Playing in a band situation, is 5 octaves, 61 keys, enough for blues and classic rock?

sure it is, some song even on 1 octave you coud reproduce
Anyway when in trouble you can always hit the button to lower the register.
When playing in the band you don't want to mess with bass player anyway...

I did it for a long time, but it's a pain. I found myself having to choose, depending on the song, whether needed the bass notes or the high notes more. I found 76 keys to be adequate, and in fact wanted to buy another 76 (for portability) when I was looking for a new keyboard last year. I found that there were very few "serious" keyboards made with that number of keys; the manufacturers figure everyone wants 88. I actually bought one, a Kurzweil, only to return it after trying it out on a couple of gigs.I ended up with a Roland FP4, which has 88 keys but fits in my trunk and isn't too heavy.

Thanks Greg. I'm looking at the Nord Electro 3 as a possible band instrument and they are available with either 61 or 73 keys. The 73 is an additional $300, which appears unreasonable to me for 12 more keys on basically the same instrument.

Oh well.

I have trouble figuring out where the octaves are by appearance on a smaller keyboard. I have a 61 key 2nd board and middle C is way to far to the left, i.e. the keyboard cuts out more of the lower end of the range than I'd like.

I looked at that one, longingly at first. It's got a really exceptional tonewheel organ simulation. I wasn't crazy about the keys though, and the piano seemed like an afterthought. I don't think it was weighted.

It was also significantly more than I wanted to spend. Have you actually tried one?

No, not yet. I don't have the funds at this time so am staying away from the music stores.

The keys are described by Nord as semi-weighted. I know I don't want fully weighted keys, but would like some resistance that would allow for at least a partial acoustic feel while using the piano voices (if that makes sense).