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cgiles Offline
Senior Member

Registered: September, 29 2005
Posts: 4658
Loc: Roswell,GA/USA
My take is that very few combined-function/swiss-army-knife devices (of ANY sort) perform as well as a separately developed dedicated device performing the same function. Sure, you can put a hammer head or saw on the end of a screwdriver but nobody would buy it, simply because it is simply not as good as it's single-function counterpart.

Arrangers (and Workstations) will continue to evolve because developers are constantly trying to create the 'perfect' arranger (or workstation). If arranger-functions were merely a 'feature' on some 'Master do-it-all keyboard', it probably wouldn't get the same level of R&D. Let's face it; Arranger players want the ultimate ARRANGER, and Workstation players want the ultimate WORKSTATION, and never the twain shall meet. Also, what Donny said; it's probably way more profitable to keep them seperate. Trust me, the corporations know what they're doing (marketing wise). JMO, though.

chas “

I respectfully disagree with you Chas. The reality of the situation is that most musicians do not fall at the extreme ends of either group. Most musicians actually fall somewhere in the middle. For example most arranger players use probably 30% -50 percent of the arranger features even though you can do so much more in terms of actual performance related style playing. And most workstation please probably use a similar percentage of their workstation keyboard. Most do not know how to design sounds from scratch and can only tweak or buy professional sounds and import them .

In general all musicians simply want to use the tools available to them to get the job done to a reasonable standard. No one is trying to paint a picaso or craft the most perfect musical production that can be crafted on one keyboard like a record ready production.

. However they do want to be able to make great music relatively easily , authentic in every way when desired, or quick rough and ready when the circumstances demand it

. And most working musicians will take sigle , duo and band or studio work if your skills are up to it.

Why then would they not desire one keyboard that could cover all bases reasonably well?

There is a reason why the Swiss Army knife is a world renowned name in most cultures everywhere but only a handful of people can name a specific type of blade like the Bowie knife or Stanley knife or scalpel let alone how to use them properly .

There is more ignorance amongstkeyboard players about strangers than any other instrument . Just look how hard it has been to define the difference between a “true”” workstation and a “arranger “ workstation.