Perhaps they are starting to realize that loops of audio instruments playing, rather than drums (that only need ONE recording), don't have anywhere NEAR the flexibility of chord choices and inversions that MIDI instruments can provide...

The complete lack of ANY editing (you can't change the RECORDING of a major chord into a maj7th, nor an electric guitar into an acoustic, all easy on a MIDI arranger) is going to make these loops get stale pretty quickly, and the cost of making new sets of loops is going to make constant new styles pretty much a thing of the past.

I'm sorry, but apart from drums (and I STILL think the lack of easy editing and the ability to change drumkits make these suspect), I think this is a waste of R&D budget. It's not that the technology is too difficult, several software programs do it now, to varying degrees of success, but they all are Gigabyte sized libraries, beyond the capabilities of a non-streaming hardware keyboard. I don't think many who are clamoring for this technology have thought out the details...

And, even if it can be made to work, one thing that all of us take for granted is the ability to change the Tone that plays a part - want a brighter guitar instead of the one programmed into your style? Piece of cake on a MIDI arranger. Impossible on a recording. Want a brush kit instead of a rock kit? Impossible with a recording. Want a chord extension that the style maker didn't record (not enough memory to record them ALL)? Impossible with a recording.

Before too many manufacturers chuck themselves down this black hole of technology, perhaps they should just concentrate on making better multi-sample instruments, and chord lookup tables that behave appropriately for the instrument. Technologies like SA voices and guitar modes are the way of the future, not everybody playing back the same identical, limited set of audio loops.

Want to sound like EVERYBODY else? This audio loop arranger is the way to go...
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An arranger is just a tool. What matters is what you build with it..!