That's where I think we may be looking at it differently. I don't believe that an arranger is a workstation with additional features. At least not yet. The workstation has features that an arranger does not have and an arranger has features that a workstation does not have. So if a workstation cost $1800, an arranger should not cost twice that amount. Just because an arranger has styles (and those styles may be valuable to some persons) is no reason for arrangers to cost so much. The arpeggios and loops are just as valuable to workstation users as styles are to arranger players.And remember that a workstation has features that an arranger does not have for example, advance sequencer, and semi advance sampler. Arrangers and workstations are both comparable and thus there should not be that big price difference. Yes arguably they are for different uses, but that still does not justify the big price difference. See I think that arranger manufacturers are going around in circles. They are making arrangers for the people whom they think would be willing to pay the high price (as shown by comments in this thread) which is a very small percentage of the keyboard market. Then they say that the arranger market is very small so that is why they have to have these high prices. I don't know why they are not trying to expand their market. To me the two barriers to more people buying arrangers is the price and the lack of modern styles and sounds. But then again they probably don't want to do any thing to affect workstation sales. And, if people are willing to pay the high price for arrangers, they will just do it until they can not do it any more.
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TTG