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When I turned seventeen, my parents gave me this keyboard so that I could rehearse and play with bands.... heavy metal bands! They bought it second hand in the musical instrument stores in my neighborhood, for about 100,000 pesetas in 1997.
Just when I started rehearsing in heavy metal bands, it was replacing a keyboard player who had the same keyboard, so it was very good for me to be able to keep using the same presets. At that time, I knew almost nothing about playing with bands, so I didn't get to do much in terms of gigs and recordings, but it was a time of a lot of learning.
After that I kept it in a closet for a long time, using it exclusively for rehearsals (it's relatively light). The piano sounds are quite old, but it can be quite useful for leads, organs and, above all, pads.
Right now it is configured for remote MIDI operation at any time using an iConnectivity mioXL and an ADAT converter (MOTU 8Pre).
My unit is quite a few years old now and has seen a lot of use. It has seen way better days... I've taken it everywhere: concerts, jams, travels, recordings, etc. As a result:
Upon opening the keyboard, I discovered that the keyboard contact PCBs are damaged. Several leads have corroded, most likely due to the presence of beer and other liquids :( I considered bypassing the leads with some extra soldering, but ultimately decided to find replacement boards from a donor unit. I also took the opportunity to replace the contact rubbers with new ones.
I don't plan to seek a fix for the display light. Right now, I have it in the studio, always connected via MIDI, and I can usually read what's on the display. Replacement parts are expensive, and this is apparently a fairly common problem that other donor units may have.
The front panel keys require desoldering and re-soldering many switches. I'm really, really reluctant to tackle this, but it's not necessarily complicated. I have a kit of switches ready in case I ever feel up to it.
The pitchbend wheel is more or less fixed. I managed to add some small rubber bands that force the wheel back to its default position when you stop using it. The pitch wheel on this keyboard is the best I've ever tried: it's great fun to play lead solos with it! I'm not a big fan of Roland-type joysticks because they don't seem that precise to me.