I love arrangers. I respect arrangers. I respect SOME arranger players.

I also love bands. I respect other musicians, even if they can't play a keyboard! I respect that it takes immense talent to play a guitar sound, or a sax sound on a keyboard, and make them actually sound like a guitar or a sax, where they have no problem at all! I respect that they often bring something to the table I can't, by myself.

There are some here that don't feel that way. A little humility would go a long way, but I guess, if you can't tell that the arranger is a very poor substitute for talented musicians, there's little point in going much further. I find it telling that there are FAR more videos put up here of real acts than arranger playing. Perhaps, at a subconscious level, we all realize that, no matter how fancy and technological these things get, they are still a very pale shadow of a GOOD band.

And trust me, there are plenty of talentless people with huge egos that end up being jerks and divas... it isn't simply restricted to the great players! But, if I gots to work with a jerk, I'd rather he played well! I guess, if there's one difference here, it might be that one. I'd still rather play with a talented jerk than a soulless machine. Now, of course, I don't always get that option, and thank God the arranger is there to bail me out!

But given a choice...