Its all about how they are marketed thru the last 30 years since there inception...and that has been horrible at best otherwise many more people would be playing them worldwide & be more educated in what they can do,.. ......many more stores would stock all models, arranger companies wouldn't have gone out of business either like Technics, Gem, etc,.., and the live music industry would be using them quite more then it has up to now.
Now with new musical technology being invented every day the chances of arrangers making a comeback resurgence is minimal at best....for arranger KB's sadly it's time has passed.

I was asked to play at a condo meeting. No tables or dance floor, it was a meeting. Things that have been said here are so very true. Knowing this I took 20 minutes of the hour to explain what my Kn7000 was about.

I started with a drum beat and then added the each accompaniment part while explaining.
Last thing I did was to start the rhythm and played C chord; and then I walked away. They were smiling but that did not last too long – a look of question came.

I stepped back to my keyboard and explained to them that without me the keyboard would continue to play just what they were hearing and nothing more. I played the intro to New York New York and began to sing. I received a stand ovation. These people now understood what an arranger keyboard is all about – and they loved it.

I have seen this in malls and flea markets; people listened, they smiled, they were amazed, and many bought one to take home. Yes I agree, people do not know what an arranger can do.

John C.

John, I've been providing a short demo for my audiences for the past decade - smartest damned thing I've ever done, and a great marketing approach.

Thanks,

Gary

I could watch Marco Parisi play a Korg Arranger all day and all night. That's because he's a great musician that is exciting to watch. My problem is that I don't see ANYONE ELSE playing an Arranger KB that way......proving once again that it's the keyboardist, not the keyboard. I'll go out on a limb here and say that I don't believe that the average Arranger player has the same level of musical competence as say, his solo piano playing counterpart. That's because it takes less time and training to produce an acceptable product for public consumption. BUT.....and this is my opinion only, like bread-machine bread and bread made the 'old fashioned' way, there is a difference in quality. Nothing really wrong with the 'bread-machine' bread, it just doesn't hack it for me (and a lot of other people). Compound that by using a pre-packaged bread-machine mix, and now I'm REALLY turned off.

I think Russ has it summed up perfectly, "an arranger used at a tool, not a crutch is a good thing". As an instrument, aside from being grossly overpriced, it's no better or worse than any other. It's HOW it's normally used (and by whom) that draws the criticism. The fact that you see so few in professional venues speaks volumes (as far as what MUSICIANS think of them; audiences, particularly today's audiences, tend to be less critical (conditioned as they have become to 'live music' alternatives).

Just my opinion, of course. Love my BK7m/drum machine for practice, rehearsal, and personal fun. For one thing, it makes you much more disciplined with keeping in time.

chas

It's the style repetition that alienates most musicians with arrangers...

Each year I go to THE Keyboard Festival here in the UK and each year the audience attending gets a year older - no youngsters at all - so maybe some more subtle marketing needed to aid this dying art.
http://www.keyboard-cavalcade.co.uk/inde...ing-spectacular

I don’t know about others. All I know is that I bought my first arranger after being exposed them somewhere. Don’t recall exactly. But, it was some years ago. Some of the analyses here is too deep for me, although interesting reading. I don’t worry about the historical, social, economic relationship of arrangers to other instruments, music in general, or whatever. I play my little gigs and hope that the clients are satisfied with the product. So far, so good. That’s the issue for me---and, to get paid. I don’t get uptight about the need to prove anything or make some kind musical statement to anyone. Most of my patrons could care less (probably) about the past or future of arrangers. They just want to have a good time at the party, or whatever the occasion.

+1

Of course the level of proficiency is of utmost importance. But the vast majority of non-arranger musicians have no idea the technology even exists. I think some of us are assuming most musicians look down on arrangers. I disagree. Most musicians are totally ignorant about high-end arrangers and don't have an opinion. My original point was that they don't know what they are hearing. It either sounds like good music or it doesn't. Your level of expertise determines what they hear. If it sounds rinky-dink, then you need to learn to play better and/or examine the capabilities of your gear.
In past years I would often have drummers or bass players mention that I was costing them a job. I've got news for them; if they were any good they wouldn't be worried about my taking their job. Most all my jobs have been in venues where they wouldn't have live music at all if they had to pay a really good 4 or 5 piece band. But I don't hear that anymore. They are now used to hearing background tracks, Ka####e, etc.
Years ago, before arrangers were invented, when I was playing just organ, using foot pedals, later adding a drum machine, it was easy to find work. By today's standard that would sound hokey and old-fashioned.
There are thousands of piano or guitar players using pre-recorded tracks to do one-man acts. The arranger lets us have so much more flexibility. I can changes songs on the fly without missing a beat, extend a song as long as I want, turn it into a medley of songs, make a song into a totally different genre, etc. Just like a five-piece band could, except I don't have to teach everyone else in the band.
I think I'm just about the last person in this entire area to do a successful arranger act at a professional level.
It's interesting that none of the guitar or piano singles can take my jobs, and the ones that hear me, without fail, want me to explain the technology. I am glad to oblige, but I make it look very hard.
I can pick up their guitar or sit at their keyboard and pretty much do what they do. They CAN'T do what I do.
As DNJ says, why am I defending arrangers? I hope nobody else around here ever discovers their true capabilities.
This forum and a few others are the only places where I can go to discuss arrangers with informed users.
I understand that in many European and other countries, arrangers have much more wide-spread use and acceptance, but in the U.S. this little niche in the entertainment world has kept me from having to get a REAL JOB for many, many years and I will continue to embrace the technology for a few more years. I hope.

By the way, none of what I said above has anything to do with venues that feature, for instance, jazz groups, where people got to see and appreciate the interaction and expertise of accomplished groups of players. There have been a number of these established around here. None has lasted though, and it's a shame, but it's not what the majority of people appreciate.
There are a couple of blues jam type places that are semi-successful. Again, I would be out of place in those venues, except if just sat in and played organ or a single instrument there.
I WOULD drive to Atlanta or Lexington to hear Russ and Chas jam together though!! Maybe they would let me take one ride, if the song were simple enough.