I started playing arrangers from the get go. It is real playing but you get the added benefit of auto-accompaniment which as we know makes the keyboardist a one man band so to speak. I noticed when I went from an arranger to a traditional workstation (Roland Fantom G7)it was somewhat difficult to get adjusted to. There is no style accompaniment of course but there is rhythm accompaniment and also arpeggio backing on my Fantom G7 and also on the Motif XF, etc. The melding between arranger and traditional workstation is gaining momentum and perhaps there will come a time when traditional workstations incorporate most if not all of the features found on arranger keyboards. Such as audio styles, multi-pads (which are similar to arpeggios - now found on traditional workstations as previously mentioned), songbook, harmonizer/vocalizer, karaoke (song scroll) and the like.

I think there will always be an arranger market but possibly only in the low and mid-range segment. High end arrangers could bite the dust in favor of traditional workstations that incorporate arranger features and functions into them. Although I'm just speculating obviously. But if the Big Three (and Ketron) keep producing high-end arrangers at such astronomically high prices, they could price themselves right out of the market if they're not careful. Especially in these uncertain economic times when many people just don't have money to burn.

I don't know about you guys but forking over $5,500.00 or more for a Tyros5, etc., is stretching the envelope. Traditional workstations, on the other hand, cost in some instances thousands of dollar less than your typical high-end arranger from Yamaha. If I can purchase a traditional workstation that has high-end arranger features incorporated into it and at a much lower price point than the Tyros5, etc., I'll go with the traditional workstation every time. Although it could be several years before we see that kind of transformation that incorporates high-end arranger features into traditional workstations. And to be honest it may never happen. But we can still dream I reckon. The ball is in the Big Three's court. They will ultimately decide how the ball bounces. But if high-end arrangers stick around the prices should reflect what you're actually getting. For $5,500.00 I think the keys should at least be gold plated right?

All the best, Mike

Whatever any of you say (and some of the stuff you say is very interesting), if you are playing to please an audience, the audience will judge you, and it will have the last word (eventually). If you have been playing an arranger successfully to audiences for any length of time, surely that must be a sign that you are doing something right.

If you want an Arranger and Workstation combination, just add a Roland BK7m to any Workstation to give you the best of both worlds. (It may take a little longer to set up but something worth thinking about)

Bill

Thanks Bill, got it in one !

Frank

A voice of REASON !!!

Some of us make assumptions that the audience cannot tell the difference between someone doing everything themselves, someone doing most of it themselves, someone doing not very much themselves and someone doing virtually nothing themselves...

Me, I hold my audience in higher esteem than that. Personally, I think that they are willing to listen to something FAR less good than the CD as long as they can see that you are actually PLAYING it.

When they see your hands off the keyboard for elaborate intros, when they see you barely playing anything while a full orchestration comes out of your keyboard don't EVER think that they can't tell the difference. You insult them thinking otherwise.

You nailed it exactly Diki.