Firstly, let me point out that the organ has 122 keys (two manuals). Don't try to tell me you never used the second manual...
I am still stunned at the apologia for Yamaha in the face of overwhelming support for the need for a 76 in Yamaha's product line up. Some of these arguments are so post hoc ergo propter hoc it isn't even funny! You are taking the end result, and using it as the cause...
Yamaha don't make a 76, therefore, Yamaha SHOULDN'T make a 76. That bucket doesn't even have a bottom.
Nor is comparison to a G70, which is a totally different arranger. If Ford make a BAD SUV, Chrysler shouldn't make one either, because it might be bad too? Not much confidence in your brand/religion, there, Ian...
But the clincher is, Yamaha DID make a 76. Therefore any argument is moot. They saw the need for one and tried to fill it. But the fact that it was a total disaster had NOTHING to do with how many keys it had. It was a disaster because the OS was a shambles, and it was put into production FAR too early (sound familiar?
). It was a loss of face that still has not been recovered from, because the NEED for the product hasn't changed, only the willingness to get back on the horse has changed.
It seems Yamaha haven't got much stomach for acknowledging where the TRUE culprit in the 9000Pro debacle came from. It was a 76, our other, more successful arrangers are 61-ers, therefore the 9000Pro's failure MUST have been due to that. It couldn't POSSIBLY be that WE screwed the OS up. Not us. We're YAMAHA, damnit!
And, once again, I remind you all that, were Yamaha to actually make a 76, Ian would be one of it's greatest cheerleaders. I guarantee he would not be shooting it down in flames as a bad idea. It's only a bad idea because Yamaha don't actually make one!
If Yamaha do it... it's good. If they don't... it's bad...
Baaaaaah....!