By looking at other topics, I would like to start a new one which we can all relate.

Being a arranger player/ KB and Gtr player/band musician for more than 30 years and owned and used most brands both here and internationally, here are my thoughts.

If Korg/ Yamaha/ Roland reps are here, please listen, take notes and talk to your decision makers and/or contact me.:)


Busy Korg styles/ fills/ endings are not new. It impresss you first, but once you start playing western (4/4 , 3/4), meaning English / american songs which need more simple 8 beat / 16 beat with simple bass and fills, Korg’s busy acc start to show limits.

That’s why English/ american songs arranger players ( who mainly use arranger functionality, not taking about SMF payback or own sequencing OR
Own style creators) use more Yamaha arrangers in the real world. For US, UK, Asian (English/ american music 4/4 type playing) arranger players, PSR mid level arrangers sells.


Middle eastern/ east EU/ Balkan / ( and recently East Indian) is another story. Since TOTL/ MOTL inception, they mainly use Korgs / Ketron ( if they can afford it)for their local 3rd part support for styles/sounds/samples. Korg / Ketron and even Roland / GEM had created local country version of their arrangers ( which is unheard of for Yamaha until recently with more generalized with oriental PSR A series). How many 9/8 rhythms can you find in Yamaha arrangers before A series? Try YouTubing Korg arrangers user videos ( who are giging) , you will see most are Mid East/ East EU/Balkans.

Roland was big in in early to mid nineties with E70,86 and later G series. Early 90’s GM boom and GS SMF play back was ( and still is) best in the biz. The SMFs sounded better in GS equipped Roland arrangers/playback machines than more expensive Korg / Yamahas ( because it sound canvas SC series was industry standard gear for SMF commercial writers).

PA 80 generation( 60/50 , of course new micro arranger and recycled Ek50) same sound/ style board) and previous I generation ( I3 to I30 and Is series) Korg suffered lack of 4/4 simple , western (English/ american) music styles compared to Psr 2000 which was cheaper than PA80. Korg started to implement pads that play loops in Pa 1x and later ( remember Yamaha has loopable pads since PSR 6xx , late 90’s). Finally , Roland arrangers joined to have that function after Korg). Even 4x / 1000/700 still suffer busy styles. ( when I3 came out it blew every arranger for hardware/ sounds/ 4 variations and other functionalities that were unheard of in 1993 for an arranger with workstation sound board and hardware ;X3 , plus full blown sequencer and style creator) but cheaper E86 was outselling due to direct disk SMF play, which I3 can’t ) and better 3rd party style support due to prior successful non FD E70 etc). Yamaha wasn’t a major competition until late PSR 740 (1999), 9k , 9k pro (once they start putting 4 variations in 1999 in 740, )and Roland with their G series in mid-late 90’s). Psr 2k and T1 charged the game for the US/ UK players due to ongoing style pool (of 4 variation styles) of western music in early year 2000s. Aging Korg IX , IS series
and I 30 starts to show style limitations which arguably continued to Pa80. Then comes, PSR 3k with, both USB to device and SM slot , mega voice, VH input (like previous 740,8K), series-in MOTL in 2004 (after T1) and the rest was history. Korg had the technology ( Triton Le ,2002 has SM slot), yet PA 1x pro (2003) and Pa50 and PA 1x(2004) still using FDs. Direct style play without loading from disk/USB/ SM and ability to sync SMF to style ( ie-playing rock SMF with onboard Reggae style sync in real-time) also helped Yamaha from competitors even though there are complaints about their hardware/ liveliness/keys.

Technics ( who was on the way out) will be another topic.


Of course g1000 ‘s chord sequencer function followed by Pa 3x to Psr-sx900. Even though Yamaha has the tech ( some of 80’s cheap FM arrangers had chord sequencer), it never made to 2000’s mid / high level arrangers until now.


This is how market is and was ( from I3 to Pa4x, E70 era to EA7, PSR 630/730 ) to SX Series.

