Hi Vic

I think and hope you are right about Roland. They have the XV-88 to base a 76-key arranger on. Just give us the XV soundset, JV and SRX slots, and hopefully a vocalizer, in a G-1000 package. Roland has the best expansion library available. I would lean toward Roland for this reason.

Korg, after all, has a 76-key Triton. Just add arranger functions. The Triton has both ROM slots and a MOSS expansion slot.

Yamaha has the expansion slots, mostly for other forms of synthesis. But how do you control the virtual acoustic synthesis on a PSR-9000Pro? I think Yamaha has some more thinking to do. However, Yamaha's emphasis on quality vocal harmony is well placed.

Technics apparently has one or more expansion slots. Not much of a library. The next model should be the KN-7000, maybe there will be a KN-7600 as well.

Solton is introducing a new 76-key model. As the company with the best styles, it remains a contender. But Solton must be nervous with the heavyweights moving into its pro-arranger niche.

GEM has great products, but needs something new, like an arranger version of the Equinox, or a version of the SK-760, 880, with lots of ROM, and plenty of solid-state memory for styles.

Casio has already joined the 76-key party at the low end. I think the 61-key MZ-2000 is an exciting entry into the high-middle range. How interested Casio is in the high end, I do not know.

It seems like there should be more news from Music Meese this year. What happened?