Originally posted by to the genesys:
So we are back to the point that if arrangers are that easy to use, why don’t a lot more live gigging musicians use arrangers? If the G70 is very easy to use (and I am not disputing that), why don’t a lot more people use it for live playing?
An arranger and workstation can both be used either in a band or in a one man band set-ups.
Regardless of what the answer is, it comes down to personal preference.
Arrangers may be integrated with a drum machine onboard and a variety of sounds, but some people still prefer to use a WS on the gig and use midi files, a drum machine and may be 2 or 3 keyboards.
One person’s priority may be very different from another’s.
Likewise, although an open keyboard may integrate a home studio and a live gig set-up, some persons may prefer to keep every thing separate and never mix studio sounds with live gig sounds.
OH and when I mentioned the Motif xs, I was referring to a type of power user of keyboards and not that the person has to have a workstation and wants to add a open arranger.
Well, for one thing, few enough of us even want to use a G70 as an arranger, because of the weight
And, for most musicians, they never even SAW a G70... they were sold (at least in the US) in Mom and Pop piano stores and not through regular MI music stores. And were incredibly rare even in those. Then you might also consider the snobbery of most keyboard players, who tend to dismiss arrangers as 'hobby' and home keyboards.
And then finally, there is the same issue that affects open keyboard fanboys... the thought that something that 'potentially' has much greater capabilities than a simple keyboard MUST be better for live use
Oh, and someone that has bought a MoXS is no more a 'power' user of keyboards than someone with an open keyboard (I've heard users of both suck royally!
But I've heard a lot of arranger users suck too. Plenty of sucking to go around
). It all depends on HOW WELL the keyboard suits the task, and how difficult the keyboard makes it to achieve the task.
The main difference I see between arrangers and WS's is the priority they give to making contemporary pop music. Arrangers tend to lean towards acoustic and older synth styles, WS's tend towards hiphop and modern dance musics. One is more loop oriented, one is more classic pop and jazz structure oriented (fills, intros, etc.).
But both are focused towards a goal. The open keyboard, by its' very nature, seems a master of nothing. There is a LOT more to a keyboard than just its' sounds. But so far, most open keyboards consider the hosting of the sounds their main priority, and leave an easy to operate OS in the hands of the VSTi designers, who by and large design VSTi's with a slant towards studio flexibility, NOT live ease of use.
I don't begrudge anyone their own choice in what they use, and FOR THEM, it may indeed be the best thing ever. But I have gotten VERY weary of listening to the uncritical fanboy gushings of those that assume that, because 'potentially', an open keyboard OUGHT to be the 'one ring to rule them all', it already IS.
Enlighten me, genesys... Which open keyboard are YOU using these days? Would you gig live on it, as your sole keyboard..? Would you even DARE to go to a pickup gig without knowing what you might be asked to do with an open keyboard?
Do you even OWN an open keyboard?
Previous Topic
Index
