Thanks Terry... The e bucks are in the mail...lol. By the way, there are several new styles for the PA80 ( from korg ) that I like. Then there are some others that went directly into the "e" dumpster.

AJ

Lukitoh,
If the right hand harmonizer is important to you, then the psr's (ALL of them ) are out as well as the Korg. I nevber worked with the Gem harmonizer because i don't like the way the kb sounds, and the only one that will do what you request is the Ketron line up. Terrific sounds, great styles and a harmonizer that follows the right hand WITHOUT the arranger as a trigger.

I use the PA80, but I use a Digitech harmonizer. The Ketron falls alittle short of my wish list, but you'll probably like it the best off all the choices. The Yamaha and the Kork will allow right hand triggers, but the harmonies will not sustain unless the arranger is also triggered by that hand, and the Yamaha doesn't even offer RH triggers on the arranger.
For a manual bass player, like you & I - the Ketron is the only built in harmonizer that is acceptable. The others all work best with the arranger as the "boss".
Sorry, Charlie ... in my shows, I'M the boss.

You guys are great. Pls keep them coming if you have something to say. I absorbed all of them like a baby drinking milk.

I guess built in Vocal Harmonizer is not an option for my style of play. I will just rely on the singers or myself (solo) for now.

So, what remains are the quality of the sounds as I mentioned before (basic voices: piano, bass, etc) and styles (drum rythms).

How are the sounds and styles of PA60 or PA80 compared to PSR2000 ? Some already told me that the Korg is better in those 2 departments in almost all counts. Some say it has weakness also in the fill-ins. Any other opinions or maybe other arrangers in the budget range ? How about used ones ?

VA7 any good ?

-Han

lukitoh,
After reading your posts now I thought I'd suggest something else to you.. I've noticed you want good sound quality, good performance setups, and so forth... Now finding an arranger that does all that you're asking for under $1500 just might be pretty hard to find... Have you considered a pro synth....???? Hear me out of this one.. You're wanting good sounds with great styles or patterns.. Well I personally got tired of Yamaha's patterns (not really the patterns themselves, but the dryness to the drum kits), so I got an external drum machine for just over $100.. ($119.00 to be exact) Now you said that the harmonizers will not suit your style of play, so that's where an external vocalizer comes in.. Check this out.. This would make a good set up...

Korg Triton Le: $1299.95
Zoom MRT-3 drum machine: $119.00
(great drum machine too)
DigiTech Vocalist Performer:$299.97

Now you said you can do without a vocalizer for now, so dont' figure the vocalizer price in yet..

You can have the Korg Triton Le, and the Zoom MRT-3 for only $1418.95... Later on if you save up the money you can add the Digitech Vocalist Performer for just $300.00 more bringing the total of your set up to $1718.92.... That's not too far over the $1500.00 price range... We're both in the same boat regarding the keyboards drum patterns.. When I buy an arranger, I want good drum tracks that don't sound cheesy... I honestly don't even bother with a full style.. I'm just interested in the drums.. I add everything else myself. That's why I got the drum machine.. Yamaha's styles are good, but I had problems with the sound quality of the drum kits and the limited use of effects on drum tracks when recording styles.. With my PSR-550 the drum kits only sounded better when I turned on the DSP.. However you can't used insert effects when recording styles, and that greatly reduced the sound quality.. An external drum machine solves that problem.. Of course you can get awsome "live" kits on an arranger, but then you're talking about a higher price range, something like the PSR-9000 and 9000 Pro..

Anyways, just a suggestion

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 09-30-2002).]

Thanks, squeak. I used the keyboard to play live.

Having separate drum rythms might not be convenient for quick changes. If it was for composition, maybe. I don't know.

Lukitoh,
Actually some drum machines will allow you to use the keyboards buttons to change patterns... I guess it really depends on what you do in a gig too... If I had $1500.00 to spend on an arranger, I'd most likely go for a Korg, something like the PA-60... Granted the Yamaha's sound good and all, but I think the Korg's are a little more road worthy.. Plus they are more in depth with the voice editing..... You could get the PSR-2000 and buy an affordable vocalizer like that digitech I mentioned and still stay in budget...

Squeak

The Vocalist Performer is not a midi machine and therefore is a pain to trigger. You need to set the key, and then pick a major or minor mode from 6 choices. It only has two additional harmonies too. Stay away from it unless you are a guitarist that only plays 3 chord songs.