That sounds cool- my friend has a bunch of MIDI stuff (she records and arranges music for a living!).

I've been playing for a few years, and I'm always amazed at how easy popular music is to play. When I started, Nirvana was cool! It depends on what kind of music you like- country music is usually just 3 chords (especially the older stuff), and it's tons of fun to play.

Around here, you're looking at $20-30 per hour for professional lessons, so I would say that's fair... but again, it's about what you want to do with your playing. Do you just want to be able to show off at some parties, or actually learn the theory part and be able to play jazz or something more improvisational? All my brother does is learn the chorus and maybe a solo for whatever is out, then plays it for his friends.

I also have an acoustic (classical style) and I sort of mess around with classical music. It's also fun to learn some of the unplugged versions of popular songs.