For my main controller I use the Peavey CPM-C8. It's been replaced with one that's a little less of a behemoth (http://www.peavey.com/products/amps_mi/midi/dpmc8x.cfm) if less pretty: the outsides of mine are that laqured black piano wood and getting scratched and bruised every time I move it as it's just so damn bulky and there's no skb cases big enough for it, and I'm not even sure there are any bags available for it (at 95lbs -over twice the fatar- it'd take both hands anyway). When I move it I sometimes wish I had gotten one of the fatar/studio logic ones instead, Despite getting into gigging, and able to play piano/vocals at the same time I don't think I'd take it giggging because of the above.

Curious, in looking online it's and it's newer brother are really hard to find. I couldn't find any cost estimates as to what it actually runs. When it came out (I saw it with you at Skips back in high school hooked up to the proformance piano module and fell in love at the time it was $3000). Back in Denton, I got mine for $1000 but that was after many months of searching a particularly spectacular deal. I imagine the new one is $1300 or so. So the Fatar seems like a good deal (you got yours for a good price to). www.froogle.com (the google marketplace search engine) didn't find anything under $600.

In my studio the pluses are it's an incredibly flexible controller, with a ton of midi routing, and has many real time faders built in which have come in handy, as well as a floppy to store/load presets, the latest firmware (which I haven't looked into) for it has an arpegiattor and 1 finger chording which might come in handy with live performance for most things I do it can be done in the softsynths I use. I can't say that I actually use that much of the tons of features possible for it, partly because my studio doesn't have that many midi devices in it.

Speaking of which I actually just got it out of storage this weekend and now it's taking up the majority of my desk, as yet not hooked up as I'm trying to find some better option for it and all the shit on my desk...so far no luck. I have a sit stand workstation base taht woud work really well but that's in storage too, and my samll car can only fit so much!

I think for gigging I may eventually pick up a Fatar. I've played with them in the music studio out here and they have a decent action, and enough options to do most things quickly rather than digging through menus.