Jo from Gingerbread Man calls me on Wednesday, asking if I can play for her for a gig. "Do you have your own keyboard?"

Oh no. That dreaded question. "No," I sheepishly.

Well I'm lying because I do have a keyboard - but it's a 61-key MIDI controller with barely a sensitive touch. And I have to bring my laptop and soundcard adaptor along because the controller has no sound modules of its own - I use the sound samples from the software Reason. I don't have a good wire for the house system's mixer so the sounds are often terrible :S

This has not been the first time someone asked me to play a gig and if I had my own keyboard.

Time to buy a proper one. And a STAGE PIANO, not any old keyboard. An 88-key. Logistic problems can be settled. But being a pianist, 88-keys is a must, because I use all the keys in a performance. 61 keys are insufficient for musical expression.

I'm quite attracted to the Kurzweil SP88, downloaded and listened to a demo made using it. The piano sounds are bright, which is a complaint of some users, but I like bright sounds. Somewhat my music, including my minus ones, are punctuated with bright sounds. And I own a Yamaha piano because of this - I passed off the mellow-sounding models.

Malcolm mentions that the Roland RD-600 is quite popular, so he's going to ask around which brand is good.

If I decide to get one, it means I have to work harder to get more money so I can afford it. The SP88 costs USD1,295 - that amounts toSGD2K something. Plus carrying bad, keyboard stand (my MIDI controller rests on my table) - wow...

But it should make gigging and rehearsing more fun... it's better to carry one's own keyboard than to rely on the keyboard that is provided at the venue... 'keyboard' can mean a lot of things and the last and worst thing is when you arrive at the venue to find that the keyboard is not exactly what the person had described and assured you earlier. It's very depressing and spoils one's day.

Click on the link to view the keyboard and listen to a demo recording: