Larry, one of the moving parts I am leery of, is the on-board HD in most high end arrangers.

That's why I prefer having a USB Flashdrive, as on the S910...no moving parts...nothing to get bumped and have out of kilter.

Ian

Actually, I don't. Not trying to create a downer here but consider this. As of March 2010, Apple had sold over 450,000 Ipads. Currently, the number is probably over two million. Obviously, the financial motivation to develop this product far outweighs any such motivation to sink millions into R&D for a relatively low (sales) volume, low profit, niche item like an arranger keyboard. This is not arranger bashing, just common sense. If a "super-tech" arranger IS built, trust me, it will also be "super-priced". Being super expensive, of course, will just drive the number of sales even lower. A vicious, ugly cycle, but an economic reality.

So wipe away those tears and go learn to play an instrument that has stood, and will continue to stand, the test of time..........like a Nord C1 , or maybe a really good quality stage piano. Then, get a couple of your talented friends, form a (really good) band, and be a pioneer in the new movement to bring back "real" live music, played by "real" live musicians, on "real" live instruments. Also, don't forget to sign up for food stamps, unemployment benefits, and other "entitlements" common to "pro" musicians.

Of course, those blessed with great vocal ability have nothing to worry about, as (except for straight jazz clubs - and there aren't many left) that is pretty much the only thing the audience is interested in anyway. What 'magical' arranger you play your accompaniment on matters a lot less than you might think. Did they come to see 'ol Blue Eyes or his no-name band?

This is MY OPINION ONLY. Except for Design Engineers, Art and Technology are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and the more we embrace (and rely upon) one, the further we get from the other. I'm always amazed that no one seems to see that the more we incorparate 'music that we didn't create' into our performances, the closer we become to being DJ's (not that there's anything wrong with DJ's ). Next will be a 'wonder box' that SIMULATES two turntables with
'scratching' and cross-fading. OR......we could just buy an MP3 player.

chas


[This message has been edited by cgiles (edited 12-13-2010).]

The keyboard I was think of was the PSR SQ16. As I remember, it had a sound module section, an arranger section and a sequencer section. I think it was the only one of that design they made. It had some unique features, for the time, including a row of 16 programmable sound buttons.
DonM

Yes Don, I remember the SQ-16. If my memory serves mew well, it wasn't a stellar model of reliability. The Sequencer was pretty good for the day, and I believe the styles were broken down in parts and phrases.

I ended up waiting for the PSR-1700, which was more streamlined for "live" play.

The SQ-16 was, I believe, the first PSR to have an On-Bass (or bass inversion) option in the chording, and although that was a big draw for me, I am glad I waited as it showed up on the PSR-1700 as well.

I couldn't live without On-Bass today, and not having it was the biggest pain of owning an earlier arranger.

Ian

Donny,
If I had to guess...only 5-10% of the arranger sales goes to PRO's (Maybe I'm high?)

It'a home keyboard game for sure.
So, If we don't get some young new blood...then they will go away.

AJ, The TOTL arrangers of today should not cost more than $3,000.00.
Look at the very high end WS's and their prices. So, with some new features...the price should not change much if any, it would just make them more COMPETATIVE. Look at the Korg M3, they added Karma, a big new inavative feature......price did not go crazy.

Lee S.

Someone like the home player has to fill the loss of revenue manufacturers lost when teh big wooden home organ market went down the toilet in the last few years........hence let me introduce to your living room the newly continually jacked up prices of the Home Arranger KB's !

You know Donny, I don't believe that will happen. There will always be senior centers, retirement homes, etc. There will always be small restaurant/club gigs that can only afford a solo musician. There will always be keyboard players.

What probably will change is the choice of material being performed. Lord knows what the young kids of today will want to hear when they are seniors based on the majority of what is referred to as music today. "Gee, I'm starting to sound like and old fart. Actually I consider myself stuck in limbo between old fart and young whipersnapper, but that's another thread."

While I mentioned in a prior post above that it would be cool to have an all-inclusive program running on a touchpad PC, the reality is, give me a keyboard with a decent piano sound and a microphone and I'm fine. Add a drum machine and that's even better. Throw in a set of bass pedals and I'm a trio.

Many of the arranger keyboard owners, in the U.S anyway, are holdovers from the home organ days; others have just given up on bands and found another way to produce the sound of a full band via the arranger. I do think that for arrangers to survive for the upcoming players there needs to be a shift in marketing. Another thread pointed out how arranger keyboards can hold their own against workstation keyboards (I think you started it). That's fine for us to discuss it here, but what good will it do? We already know! I take the opportunity whenever possible to suggest looking into an arranger/workstation when on pro keyboard (non-arranger oriented) forums. If manufacturers want to continue to sell arranger type instruments, then they need to focus more on current genres of music, make them look more professional, i.e. drop the plastic cases, colored buttons, and labels like swing, waltz, country, etc. for blank buttons that are programmable to whatever the player desires. In other words, change the stereotype of what an arranger keyboard is. It's funny to me that some of the same folks that look down on an arranger keyboard are the same people who go out as a single and play along with pre-recorded tracks from an mp3 player. There isn’t any difference, other than the fact the many of those folks are playing guitar, which in itself is perceived as much cooler than a keyboard.

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Wm. David McMahan
The Modulators

Well thought out, Dave!


Russ

Years from now Dave the music these new class of seniors will like wasn't made on a keyboard....as is many of the songs we hear today...entertainers will have to play rap, hip hop just as they do today ...only their audiences will be in the 80's.....DJ's will rule the assisted living centers for sure........dont worry we wont be here to see that.

Why thank you.

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Wm. David McMahan
The Modulators