I know of a guy, singer in a local band, startred doing sequences on a technics that he bought used. Not a keyboard player, not a guitar player, just a singer. Knew nothing about computers or keyboards or anything.
Anyhow he would pick a song, load a disk, change the key, take out the lead vocal part and perform the song. Next song, first he would decide on the next song,take out disk, find new disk, put in new disk, change the key, take out the lead vocal and perform the song.
Then he would swap disks again......you get the picture, couldn't understand why people weren't blown away by the sound, and hiring him 7 nights a week.
All the decent solo entertainers around here a guitar players that use mp3's as backup. They may sequence them themselves in BiaB or on an arranger.