VoiceofSpace,
I totally agree with you. Sometimes I feel that keyboard makers forget how important drums are. You could have a style for example that has great bass, piano, and other non percussive instruments, and those parts sound really good, but the drums always seem to lack punch. Something as simple as a really crappy snare can throw off the feel entirely to a song.

That's also been my BIGGEST gripe with so many arrangers. Even though some may have halfway decent drum samples, they always sound pre-programed and lack flavor or "life". It's the same way with pre-recorded bass lines in an arranger keyboard. They just don't have the level of "umph" in certain styles where it's needed to carry that particular style. I think these two tracks in a style alone (are dead give-a-ways to whether a song has been done on an arranger keyboard)

All my drum tracks are done with external gear. I use a Boss DR-3 and sometimes my Zoom MRT-3 for my drum tracks. The Boss has so much realism to the patterns, not to mention the "kits" just "kick ass" in my opinion compared to some arrangers.

Squeak

[This message has been edited by squeak_D (edited 10-01-2005).]