I own both an arranger and a workstation, along with many soft synths and sample sets. Perhaps I'm no budding Wendy Carlos, but I am a capable player.

I can assure you that the Motif ES is far from being useless for playing in real time. In fact, it's almost become a must have for me whether I play out solo, as half of a duet with a guitarist, or in a band. No arranger I've ever heard can give me close to the quality of sax voices I can get from the ES and the VL card, or allow me to warp a synth sound in real time like I can with the Es and the AN150 or a vsti plug in.

By far I get my best audience response when I sing and play "acoustic" numbers using just the ES or a quality vsti / sample set. The audience seems to recognize that it's just me and the instrument, no additonal backing, and it works. It's real, and I think it shows, probably just from my expressions alone.

I can also add a drum rythym in real time and even change it on the fly with relative ease on the ES, while playing left handed bass and comping or soloing with my right.

As far as a studio use is concerned, I could never rate any arranger as being as useful or important to a studio musician as a dedicated synth or workstation is, providing the user can play keys.

Although it isn't as simple as Diki puts it, I do agree with the idea. Whether we use a midi sequence or an arranger for backing ( I use both with no remorse ), it IS artificial, in that we are reproducing certain parts of a band that we aren't playing in real time. That doesn't mean it's easy to do with an arranger, or that it doesn't take a good deal of talent to pull it off and make it sound just right. On the contrary, trying to control the accompaniment while singing and playing with the right hand in real time( or both hands in full kb mode ), and being entertaining all at the same time can be busy work, and it ain't easy.

As far as your original q Squeak, I think many valid points were made here already. Volume of sales being a big one, along with specialized features .... styles and time spent programming, vocalizers, pattern sequencer that responds to chord changes, etc.

AJ