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Diki said: "Arrangers and SMFs are a VERY poor substitute for a good real band, even from the performer's view, unless you HAVEN'T played live lately. Don't forget what 'live' really means�"
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Diki, aren�t you the same guy who is always asking for the return of the ARPEGIATOR? What�s that say? You would actually play a solo while the �board was belting out some mechanical chord sequence?

Regarding live playing - we all agree. I doubt there is anyone on this board who would scoff at the opportunity to play with a (good) live 5-6 piece band to �rock the joint�. The REALITY of it is, that nearly everything these days is singles or duos. If you were the owner of a club and you had a choice between a 5 piece band at (let�s be minimally fair to them!) $600.00 or a single guy with talent who uses an arranger that sounds (very much) like a 5-piece band (for, let�s say $200), what would you choose? And before you say "The 5-piece live band would draw a bigger crowd", remember that if they did produce bigger crowds they'd be commanding a lot more than $600. The sheer number of weddings using DJs is clear evidence of the transition in entertainment.


I�ve worked with dozens of bands. And few of them (except for the touring groups) are tight because they don�t rehearse that often (they REFUSE TO because there aren�t enough gigs paying at least $600!). On the other hand, a talented guy (and I profess that most people using arrangers ARE musically inclined) can woodshed his tunes and we don't have to worry about guys not showing for rehearsals or performances. He (and I) invest our valuable time woodshedding because we have been there and experienced the bass man showing late or the drummer wrecking his car or the guitar picker being arrested for hitting his wife or selling cocaine, or the sax man quitting because he�s getting a divorce. And I say woodshedding because only a fool would choose to expose himself to the pressure of the crowd and management if he had no ability to actually �play� the keyboard.

There is a level of professionalism and predictability with an arranger. You can always count on the sound (albeit mechanical in some ways) being there. But much of the mechanical aspect can be overcome by inflecting our own "live touch" into the music.

Last time I checked, this was the �GENERAL ARRANGER KEYBOARD FORUM�. We ARE arranger enthusiasts. And the majority of us, I�m sure, will remain very enthusiastic about them.

R/I