If you can entertain the public, I’m not sure folks care what you use. Can you juggle? Dance? Tell jokes? As long as it’s entertainment...also juggling etc a lot cheaper than any form of musical backing. 😊

For me, I enjoy arrangers. If I didn’t play in public, I would be playing just for my own enjoyment...just so happens, when I was gigging, I could pay for my toys.

There is one thing I’ve found in favor of arrangers...they sound great at least to the folks I play for. And, folks do seem to enjoy watching me try to look like a keyboard player. 😊