I completely agree... it IS more than just an arranger. But it is also LESS.

Kudos to the other side of things... of COURSE it is far beyond modern arrangers, stuff they don't have, and probably never will. BUT.... as a straight ahead arranger, supposed to sound great OOTB, great styles and sounds, inspiring grooves, well, there it doesn't quite match up, IMO. Little in the way of inspiration is supplied. You have to go out, find it, buy it and install it, and develop styles for it all by yourself.

Best of luck....

I guess I'm just another lazy American, but I like the instrument to inspire ME, and then, when I've got the time, I'll develop my own stuff too. Not HAVE to develop it all yourself, or you are going to have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. From the complete lack of any plethora of user MS demos of quality, let's just say I have a feeling that not many of YOU are really getting into custom sound and style development, either.

Or, at least, eager to let anyone hear the results of your efforts. Curious...