Gary, thanks for your detailed analysis. Here are some additional questions to help clarify my goals.

Regarding FM synthesis, my level of musical sophistication is not high. I'm not sure I can tell the difference between FM and sampled sounds.

Keeping one of the keyboards as a controller, as you suggest, sounds like a good move. Also, I looked at the MidiSport 4x4 and that should work fine so I can get rid of the patch bay.

Is there a less expensive alternative to the 1010LT? It does a lot, but I probably don't need that many inputs.

What will BiaB's "real instruments" mean in musical terms? Is that a sound source that would replace the Ketron SD2? How about the Edirol SD20, that's a little more affordable? For that matter, how inferior are the free Quicktime instruments built into the Mac? Again, I'm not sure my ear is good enough to tell the difference, so maybe entry-level or only a little higher would be good enough for what I'm doing.

Any recommendations for an inexpensive digital amp to replace the 20-year old Hitachi stereo?

I really appreciate your taking the time to look at my setup and make suggestions.

Reg