The one problem I have with offloading editing to computers and tablets is, how long will the software be supported? Your arranger will (with care!) still be working and making great music for 20-30+ years, but what are the odds that a) the software will be available, b) it will be updated to run on an 20-30 year newer OS, or c) you can find a working computer or tablet that is 20-30 years old and still working well?

Let’s say you want to sell your arranger after 15-20 years of service. Will the new owner be able to find the software and hardware to be able to do essential editing by then?

Tablets are even worse, with closed ecosystems. There is iPad software for the BK-9 that is no longer available because it was removed from the Apple Store. It stopped being available several years ago, not long after the BK-9 was discontinued… I have a current iPad, and I cannot get it.

Add to that, what are the odds a developer will continue to update a software to run on newer OS’s after the arranger is discontinued and newer ones use a different system? You MIGHT be able to keep an old computer working for 20 years to use the legacy software, but what happens if you sell the arranger? Throw in the computer for free?

I feel that essential editing capabilities MUST be included in the OS of the arranger itself, not left to the vagaries of an extremely volatile computer market.