appreciated.

Regards
Mark

The new Alesis keyboard looks like just what you need, and I've heard what it's capable of on the SOS DVD last month. It sounds beautiful in the hands of the guy who played it on that DVD. There are some less-good demos here on the Alesis website: http://www.fusionsynth.com/audiodemo.html, but they still show you what the Fusion can do, although there's some horrid generic rock on there (not my cup of tea at all!).
The jazz piano demo is very nice though.

Thanks Richard. This certainly covers everything but is a little more pro than I was thinking! I'm more looking at something around the QY70/RY50 mark but with a keyboard and (maybe) basic audio recording. Some of the cheaper Yamaha keybords eg PSR series would be fine in terms of keyboard and sounds but the sequencing is pants.

Mind you... the Alesis is looking pretty tempting! Quick!Someone come up with a cheaper solution before I succumb!

I've seen some wildly different prices for this keyboard! £1700 in one place, just short of a grand here...
http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Alesis---Fusion-8HD~ID~4817.asp
I reckon you could do a lot worse than spend a grand on a piece of kit like the Fusion, and you're not likely to get anything better suited.
Mind I spent £1500 on an e-drumkit last year.