Funny thing is, you don't see horn players changing horns every year (at least, not the good ones!), or guitarists and bassists (once they get a TOTL one or two)... Drummers rarely ever go 'there's a new version of my kit with a couple of upgraded features, I GOT to trade up again!', and singers will use the same mike until it rusts!

Why is it that we keyboard players (especially arranger users) seem locked into this eternal incremental upgrade path? Take our respective magazines, for instance... Most guitar magazines are full of TAB transcriptions and exercises, and artist interviews. Keyboard magazines are primarily equipment and software reviews, with little (comparatively) in the way of instruction.

Perhaps we have all become just a little TOO impressed by the keyboard's abilities, and hence less concerned with our own. I think the 'Spock' references get it totally backwards. Those of us that eschew constant upgrading in favor of stability and the opportunity to concentrate on the MUSIC, not the arranger's technology, are the ones that are more 'human'...

Put a Strat and a Twin Reverb in the hands of any good guitarist, and he's probably content for decades. I don't think it's a 'guy thing'. Sorry for the hard line here, but I think it's a 'laziness thing'. Rather than work hard to improve OURSELVES, we purchase a newer, slightly better-sounding (or probably, more just a different sounding) arranger, and try to persuade ourselves that it is US who got better.

Same licks, different sound.... Not what I would call 'improvement'.

Sure, every ten years or so, technology moves along to the point where sonically and expressively (and those are the main things to be a musical instrument, not OS things, in general) keyboards are just SO better that upgrading is a good thing. But once a year... twice a year (you know who you are!), even once every couple of years (or each product cycle), and you are quite possibly using the novelty to fool yourself that it's YOU who got better.

Stay on the same arranger for eight, ten years or so, and you will KNOW it's you who improved (if it happens!).