I'm a keyboard player and music teacher and by funny coincidence, have just recently bought one of these for my school.
[quote]I guess my question is, is this a good keyboard for the money?[/quote]
Yeah, pretty much. It's very solidly built. It has a decent action that gets as close to that of a real piano as you're likely to find without spending 2-3 times as much. It has a pretty good piano sound that is rich and enjoyable to play, and a smattering of decent electric piano sounds etc. I'm saying "pretty good" and "decent" by comparison with other all-purpose keyboards in the same price range though: it's not going to rival a top range professional instrument in any way.
The speakers are pretty clear and powerful enough for an average room, plus it has all the connections you need for playing through an amp at a gig, attaching other gear etc.
[quote]Does the company have a good reputation?[/quote]
Yeah. Korg make good stuff right from the cheaper end of the home market up to very serious studio equipment.
[quote]And, finally, how portable is it - do you get carrying bags, for taking it to a rehearsal, for example?[/quote]
There's no carry bag supplied with it, but you could buy one separately pretty cheaply. However for gigs you might prefer a hard case for protection, which will cost a bit more (but would never be "thrown in" with any model of keyboard).
The keyboard is quite heavy: probably a bit heavier than some others of the same type. I have to say personally I consider this an advantage. When things are light, that usually means there have been compromises in the build quality - plastic casing instead of metal, etc. And this means more expensive repair work when they get knocked loading in and out of a gig (or worse, the possibility of something coming loose during a gig). I'd rather have to sweat a bit to have something that inspires confidence any day.
Don't get me wrong, it's certainly carriable by one averagely muscular male. And you won't get significantly lighter without going down to a smaller, synth-type keyboard.
One thing I found frustrating was that the supplied stand is not made for quick setting up and taking down. You have to attach bits using a screwdriver, so it's more for the purpose of setting up in one place and leaving it. For portability, I think you'd want a stand you can just fold up and stick in the car, then unfold and use. Again, this will cost extra.
But I'd have no objection to using this keyboard on a gig AS LONG AS all I was wanting to do was to play a basic piano sound, plus maybe an occasional Rhodes or organ or something. It doesn't have enough different sounds, of high enough quality, to cut it as a full all-purpose professional instrument. But then it depends whether you want that and want to pay the money for it. (And you could always add this via a sound module later, just keeping the Korg for it's solidity and action as a keyboard).
For the money, and within the given principle of a "piano + a bit" instrument, you won't find much better buying new. Some say the Yamaha electric pianos have a rather more realistic piano sound, which is probably true. The Korg sound is nice but a little more artificially enhanced and less acoustic sounding. I don't know which exact Yamaha models are out at the moment though.
For another two hundred quid or so you could get a significantly more professional instrument second hand, but then you'd have the risk involved and need to know what you're doing.
What kind of stuff does your DS do? What kind of gigs do you need the keyboard for?