I think that some companies, like Ketron, use professional musicians to record their styles and I think that, whenever possibile, they use their everyday instruments. For example, I am sure that they use real guitarists with midi-guitars and drummers with drum pads that trigger midi notes. I think that for editing purposes they use a computer sequencer like Cubase or Cakewalk or whatever. The difference with what we can do is that they use professionals that play the same kind of stuff every day, sometimes even in recording studios. I think also that they use different kind of musicians for different kind of styles. This approach is maybe more expensive than others, but in the end is what makes the difference.
_________________________
Korg Kronos 61 and PA3X-Pro76, Roland G-70, BK7-m and Integra 7, Casio PX-5S, Fender Stratocaster with Fralin pickups, Fender Stratocaster with Kinman pickups, vintage Gibson SG standard.