For me, I am quite comfortable playing a guitar in front of an audience and singing through a quality mic and sound system, something I did regularly when I was much younger.

However, the arranger keyboard offered me far more versatility than I could have ever dreamed of with a guitar. It allows me to confidently perform country, big band, jazz, rock, and even some classical music and smoothly transition from one song to the next, leaving minimal dead time between songs and keeping the dance floors packed. The styles provided me with high quality, professional sounds that made it easy to provide my audiences with songs they were familiar with, and also those they requested from time to time. If I was familiar with the requested song, it only took a couple seconds to call up a suitable style, complete with a good intro, and a variety of right hand instruments that sounded very realistic. Granted, the audiences were aware I was not playing a guitar, sax, fiddle, etc..., but in reality, they didn't really care - they were just having fun and enjoying the musical entertainment that I, and my arranger keyboard, provided at the time.

Now, would they have enjoyed it just as much if I were doing Karaoke and DJing? I don't think so. But this just my assessment of the audiences at the time. And, as stated above by our illustrious host, the arranger allows me the ability to either cut a song short when I see the audience is not responding the way I wish, or extend it if they are late getting on the dance floor. Can't do that with an midi file or MP3. This is the kind of flexibility that an arranger offers in so many ways and I, for one, have utilized this ability hundreds of time.

OK Chas, we've show you ours, now show us yours. Why do YOU play an arranger keyboard?

All the best,

Gary