Well, it would make perfect sense to have a VH, I just did not get it from that list and I would consider it an important enough feature to be there. But anyway, we'll soon know for sure.
You're right about the 76 keys though. But that is about the only thing over Korg. And it is for a minority.

It has a mic input (as well s +48v) which can be routed through effects and then mixed to the main outs, but no harmoniser afaik.

OK...

One less fake thing that fools no-one, I guess!

Pretty good idea to put mike in capabilities and some effects without adding a silly VH that doesn't come close to a standalone unit. TBH, I have no idea why, if anyone wants good sounding harmonies, they use an arranger VH. Even the best of them (Korg) is a pale shadow of the current crop of standalone's.

You are missing the point.stand alone is for studio, built in is for live work .both TC/Ketron and prior Roland harmonizers do decent work (may not be studio ready).Hooking up to a rack or bringing extra pedal/midi cable plus no full integration is the problem.with built in VH,fine tune VH as a patch per performance ,save it to the song book ,etc, you are set.you can have doubling,female or male (2 or 3 back up singers following you depending on style or song. Try that with outboard gear without tap dancing, remembering and connection issues which may go wrong during live play.

You have to be a singer and true OMB to understand the concept/importance of onboard VH and how it's pros outweigh cons.

Not quite.
The immediate response to come into my mind is the ease in saving presets and recall them togheter with the rest of the performance.
One other would be one less piece of gear to carry around.
Anyway, what is so smart in adding a reverb into a keyboard, withour the VH? Doesn't even the least of the mixers for PA have a form of reverb/delay? As for the quality of VH, the Korg's one is not a pale shadow of anything, just has less features. Which is normal, but the quality just the same as their counterparts in Helicon's offer.
I am sorry for Roland not adding a real Vocal processor to their BK. THAT is something that I'm afraid does not fool anyone.

Why All the complaining? !!! instead we should rejoice, it's a wonderful time to be an arranger KB player!!!! embrace what technology we NOW have & think back just a few short years ago when we DIDN'T have it... put more emphasis on becoming a better player instead of a chronic Faultfinder...

No complaining here.

Just different oppinions I guess. I'd like this arranger to become a successul release and it could well be, by tommorow (my time) I'll see if that seems like one or not.
Why isn't here on the forum more buzz about it?

Modern standalone harmonizers have MIDI (which would allow your arranger to call up the preset you want per Performance), they even have the ability to just LISTEN to audio and derive harmony from it, and basically, go to the demo pages of any of them and be amazed! There isn't honestly, an arranger that comes CLOSE.

The Korg is the best available, and that is based on TC stuff from 4-5 years ago. A lot has happened in the meantime.

And standalones USED to be studio gear, sure, but have you messed much with VoiceLive and others along those lines? Designed from the ground up to be live tools for singers. There's a lot more foot control than there used to be... One of the things that is difficult to do with an arranger is vary the harmonies much during a song. Sure, you can pick out a preset, one voice above, or block full harmonies, etc., but if you listen to real harmony, it is often different all the way through the song. One part here, a block there, one above, one above/one below, unison in some sections...

Most of the standalones give you multiple footswitches, which can alter the harmony as you go along. Bringing harmony in and out as required, to the degree needed is the hallmark of good harmony. Listening to arranger demos with block harmony voicing from beginning to the end (and a nasty, phase-y sounding block at that) simply makes me cringe. My G70's harmonizer is one of the better ones available (no Korg, though) and I can't bring myself to use it...

Better NO harmony than bad harmony!

Donny's right - it's a wonderful time to be an arranger keyboard player. The work is coming in faster than anyone can imagine, the pay is higher than it has been in decades, and while budgets are being cut in some locations, other places are calling and booking more and more dates. Today, I lost 8 jobs from a location where I've been playing for 15 years. Two hours later, a lady from a brand new retirement and assisted living facility called and asked if she could book 12 jobs at each location, and at a higher rate than the one I just lost.

What I love about nearly all the new arranger keyboards is their versitility. They can do more things than most musician/entertainers ever dreamed of doing, and they do those things very, very well.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary when are you getting your new S950?