Just some observations relating to the Korg Karma, which I use as a sort of arranger alternative.

The KorgKarma Yahoo Group had been growing at an average rate of about 100 members per month since its founding on February 4, 2001. It reached a peak of 1528 late last month (May, 2002). The present membership is 1483, a net drop of 45 (~3%) in the last week.

Members are not explaining why they are leaving the group. I suspect that one reason is a failure to meet promised dates for an updated OS 2.0 and a GE ("style") editor. These were originally promised for April, with May as an outside date. Also, the editor that is to be released "soon" is a crippled version--working only with a Karma keyboard attached-effectively using the keyboard as a large hardware dongle.

An second factor maybe regional promotion schemes. Korg USA creates promotions, e.g., promising free expansion cards or software to people who purchase Karma Keyboards within a specific time frame. I do not know how much well these promotions boost sales, but they sure cause a lot of bad feeling among group members who bought their Karma Keyboards too early or who live outside the USA.

A third factor is that Karma capabilities are being found in new places. The Karma Keyboard is often used with an external sequencer to assist composition. However, the external sequencers (notably Cakewalk Sonar 2.0 and Cubase SX) are beginning to sport Karma-like capabilities. For computer-centric composers it can be more convenient to generate MIDI effects from within a sequencer than using an attached keyboard.

I can think of other factors that might be contributing to this decline. A few months ago, there was a deliberate pruning of the group membership, after which growth resumed. So this decline might be a prelude to further growth, an indication that the Karma has filled its niche, or the beginning of an ongoing decline. In any event, I felt this decline should be noted, and safer here than there.