Much of the realism you hear from an arranger keyboard comes from the sounds that were tweaked, tuned and created by the manufacturer. The next, and probably most important part of the equation, however, is the player. I know several performers who use mid range and TOTL keyboards and sound systems who couldn't produce realistic sounds from an arranger if their lives depended upon it. I also know performers such as Don Mason, Jerry Burns, Julio (in California) and several others that can work the keyboard's touch sensitivity, expression pedal and pitch bend wheel with such effectiveness that if you close your eyes you could NOT tell whether they were playing the real instrument or an arranger keyboard.

Sure wish I had those magic fingers,

Gary