going to be tr user..
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
How much are round trip air tickets to other countries with cheaper used keyboards?
How much are laptop computers with Core 2 Duo, i3, or i5 processors? Can you build a dual core or quad core rack computer?
If computers are cheaper, then you can choose an older keyboard that has some good sounds, but use it more as a midi controller for the computer for sounds it lacks. In that case, you would give a higher priority to the quality of the keybed, aftertouch, and programmable knobs/faders. This could open up a wider range of cheaper options. A Novation X-Station 61 would be a good example of such a keyboard.

How much are laptop computers with Core 2 Duo, i3, or i5 processors? Can you build a dual core or quad core rack computer?
If computers are cheaper, then you can choose an older keyboard that has some good sounds, but use it more as a midi controller for the computer for sounds it lacks. In that case, you would give a higher priority to the quality of the keybed, aftertouch, and programmable knobs/faders. This could open up a wider range of cheaper options. A Novation X-Station 61 would be a good example of such a keyboard.
If you like the keys of the microstation, then that would be an excellent choice, since it will give you a lot of usable sounds without the computer and work fine as a controller for the software. It will do very well for the kinds of music you listed, significantly better than the TR, X50, and most of the older Tritons. It has most of the power of the M3/50 with very little cut out. It has 120 polyphony, the full effects power of 5 insert effects, 2 master effects and one overall effect, 16 timbres, USB-midi, and SD flash memory. It's great for a beginner but still has a lot of depth for you to explore if you learn to program it. The software editor for it is great and works as a plug-in with computer DAW programs. The keyboard doesn't have aftertouch, but I think that's less important than everything else.
The microstation is a full synth, not just a sample player. You can make new programs that start with the samples it has and extensively modify them to build your own unique sounds with the software editor. This is more than making combi's. Combi's let you combine up to 16 programs together as layers or keyboard splits, or so that you can switch between programs easily. The programs make the sounds, so learning how to make those programs gives you a lot more possibilities than merely using the preset programs that it has when you first buy it. The microstation doesn't allow you to add new samples, so you have to stick with the samples it has, but you can do a lot with those samples to change how they sound. You probably won't understand what that means until you create your own programs to see how it can change the samples to make new sounds.
Sure, it can control whatever you have on the computer. It has 100 built-in midi configurations for lots of software: massive, FM8, fruity, malstrom, garage band, Halion, you name it. You can make midi configurations for anything. You can download the software right now to see how it works. The software doesn't require you to have the keyboard to see what it does. You only need the keyboard to hear the results.