luke_smithwick

First keyboard I could afford. It still is a lot of fun to tinker with after 30+ years.

My dream keyboard has become a boat anchor. Although this was a powerhouse from the 80s, it does not age well. There are numerous analog semis on the main board as well as the voice cards and they simply drift out of range over time. Since these are unique parts, replacements are sketchy and hard to find. My OB-Xa has reduced itself to a door stop.

The Gibson Alex Lifeson Axcess Les Paul is one of the best made guitars I have owned. It is a bit on the heavy side, but that is typical for this style of electric. I believe they did carve out some of the interior to modify the sound to make the most effective use of the "Life-O-Sound" piezos. The use of this mode is more complex than one might expect due to the need to have two ¼" outputs in use at the same time. Furthermore, the use of the topside knobs is not intuitive as they have multiple push-pull combinations to achieve the mix between electric and acoustic. Regardless, this is a fine instrument that I will never part with and pass to my children some day. If you can get your hands on one, you will never regret it.