Best workstation for live gigs?

[VHL_HCL]

I've been looking for a hard synth/workstation for live playing (prog rock/metal, jazz and fusion). Due to my limited budget I'm not able to just go and buy a Kronos, so I'm eyeing some "old" keyboards that can still deliver quality sounds.

My options at the moment are the Roland Juno Stage, the Kurzweil K2600 and the Korg Triton Extreme (the only ones selling in my area for a decent price). The only "mandatory" features that I'm looking for are triple pedal inputs (sustain, expression and footswitch) and quality organ sounds.

Are there any cheaper/better keyboards that I'm missing in this price range? Which of the three would be a better option?

[Hyde]

Age has everything to do with it. Old machines tend to be a little more fragile, just because they are older. Whats your budget? I've seen Kronos used for less than $1500, locally. Roland Fantom seems to sell fairly reasonably, used. I think, If I had to go out on tour next week, I'd look for a Kronos or some controller key & a computer.... or something along those lines. Maybe even a Decent old akai sampler instead of the computer. Let the cheap controller keyboard take all of the abuse & have your important stuff intact. I haven't owned a Kronos but, it really seems to cover al of the bases. & it's a modern machine. Hopefully more reliable. If you are careful with it(buy a good case), it should be a great live machine.

[Z]

I use a Roland Fantom X6 and a friend of mine that's in a Pink Floyd tribute band uses Roland Fantom FA06 & X6.

[Ashe37]

Heck, Front 242 is using a FA series in their live gigs now...

[Ashe37]

also, regarding the survey: what, no M3?

[VHL_HCL]

Thanks for all the answers! About the Kronos - it's way outside my budget. I'd love to have it, but it's going for around 3x what I'm looking for.

The FA 07 and the M3 (which I truly forgot about, sorry ) are both newer boards and thus a bit pricier than what I'm looking for, though nowhere near the Kronos. I'm also not very sure how the M3 line works - with all the expansion boards and whatnot, but one of the great advantages of the Triton Extreme for me is that it's already fully decked out and I won't have to buy anyhting extra for it.

As for the Fantom X7 - it was one of my first choices, but the lack of a third pedal input is a complete dealbraker for me.

[Ashe37]

the only expansion boards for the M3 are the memory expansion and the RADIAS expansion, which was a 24-voice VA synth add-on. Everything else is just sampled and presets you load onto it. (I discount the EXB-FW because it isnt supported anymore)

[Hyde]

Portland Craigslist has a K2600($1100), M3 ($800) & a Kronos ($1400), right now. I'd love to have all of them but, Kronos at that price would be the pound for pound winner by a long way.

[VHL_HCL]

Oof. Just realized we're talking about absolutely different price ranges. Guess I should have checked anything other than eBay before making this post. Here are a few wacky prices from my country, converted to USD:

Triton Extreme 76: $1000 - 1100

M3 61 + RADIAS: $1340
M3 76: $1440

K2600XS: $1460
K2600S: $1220 - 1700(?!)
K2600: $730 - 1100

Juno Stage: $700 - 1200

Kronos/Kronos X 73: $2240 - 2680
Kronos 2 73: $3770 (ouch)

I saw a good demo of the Korg Kross today and briefly considered it, only to discover there's no 73-key model. Bummer.

[Ashe37]

at those prices i'd go with the Triton, i dont think the juno stage allows samples. OH and if the Triton doesnt have the MOSS card in it, dont count on ever gettign one they are kinda expensive.

[VHL_HCL]

Damn, I hadn't searched for the moss yet. Would have never guessed it's half the price of a new board, besides being hard to find. I hope the triton is still a solid option without it.

[Ashe37]

sure, you just lose the VA aspect.