The Riff mode is more of a novelty then of any real practical use. (You certainly wouldn’t want to let it run on its own for long, as contrary to what you might think it becomes very monotonous)
I think using arranger/stlye based keyboards can be monotonous, probably why some people/musicians put a negative spin on these type of keyboards in the 1st place...
What's interesting about Ketron keyboards is the real time navigation of their products. Navigation is one issue that no one talks about much, but to me the ability to save changes to styles,sounds,effects and have them all saved instantly,without registrations, is what makes Ketron my favorite.
I have set up a program that has the keyboard split in 4 different parts, I can fill in to a riff, select the "pianist mode" and select my "program" and solo with 4 different instruments in real time ... that's 4 seperate instruments - spread out over the 5 octaves of the keyboard.......
Dan O