The reason I need 76 keys for my arranger keyboard is because I'm starting to do a duo with a female singer. When you accompany a singer, you need the full range of the keyboard for left hand bass without having to use the Octave Shift. I just can't seem to feel inspired with 61 keys doing accompanyment. Why the heck did they invent an 88 key piano in the first place? For full orchestrations with the Piano, that's why.

With that said, I just love my fully weighted 88 key Yamaha Motif ES keybed. It allows me to be more expressive. Ok, the Motif is 65 lbs and not a treat to move around, so I'd be willing to compromise on 76 keys with semi-weighted keys.

The other issue with this size keybed on an arranger is there is more room for keyboard splits. I'd like to split the keyboard 3 ways; bass, chords, solo voices. This would save me from so many patch changes during a song.