If you are performer of western( English lyric music) and your majority of set consist or arranger live playing, you tend to use Yamaha.

If you gig consists of mainly sequenced or SMF play with some arranger playing mixed in , you tend to use non Yamaha ( mainly, Korg , some Roland,). If you are in a band with occasional arranger gig/ or (you are using only drum and bass and muting busy ACCS intentionally)and if you can only afford one MOTL KB , most go with Korg.


If you are Mideast/Balkan/ east EU musician, the main choice is mostly Korg .

Remember, most Korg arranger buyers remorse mostly is never the sounds/ functionality/ editing/ sequencer/ punchiness or live sound.It’s always lack of style support ( unless it’s Mideast/ EU/ East Indian, etc). Realization comes after being forced to mute ACc tracks and/ or forced to use less fills because the styles ( including the bass lines) are overplayed. The option; write your own style or purchase styles or just sequence the song or use drums only and olsy live bass and comping.


Yamaha ‘s buyer remorse mainly is : key feel/ cheap hardware/ nor a real sequencer, lack of deeper editing, overpriced MOTL, not “live sound” ( even though they will not trade it for busy “live” styles, etc.

Recently Yamaha also want to capture that market buy putting sample load ( for last 5 years or so) MOTL and putting Joy stick replacing wheels in Genos/new PSR SX series.Their previous “ oriental” models couldn’t complete with Korg. New models’s Mid East style support still have along way to catch up to Korg.

For western ( English lyric) music arrangers players sooner or later come back to Yamaha mainly for simple styles and great 3rd party style support even they hate the keys , built quality of MOTL PSRs.

Unfortunately unless Korg wakes up and put more simple and abundant 8 beats drum/ bass lines/fills , their arranger sales will suffer in western world.

Until Yamaha has better hardware/ keys/ local 3rd party styles sounds support, their sales will suffer in Oriental/eastern EU market.

Ketron on the other hand, due to price, lack of support and availability, it can not catch up with Yamaha or Korg ( arranger user number wise).

Roland has to put more expressive styles and stop recycling old/ sound styles.Their mid 90’s golden days of MOTL and TOTL over. A few supernatural tones cannot compete with SA2 or even DNC sounds. Their styles still lack realism of even mega voices gtr styles even though they may have better drums. Make up tools are great. Commercial SMFs sounds/ sequenced best in GS, but they have to step up their arranger style game and put linear/ more expressive style department.


Remember, most western( English ) songs that are played by arrangers are simple 8 beats ,4/4 styles that require realistic acoustic guitar strums or simple piano chording/ comps that stays within the measure / more generic simpler bass lines which are not in your face yet in the pocket, drummer like Ringo who doesn’t over improvise and/or does not do crazy fillls. It means one simple style will fit multiple songs without having to rewrite bass lines or mute parts to barely fit the song ( like most Korg styles)Yamaha is killing it in that department and selling well in this area since they got it right for simple styles even though their MOTLs lack built quality, less “live sound”, not that great key feel and relatively overpriced. Unmatched free 3rd party style support can also not be overlooked.


Side Note-
If Yamaha makes a arranger module ( psr Sx 700 in a box) which include all necessary buttons and sells for 1000$, it will do well. With the touch screen now, it will be an easier to navigate. They may attract solo gtr players who wants foot switchable drum machine which has 4 variations and can play SMF/ MP3 Wave file without loading, small foot print). it will also attract solo piano players. The key here is it must have all must have physical buttons. No hidden menus , no shift or double pressing to change key or octave, etc and must have a onboard sequencer without needing a computer /iPad.
Of course , main attraction is 3 rd party style support. Most of the mp3/wave backing track solo performers’ main complaint is, lack of song availability, unable to mute or delete tracks or potions of tracks, lack of control of level adjustments within each track, being unable to edit drum track ( over powering Snare or high volume hi hats, etc) which midi will take care of it and they will also be able to save the edited file as MP3 if the wish. This is another market which is there. Most arranger players want keys and onboard speaker as one light unit but market is there for other solo performers such as guitarists and solo piano players who want backing tracks/ rhythm other than unchangable audio files. As you are aware, you see more solo performers than Duos ( compared to back in the day). The Duo gigs, KB player will take cars of the biz but if you are traveling solo vocalist/ gtr player, arranger module can be beneficial due to less space/ easy to travel ( which will fit in a suit case). Any midi KB will do the job for editing/ writing basic tracks.



