I have a Roland RD300SX. Rolands are the best for realistic key action and nice sounds, it's a great keyboard - versatile and light (for gigging). But I don't know how much you want to spend...! It's £750 on turnkey.co.uk (http://). Have a look and see what you think...

Hey Ed, thanks a lot for the pointer! I went and had a bit of a look at the Roland range and you make a very good point about the hammer action technology, but they do seem quite expensive. The Rolands that have the USB connectivity and the other desired functions would be something like the Fantom X8 or the 700SX, but these are way out of my price range. I guess I'm looking at spending around $1000 (Australian).

From my online "research" it looks like the Casio keyboards, while perhaps not as technically perfect, seem to include more functionality for the money? I'm looking at the PX400R and PX575R, which seem to also have Casio's version of the progressive hammer action etc ... do you have any experience with these?

Checkout the Roland Juno G. it shares the same processor as the fantom-x series. and can be had for around $1000 US.

If you dont need that much in a keyboard, try the Juno D.

I'd stay away from the Casio's if possible, they may have some flashy features, but they tend not to be built as well.

For a good hammer action the Juno G/D are not what you would want to have although the sounds in the Juno G are very good. If you are looking for alright to average sounding keyboard with hammer action keys then the Privia series from Casio will be just fine. As far as how the keys feel on the Privia series, they are as close to the real deal as other keyboards in the $1000(US) price range. If you're looking for a little better sound quality you may look towards getting a Yamaha P70 or P140. Only thing about the Yamaha keyboards is that they don't feature USB output. But i'm guessing you want to use the USB out to control software synths? If so you can get either the Casio or Yamaha and a Midi to USB converter like the Midisport Uno.

I too like the Yamaha action and sound. For ME I went to the music store and tried them all out. For ME I preferred it to the Roland, Korg, and Casio. Yes drawback no USB on Yamaha. I recomend to go to the music store and give them all a try out and then compare them to what YOU think you sounds and feels good.

Hey all - thanks heaps for the replies!
I have been having a bit of a look at the suggested keyboards ... the Juno-G/D only has 61 keys and I'm a bit of a stickler for the full 88, so that rules those out, even though they obviously have loads of bells & whistles :0) Thanks for the tip about keeping the sound quality of the Casio in mind - when I get around to playing with one I'll make sure I take note of that and see if it stacks up. I also had a look at the Yamaha selection ... the P-70 and 140 don't have USB connections, but there is a P-250 that looks to me like it does have USB output (correct me?), so if the sound quality and hammer action come together in something like that, it looks like Yamaha might win out. They've always had a pretty good rep anyway. As casper pointed out, I will definitely have to do some leg work and try a few out, but the music stores in my area tend to have a limited selection, so I wanted to get some good information behind me before I just go and buy whatever is on the shelves, without knowing how it compares in the wider market, you know? Thanks everyone for your input - it is VERY much appreciated :0)

Check out the Roland Fantom X8. Roland also makes an X6 and an X7. The X8 has 88 keys though. Runs around 3,000, but you can alway's talk em' down. One for the good guys!