Okay, I said arrangers played in style mode sounded somewhat 'robotic' to me. Perhaps what I should have added was "but they don't HAVE to". For instance, there are some players right here on this board that DON'T sound robotic - I'll even take a risk and name names - Don Mason. I think the reason is because of his very tasteful and authentic sounding guitar (and piano) embellishments. He also does a great job of choosing the right style for the tune (which comes down to taste, 'hearing', and musicality). But I think the main contributor to the non-robotic feel is still the embellishments. Good emulations, however, require good playing technique (only achieved through practice) and, let's face it, ALL arranger players aren't willing to 'put in the work' or, in some cases, just don't have the talent. They may sound 'good' but not necessarily 'professional' because, as someone else pointed out, in one case the arranger is doing all the 'heavy lifting' and in the other, it's the player.

So maybe I should have titled the post "What techniques can we employ to make our arranger performances more authentic sounding (ie. less robotic)". NOTE: At least a couple of people also thought they sounded somewhat robotic (repetitive, boring, predictable). DonM talked about 'slimming down' the factory style as one way to make YOUR playing more prominent, and I'm sure there are many other techniques. Look, people don't really want to sound like an arranger, they want to sound like a LIVE BAND, so why not look at (and learn from) the techniques of those who are able to pull it off.

Sorry if I stirred up a hornets nest, but I feel almost any topic can have value if approached in an amicable manner and with ADDED KNOWLEDGE as the goal. Hey, everybody has opinions, and they aren't always going to be the same. JMO.

chas