I'd like a Pastrami sandwich with Meatballs on the side please. Oh, a small dinner salad as well and a diet Coke to top it off with. Thanks.. Are you sure this is the wrong place to order Fran? lol

Chas, Chuck, Charles, Charlie, uh.., hey dude! >> I can do that because that's my dad's name and with a name like Charles you take it from all sides right Chas? At least from me anyway...

As far as telling people where you stand as far as what you use your Arranger for e.g. home hobby, pro gigging, songwriting, etc. can be a little deceiving when proclaiming it to the masses in my opinion. Okay, so they know where you stand as far as your Arranger playing goes, but even these other sub groups who are not necessarily doing it as a profession or on a semi-professional level may still want and need (require) PRO level features on their Arranger(s). I think it goes beyond a group or sub group to that of a personal need that any particular keyboardist may require in his setup for his or her needs. Most people who I've talked to don't want their Arranger to sound like a tinker toy, or less than professional sounding for one, and two, if manufacturers were able to keep the weight down on a specific model(s) most people would want more than 61 keys, particularly when you realize the "standard" amount of keys on a 'real' Piano is 88 of course. 88 keys for an Arranger may be a problem for most keyboard manufacturers because of the overall weight factor (which the Big Three seem to have problems solving because all the 88 key keyboards, whether workstation OR arranger, always seem to weigh in at just under a metric ton. So you have 76 keys which is a compromise I admit (for piano parts anyway), but nevertheless considered more professional than your standard 61 key arranger because at least there are 15 extra keys with which the user can attempt to play piano parts with. As well as those 15 extra keys being used for other instrument voices where a lower or higher sound can be attained when needed. Of course you can do this with a 61 key arranger as well with the Octave shift feature but for Live use it would be impractical to say the least. That is yet another reason why 76 keys is considered a professional instrument because of its overall Live use functionality where you don't have to fiddle with extra buttons you just play it.

>> I don't know exactly where I'm going with all this but somehow 76 keys gets brought up a lot lately huh chas. But to summarize it succinctly: "there's more to a book than just its cover". And another as well: "Don't judge a book by its cover". Translation: Sub groups of Arranger players does not neccessarily shine a spotlight into their - i.e. 'his or her' playing needs or requirements. So telling people how you "ply your trade" so to speak, only scratches the surface of that person's real needs and requirements to fulfill those Arranger needs. And furthermore, in my opinion, given the choice, most keyboardists would want their instrument i.e. keyboard, to be considered a professional class instrument, regardless of his or her playing needs or group/sub-group.

How's that for being succinct? [img]http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/smile.gif[/img]

Best,
Mike

[This message has been edited by keybplayer (edited 05-18-2008).]