i have to agree. a synth is a synth. its very different. i believe there is more technical knowledge required (basic electronics, sound/physics) when playing a synth too. you need to know things like sine waves, filters, etc in order to generate different sounds you're after.

only noobs would say its the same as piano. its like saying 'you can play guitar thus you can play bass'. they both look similiar, have the same tunings but theyre very different in terms of playing.

obviously i major in guitars. play other instruments too but aint too good.

bassix is in the other side of the world so i dont think we can jam. anyways, here's a beginners series to synths.

http://www.sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=144

havent really watch it all. studying for a test tomorrow.

http://www.sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=147
http://www.sonicstate.com/articles/article.cfm?id=148

more informative stuff to watch.

1. yes, different synths produces diff sounds.
2. take synth lessons from musci schools. make sure theyre not cheating on you by giving you piano lessons.
3. where to learn all of it? read alot from books or magazines (there are good synth mags that are available out there) or the internet. learn from a teacher and also learn from experience. another method to learn is to try to play covers, that way it forces you to come up with sounds closest to the cover song.
4. to record and playback again, the synth must have a built in sequencer. there are other ways to do this, such as using a DAW on your computer.
5. midi keyboard controller IS NOT a synth. but it can be used as a synth if you hook it up to a synth. note that it is just a controller. it doesnt produce any sound of its own but instead sends/receives midi data. basic midi knowledge is required. nowadays, most midi controllers have USB thus making it easier to connect to a computer.

you PM me about axiom25 and axiom49 brand new prices. im not too sure. maybe everdying knows? im guessing the axiom25 is around 900 range and the 49 about 1+k.

my suggestion:
get a midi controller(such as the axiom), hook it up to a laptop/pc and run it through programs like reason or ableton live. a ASIO compatable soundcard or audio interface is recommended to avoid latency and also handle connections(as you're in a band, you would prefer to hook up to a keyboard amp so everyone can hear you).

there is a synth thread somewhere here. please do drop by and read up. i'm sure suggestions like those have been posted up many times.

once again, midi keyboard controller is not a synth.

well the basics besides types of waves (saw wave, sine wave, etc) is the ADSR.
A-attack
D-decay
S-sustain
R-release
well if we could go on for years just talking on the controls on a synth. itll never end. i still dont get most of it.

i wouldnt really say the notes are the same. synths are very felxible and programmable. one of the most basic use is to transpose the notes. as a result your C key (on a piano) wouldnt be sounding a C key at all. also synths keys can be devided into different zones, anything from trigerring to being assigned to diff parameters/sounds. possibilities are endless.

also take note that a keyboard is an example of a synth. there are other synths too that are not in the form of a keyboard (such as rack units or button based). having them in keyboard form just makes them generally easier to play.

no i dont know any places where you can get synth lessons. i'm a self taught musician.