I fully agree with Donny. It would take one Hell of a lot of technical work to exceed what we now have to work with. Granted, there are performers out there, and a lot of them right on this forum, that make me look like I don't have any musical skills whatsoever, but as I sit here this afternoon, looking at the deep snow outside my office window and hoping for some manmade global warming to get here before I freeze to death, I'm at the age where I'm confident the keyboard I currently own sounds better than anything I could have dreamed of two decades ago when I was first introduced to arrangers. I'm constantly amazed by the wonderfully realistic sounds that it provides and how easy it makes being an entertainer. On Friday, a lady came up to me and asked if I could play song done by Ray Charles and Willie Nelson - Seven Spanish Angels. I had never performed the song before, but I have heard it while playing a Willie Nelson CD in my van while driving to and from various jobs. I had the lyrics in both my head, and in the laptop, fired up the keyboard, selected a style, hit the intro and did the song. I hit the S-950's USB Recorder button just prior to hitting the style intro, figuring I would listen to what I did and see if it was worthwhile doing again and where I could make some improvements. These alone are incredible tools that now make being an entertainer with an arranger keyboard much more fun and productive.

When I played back the recording, I quickly realized I hit a couple bad chords, but was able to quickly recognize and correct the mistakes before anyone but me noticed. The lady I performed the song for absolutely loved it and gave me a big hug and kiss at the end of the job. Attached is the recording I made on the job.

Seven Spanish Angels

Now, I fully realize my limitations as a musician. On this forum, I'm probably the least musically talented person and not afraid to admit this is likely the case. My musicianship skills are very basic, but as an entertainer who is primarily a singer, that's all I really need to get the job done. For more than a half-century I've been able keep my audiences entertained, and for the past two decades, the arranger keyboard has provided me with some of the most amazing technology that anyone could ask for. So, as Donny said, if they stopped making arranger keyboards today, I have all I need to continue as an entertainer/musician for the rest of my life.

Cheers,

Gary