The king of purchasing new keyboards within a day after they hit the market, was beyond any reasonable doubt, Donny Pesce (DNJ). Donny went through arranger keyboards faster than anyone I ever met. He is a very good player/musician and onstage entertainer. I have seen him perform, in person, on several occasions and he can keep a dance floor packed to capacity.

That said, we spent lots of time on the telephone together, going through the technical aspects of each keyboard he purchased, Yamaha, Korg, Roland, etc... and develop ways to use them effectively on stage. Even after mastering his new keyboard to a major degree, within weeks, and sometime within hours, he would send it back and go back to one of his older keyboards. Why did he do this?

The answer is quite simple - GAS (gear acquisition syndrome), which effects a large number of forum members. For me, Diki, Fran, and a few others, we tend to hang onto our aging keyboards until they begin to develop a fungal growth on the PC boards. wink Well, maybe not that long, but usually, a decade or more.

The reasoning behind this is we, as onstage entertainer/musicians, have mastered the operating system in such a way that we can transition from song to song in a matter of just one or two seconds. We tend to plan things well ahead and program our arranger keyboards to make this all possible with the least possibility of a hiccup.

Home players, on the other hand, do not have to worry about the problems of being on stage in front of an audience. They can take their time arranging and recording songs using a variety of onboard and external software and recording devices, then post their works on various forums of their choice.

Some claim they purchase a new arranger keyboard for the new styles. Ironically, those new styles will quickly be available for upload within a matter of weeks, converted to a format that makes them playable in your old keyboard. Granted, this is not always the case, but for the most part, it seems to be a valid point.

Others say they bought a new board because the voices are more realistic. The voices in your ancient keyboard are usually editable and for the most part, you can make them as realistic as you wish with very little effort using onboard software.

For me, I'll stick with my aging S-950, which has undergone a few button replacements, but for the most part, it has served me well for more than 2 decades.

So, why do you need a NEW arranger keyboard?

All the best,

Gary cool
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PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!

K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)