It’s also interesting to note the change in preference for keybed. There was a time here you would get mocked for even wanting a decent plastic 76 action on a TOTL arranger let alone a PSR! ‘Too heavy, won’t fit in my car!’ ‘Who needs that many keys?!’ we heard them all…

The longest holdout were Yamaha, who stuck stubbornly to a 61 only for virtually the entire range including the TOTL. Now you can’t actually get a TOTL Yamaha with a 61..! Thing is, it’s not like there has been a serious changing of the guard when it comes to arrangers. Same 40 year olds who played them back in the day are the same 70 year olds playing them now! But the landscape has changed in what manufacturers are doing, 76’s are everywhere, and some 88’s have sprung up in the midline market.

What changed? Is it fewer of us still gigging, so weight and size no longer matter so much, or weight and size of 76’s is so much lower (a 25lbs drop from my G70 to the 76 note BK9!) that more of us are willing to gig one? I’m sure the manufacturers didn’t make the change without extensive market research…. But I would have bet 29 years ago, their market research said stick to 61’s.

In the meantime, there’s still some unwritten rule that only Korg defy that states no 88 will have full parity with a TOTL arranger. I guess some things never change! 🎹😂