Another option, Greg, would be to purchase the Genos yourself, then you wouldn't have to wait for an approval or donations from any church. Since your congregation rejected the proposal, finding a church with an established, comprehensive music ministry and a bigger budget might be the way to go. Also, the PSR-SX900/700 could also be an option since they sound great in their own right, plus you'd be getting internal speakers in a portable package if 61-keys isn't a factor for you. I will add, the key feel/action on them is not near as good as the Genos key action, but many people don't seem to mind. If you have your sights set on the Genos certain online retailers offer monthly payments with zero interest. For instance, Sweetwater.com has the Genos currently in stock with a special financing offer of 24 months with zero interest. If, for whatever reason, you buy it and decide it's not for you, Sweetwater offers a full refund within 30 days of purchase, or you can exchange it for something else if you like. They also offer free shipping on the Genos, but if you return it, they will deduct the shipping cost from the purchase price.
PS: I want to clear something up about the song "If There's a Phone in Heaven" that I uploaded to my Box account and posted here. FYI, the vocals in the song are not my vocals. I know, shocked, right?
I'm from 'Southern' California, but people here, me included, don't have a southern drawl. The vocals are by Terry Terrell, who is a real southerner, as you can tell. What I did is, I played and recorded the song itself on my Genos using the aforementioned style. Btw, I'm really in to audio production lately and this is an example. I set the tempo of the style to the tempo of the original song by Terrell. I was then able to insert his vocals into the song using a vocal splitter software and Audacity through a multi-track process. It's kind of elaborate, but it gets easier over time through trial and error and persistence. FWIW, I do sing, and I have been in a few church Choirs over the years. I just thought Terrell's vocals were appropriate in this situation.
Just for fun, I want to post another song I recorded recently using my Genos with an expansion pack style for the intro. It's called Come, Lord. This is also a multi-track recording. I added the preset S.Art Boys Choir Ooh p voice in real time after the fact using Sonar Platinum. Some of the other voices include the S.Art C7 Pad Production Grand Piano, Fretless Bass, S.Art Chicken Pick SW guitar, and the Revo Jazz Brush Kit Comp Drums. So, all in all, the Genos is great for either Live Performance use or in the Studio, making it an extremely versatile arranger keyboard for practically any genre of music. And mine is still going strong after 5+ years. I was probably the first person to buy a Genos here in California once it was released. Got a special introductory price at Guitar Center. Unfortunately, Yamaha bumped up the price considerably after they realized they were sitting on a gold mine. The Genos2 will likely be even costlier. But the nice thing is Yammie will eventually release a Genos2 sibling that will be a lot less expensive but sound great too, no doubt. Without further ado...
Come, Lord with ChoirAll the best, Mike