I am waiting too. If Yamaha made an 88 note arranger with the keybed that is on the CVP-309/310 it would be the perfect compromise for Piano playing and for other instrument voice playing as well. What would not be adequate in my opinion is an 88 note fully weighted arranger keyboard that is simply too heavy of an action to play anything other than Piano parts with. But I would nevertheless prefer an 88 note Arranger over a 76 key one if they could make one at an acceptable weight and have an optimum weighted keybed. Ian says 25 lbs would be ideal as an overall weight, but I will fudge a little and say 35-38 lbs would be sufficient for me. In other words, keep it under 40 lbs with all the bells and whistles with top of the line status and features and I believe they would sell like hot cakes. There are simply too many pianists out there who would not settle for a weighted 76 key arranger no matter how good it sounded. I on the other hand could get by with 76 keys but when push comes to shove I would really rather have it in 88 keys. Fully weighted of course. I think the jest of all of this is that an awful lot people want more than 61 keys and one that also has a great action keybed. 76 keys is a good compromise and saves on the weight factored in by way of smaller overall dimensions and design of the 76 key vs. an 88 key. But if manufacturers could acheive the lesser weight that a 76 key arranger brings to the table and realize it in an 88 key version I feel the 88 key version would far out sell the 76 key version no matter how you slice it. Why I think we are yearning so much for Yamaha and other manufacturers to give us 76 keys is because we are trying to nudge them to the next step up from the measley 61 keys currently jammed down our throats in the arranger arena and specifically by Yamaha Corp., and that 88 keys would simply be out of the question in our minds because of weight considerations. But Ian made a good point about the Yamaha P70. It really can be done and it is simply a matter of time before it does happen regarding Arrangers. But when it does happen the 88 key version will far out sell any comparable 76 key verson in my opinion. All things considered that is. Including weight of course.

Maybe Yamaha will fool us all by releasing an 88 key TOTL fully weighted keybed Arranger, simply bypassing the 76 key venue as a calculated business decision; realizing themselves that 88 keys is really where the pot of gold lies not 76 keys. If they can keep the weight down (Yamaha or any of the other manufacturers), then they will no doubt truly have a winner on their hands, whoever it is that decides to venture out and accomplish such a feat, and do it at a reasonable price point for the consumer.

Best,
Mike