Good discussion here. I would add that most people have more than one program for making music. You need Band in a Box, a DAW, plugins and so on. Add all of that up plus the cost of ongoing upgrades and the cost is probably about the same compared with an arranger (unless you have a Genos :)). Also, I agree with Tony Mads-nothing like having the ability to play it all live with the option to change keys, tempo and arrangements on the fly. I don't have that much skill so that is why I used tracks .

I would say there is MORE Skill in Creating/arranging the tracks vs commercial.

Hi Donny,
Congratulations , you finally bit the bullet and bought it. Thought you would enjoy it .
So much for me to relearn, plus all the new features they have added.

Another one to check out is the Real Band sequencer that you get as part of the package, unless you want to use the new biab plugin in your existing daw.

I only have my old xg works sequencer,( which I use for editing and converting my styles) and as of yesterday am going to use for creating chord sequences for my Pa4x.
so Real Band has come in handy for editing midifiles and creating audio files. One interesting feature , it has the ability to load biab style tracks, so ,if for instance you have a midifile with a really bad guitar track, you can replace it with one of biab’s real tracks. or the midi supertracks. RB loads chords if present or generates it’s own if not, so the real or super track automatically blends in with the existing midifile. Or great for replacing midi drum tracks with audio tracks.

Aught to keep you busy for ages. Haha

Ok time for another new direction.....
For now I'm done with arranger kbs, styles, biab on its way to Canada, Roland A49 controller kb gone, vst, etc,etc,...
I have stepped back recollected my gear thoughts and needs, at this time and have decided to just sit back, relax, and WAIT and see what avenues manufactures are gonna take in the near future with new KB's and if something excites me I look further into it.
I have a vast library of song backings to cover anything.
So for now I changed my SZ Logo and will just read and enjoy SZ posts.
And happily my acute URI is going away after 3 weeks feeling better every day too. OK back to my Netflix movies!!

take care

Thanks for the demo, Donny... and for starting an interesting discussion. BIAB has come a long way and will, no doubt, continue to add more useful features as time and technology make new avenues available. I don't have it but often use a demo artist for a few of my songs to be able to listen to a better vocal and hear a different backing to them... not to mention all the money I save by using that guy. To Mason's point... other than for creating new styles and melodies... it probably would not be ideal for stage performances... LOL!

Dave BIAB 2019 is a songwriters dream.

I couldn't agree with you more, Donny:

At this late stage of the game, it's getting hard to "teach old dogs new tricks," LOL... after writing and recording more than 1000 songs (many of them too crappy to mention) I'm resigned to my fate of being left to rest in the shade! It has been a fun ride.

At least I gave BIAB a shot,.....but now for the first time in a very long time I am totally void gear wise and have a clean slate to work with. With so little NEW released on the market arranger kb and alternatives, etc, wise it becomes slower and slower to make changes, tryout, play new gear etc, I'm just not excited about anything out there. I hope that changes soon, I feel NAKED not having anything to just sit down and play.

Thoughts?

I think would go crazy not having a keyboard to play. You’re too good of a keyboardist Donny to not anything to play on!

Maybe you’re burnt out on arranger keyboards? If so, why not just get a non arranger keyboard and accompany your self manually or with all those tracks that you have? Maybe a combination of both?

after all the keyboards I have had through the years of playing
I have found that just the right keyboard is the one that makes you feel good about playing. I love my pa1000 just because all I have to do or hook up is to turn it on and play. I don't care if the latest and greatest has something outstanding or some gadget
that just came out. I know what it can do and how to do it. No spending hour, days or weeks learning to operate just sit down and play and enjoy. The difference between most arrangers that are out there are so slight that almost nobody can tell the difference if they are not side by side. What you put into your playing is what you get out of it. Enjoy what you have and learn how it works and you will soon find that that is all you need.
I switched from a pa900 to pa1000 only because the tilt screen let me see better with my remaining vision. I didn't need extra nobs and drawbars or other goodies that I would really not need so I did not buy the pa4x. This is just my way of happily making a living and making myself happy doing it.

Just my opinion
MEL