Greetings, matt and all:

Let’s say I’m relatively new to playing keyboard and am looking to play with a dub band eventually.

Right now, I have a electric piano with weighted keys, but virtually zero built-in sounds or effects. I would like to purchase a keyboard that would be more suitable to eventually playing live and have more effects and sounds to play with.

What should I get? I can drop good $$$ on it as long as it will suit my needs for a long time.

And, as for playing live, do I need an amp? Or do keyboardists in the dub/reggae style usually just go straight line out to the — what is it called — board? PA? Do all bands play through a board/PA(?), or do some just run their own amps for everything, including mic’d vocals?

appreciation,
ari