First of all, I'd like to thank Gary for assuming that a controversial topic MUST have been started by me!

And I rather think that chas and I ARE on opposite sides on this one, but only in a SMALL way... I agree completely about the use of arrangers as a crutch for those that COULDN'T sound that good, even if they DID have a live band around them, but the way you use an arranger is entirely up to the player. If you can already blow, what you blow ON is not very important, as long as it sounds good.

The reason you NEVER see arrangers on Letterman is that those guys NEVER have to pull off an OMB situation. They got a band for everything they do (and a damn good one at that!). What use is all the auto stuff if you NEVER need it? But that brings us to players that SOMETIMES need it, and sometimes don't. Many of them will use a WS for the live band, and an arranger for the OMB. Me, I'm not in that camp. I prefer the familiarity of ONE keyboard for everything, if it is versatile enough. Live, OMB, recording, whatever...

Familiarity with your keyboard means less time thinking 'how do I put some more reverb on the string layer without putting it on the piano on THIS keyboard?' and more time just thinking about a great line to play. That's the only thing that is REALLY important, anyway.

Hence the reason I lug the G70 around. It (and the Korg PA1/2XPro's) are the only things that compare to REAL WS for the straight playing side (none of them have the loopstation thing down like WS's, but that is no more PLAYING than using an arranger's auto stuff). 76 keys (that's what you see most non-auto players playing or 88's, unless they have multi-keyboard rigs), 'pro' build quality for the long-term durability (and the hell with what it weighs... how long it LASTS is what is important!), first call piano, rhodes and B3 sounds (your main meat and potatoes). It doesn't get much better than this.

Now add in the arranger side for when you DO need this. Apart from the guitars (which are OK, but there are better!), I'll still put my G70, and me playing it, head to head with any other arranger out there. Many of us (including me!) obsess over every little detail in the OS of our (and everybody else's!) arranger, but bottom line (and here I agree with chas and Donny ( ), if you can't blow WITHOUT an arranger, you can't blow WITH one...

Now whether that makes you non-professional, I can't say. The definition of the profession keeps changing. It USED to mean you weren't professional, but today's market, for better or worse (OK, just worse!) is totally different. As our youth's market was totally different from our parent's. I remember (OK, I'm too young, but I can read!) when musicians called Les Paul's multi-tracked recordings 'cheating'. Not quite the same thing, but you get my point. Technology changes the definition of playing.

Let's face it, though... The primary reason many of us (at least, the gigging pros) use arrangers is economical. Few of you want to play with other musicians. You might make a bit less money. Then some of you play with arrangers because you don't want the hassle of finding musicians to play with, and the aggravations that can cause. And, I'm afraid, some of you maybe can't play well enough yourselves to attract musicians to play with YOU that are better than the pre-canned ones in arrangers!

Now, what you tell YOURSELF the reason for using arrangers in an OMB situation is may be different, but look at it honestly... If you COULD make as much money in a real band, and they were as good (or better, hopefully!) as the 'musicians' in your arranger, and the drummer didn't hit on your old lady why on EARTH would you prefer to play with a machine?

The fact is, there ARE players making more than you. And they NEVER play with machines. How do they do it? Easy... they are monster musicians. Full bore, 24/7 dedicated killer players. Can YOU play that well?

If not, whether you play with a machine or a real band, it's time to shed! Enough worrying about whether you have the latest, greatest, state of the art mechanical backing band, and more worrying whether you are the state of the art YOURSELF...!