Bk7m failed for navigation and small screen and some sterile styles, Ketron failed for the price. ( Previous Korg Is modules failed mainly for style content).


“Western “ in my post refers to most Rock/pop/country/ jazz /simple ballads/light Latin/ dance/ ( non EDM nor Rap) Anglo or Anglo influenced mainly 4/4 ( and less 3/4) popular songs which are the majority of songs on a set list.


Share your thoughts.


PS: sorry for typos. Using iPhone to type.

I think that is a very good, and comprehensive, review of a very important subject. Thank you Jamman.

Interesting comparison. It just goes to show that there’s no perfect keyboard.

...and few perfect Arranger Players/Performers! Especially me!

Interesting analysis.. . I agree with a lot of it.
I might add Roland EA7 is loaded with styles for every region. Too bad it may well be the last decent Roland arranger. It has the most and best, to me, simple country/western styles, except for waltz.
I've not had much trouble finding the styles I need for Korg, although their recent emphasis has been on genres of music that this old man doesn't much get into.
I've had some success converting midi files to styles on the 4X.

No problem, Bernie.

Great! I agree with you on that Roland should be in the game.
EA7 is well designed, slim yet feature packed plus speakers.

Sharing my thoughts as requested:

With this post, I'm finally convinced my style critique of the Korg styles has been correct....too busy...too in-your-face...some of the "wimpish" styles sound like a child's music box...some of the "wild and crazy" heavies sound like they're doing all the playing for you - that you're just a side dish throwing in a few stabs here and there. And some of the styles don't even sound like the style they're named after. My own pecking order for live arranger playing would be #1 Roland #2 Yamaha with Korg somewhere in the bottom of the pile.

Thanks jamman for all the research you did and taking the time to share it with us. I read every word you wrote. It was very enlightening for me.

We have different opinions on which arranger is best for live playing, but that is to be expected as each of us will have different needs and preferences.'
I find the Korg the best for live performance, taking into consideration the excellent vocal processor/harmonizer, the Songbook, the Chord Sequencer and the many assignable sliders and buttons. If I think a style is too busy, too loud, not loud enough, it takes about two minutes to tweak it to my needs. It can then be saved as a SB entry, a custom style, or even to the factory style location.
The Roland EA7 is also excellent for live performance, but does lack text display and vocal harmony. I love the weight, size and light, responsive keybed. Piano players probably wouldn't like it, but this isn't a piano forum is it?
The Yamahas are fine, but have that distinctive Yamaha sound that really hasn't changed much for many years. The Genos and the new PSR may be finally addressing that, but the demos still sound pretty much the same to me, unless you consider the audio drum styles.
I do find the Yamaha operating system and navigation archaic and the Registration system cumbersome, although, again, that has been addressed in the new models. I still would put Yamaha at the bottom of my list for live performance. As mentioned, your views can or probably will be different. I have owned at least 20 different Yamaha arrangers, but I feel they have fallen behind the other companies, at least until this latest generation.
Ketron or course has the live band sound down nearly perfectly. Factory bugs have been their Achilles heel. When they finally address them, they are really great for live performance. It bothers me that there is really only ONE person for support in the U.S. He does a great job of it, but is still sometimes hindered by Ketron Italy.
Just rambling here because I have a night off and can't go to sleep early after nearly 50 years of playing until Midnight or so.

No problem.