I honestly think you already have the perfect 76… it is extremely lightweight but well built, has a great feeling action (which none of those cheaper keyboards do🤮) and draws VERY little current (no big bright color touchscreens to drain the battery pack). Why get anything different?

One thing you need to consider… Time.

Multiple keyboards needs much time and effort to learn, and if you wish to perform the same songs on both, that’s double the time spent programming. Stick to one keyboard, you half the time spent NOT playing. You have the same setup and songlist no matter where you go. You need not worry about ‘How do I do this on this keyboard?’ in the middle of a gig. You only have one set of backups to worry about. And you sound consistently good, whether round a campfire or in a restaurant, bar or nightclub.

I see all too many people basically overwhelm themselves constantly trying different arrangers, and ending up not knowing 10% of any of them. Stick to one, when you want something ‘different’, try reprogramming the styles to use new sounds, get a hold of conversions from Korg or Yamaha and tweak them to your taste, spend an hour trying different lead sounds, experiment with the MFX and the controls to create something new.

Soon enough, rather than knowing 10% about two or three keyboards, you know 99% about one (no one EVER knows 100%!), and you will be far more productive.

At the end of the day, it is playing MUSIC that matters. Wasting half your available time duplicating your efforts on another keyboard is time wasted. Stick to one keyboard, concentrate on the music!

I have generally had each of my Roland arrangers for at least ten years (G1000, G70, BK-9) while many others go through two or three in the same time frame I use one! Guess who knows their keyboard better? 🤔🎹😎

You said it man! that's very much true, every single word. There is a learning curve with every arranger, but the way human nature is, it always yearns for something that might be better, faster, and it's probably only the feeling of longing for something new that we cherish, 'cause once you get it, the magic is gone, and it's just going to be another keyboard in your collection.

Yeah, I should just stick with what I have.

The WK-7600 doesn't have Sync Stop, nor arranger "hold." So there is no way to temporarily suspend the accompaniment when you release the keys. That's a very serious oversight which was corrected in the newer Casio models that I mentioned. The feature set and chord recognition on the CT-X are much better than the EK-50 and probably the sound set is a little better too. But the keybed is rubbish- there have to be some sacrifices at the sub-$300 price point. If you're really concerned about playing out with your BK-9 (and I would be with mine), look for a used BK-5 or BK-7m. I've seen BK-5s on eBay sell for $3xx in working condition. Most of your registrations will work with minor tweaking.

I beach my BK-9 all the time in Florida. No real issues so far. Buy a backup used BK-9 (someone here got a cherry one for $800!) and if the worst happens, you are good to go.

For me, having a BK-7m (and having played a BK-5) there’s utterly too much of the best stuff from the BK-9 missing, the stuff that made me change from my beloved G70 in the first place, to consider it anything other than an emergency backup. No SN sounds (I live and die for those guitars!), no HB organ, no chord sequencer, crap plastic action 🤮, no mic in… Sorry, but for me, the only alternative to a BK-9 is another BK-9!

And there is so much in the sounds that I use missing (the SN pianos, Rhodes and guitars, many of the drum kits, strings and horns etc.) that I found redoing my Performance List so it works on the other BK’s is a huge task. Not to mention the fewer MFX. It’s a lot to compensate for, and simply gets you back to doubling your programming effort, so you gain very little from having an altogether different brand of arranger in the end.

My BK-7m is relegated to being the hub of my jamming keytar rig, and a lot of fun in that scenario (though it’s killing me to lose my favorite guitars!) but no chord sequencer makes it almost useless as an arranger to me.

Gig your BK-9 in a hard plastic case, take good care of it, keep it out of bright hot direct sunlight, even beach gigs don’t hurt it….

Diki, would you please provide me with the link to that BK9 for $800, I can't find it in here?

It wasn’t offered here, just a member reported what he had paid in a private sale. Just keep your eyes open. Deals happen from time to time…

I found a Roland Prelude 61 keys for $400, one button from the Tone selection (performance buttons ) is missing, but still works if you use the data wheel. It has USB, 128 polyphony.

Is it worth buying it? I'll have to fix that button, it was probably pushed all the way inside the case, it might still be in there, unless it's broke.

We're starting to get away from your original question. The Prelude is an odd duck. It lacks the features of it's predecessor the E-50 (at a much lower price point.) It's almost like it was designed by a different team of programmers, out of step with Roland's usual product release cycle. I would guess that current draw is low enough to run on batteries. It has a decent sound set and Roland's excellent, highly logical chord recognition. It also has a fairly small form factor as arrangers go (but not feather light like the newest Casio's.) I don't believe that many were sold so it's hard to say what a fair price would be.

The Prelude has an on-board 16-track sequencer whereas the BK-5 does not. Except for that, the BK-5 is probably a little better in every other way. Maybe Diki or someone that owns one can add more.

It seems we have returned to a sense of urgency about buying something new! Question is, do you REALLY need something? My guess would be, no…

As I said, why do you actually need another keyboard? My advice would be, if you are looking for inspiration, try to find it in your own playing, not equipment. That is a far more long-term solution, and a lot less expensive to boot!

But if you are determined to hook two arrangers together, I definitely would not waste my time hooking up two of the same brand. They will sound too similar. If you MUST get some thing, you were on the right track. Either a Korg or a Yamaha, something with a completely different sound and completely different styles…

But personally, I have no idea why you want anything more than just the BK9. It does everything! And it certainly sounds a damn sight better than a Prelude..!

My guess is, whatever device he posted to this forum on could run a FAR better sequencer than anything in the Prelude (or the BK-9!). To be quite honest, I'm astonished that anyone nowadays uses any built in keyboard sequencer.

But if you ARE running a sequencer on a gig for SMF's, chalk one more up to the BK-9 over the Prelude or BK-5, which can put up to four Markers in an SMF and allow you to freely restructure your song on the fly. I find that incredibly handy, and only wish the BK-9 could do the same with audio (it can't, even using the Key Audio triggered by a sequence track... there is a tiny delay before an audio clip gets triggered, enough to throw off the timing a hair).

But I do my sequencing on a computer, have since the Atari days in the 90's, and wouldn't use a built-in if you paid me!