so I go into my local guitar center and
as I enter I start messing with a korg tritan I think it was... the salesman says your very lucky
we have a rep from korg in here today who can answer all your questions.. so my first question was do u have any arranger keyboards??? like the pa-50 or the pa 1x pro and he answers no this guitar center only carries pro keyboards not arrangers...hmm it kinda implied that arranger keyboards should be found in the toy section of major dept stores...
he caught himself after the fact and kinda mumbled i mean arrangers are pro keyboards to but u could kinda see the attitude..

Anyways today I found a big guitar center on Sunset strip in hollywood that actually carries the korg 76 key pa-1x pro and from what I heard, if its a toy its a very sweet sounding and powerful one..

That is the US opinion of arrangers, I feel. No matter what the cost, features, etc. arrangers are always considered toys. Maybe that's because we don't have as many one man bands. Whatever the reason, even the 9000Pro, G70 and PA1xPro can't seem to garner the respect of the non keyboard music community.

Don't let that Korg rep downgrading arranger keyboards bother you. There is a negative stereo type arrangers have had for years (that really stems back to the 1980's). Yamaha and Casio were huge in the 80's and even the 90's and they dominated what a lot of us then called the "cheese" department. Although some of the arrangers were toys and designed specifically for the novicer or beginner, there were upper end arrangers. Today professional arrangers have really taken a turn. Boards like the Yamaha Tyros, Korg PA series, and Roland V or the new G series have really broke the barrier.

Too many people today still feel that if a keyboard has speakers and preset styles it's a toy. As many of us know--this is not the case. Even the makers themselves prefer to keep a fine line between their own keyboards. Look at Yamaha. They had the PSR-9000, then released a speakerless 76 key version and added the word (pro) to the name. Korg did the same thing with the PA1X Pro. Some professional arrangers are just as good as synths today. Yamaha even started carrying over signature voices like sweet, cool and live to their Motif series (voices that came from the arranger line).

Squeak

I am sorry to say, most sales people that work in music stores-chains like GC, do not have a clue of the power of the arrangers, most of the time are kids with no experience, is easy out for them to down play a product that they are to lazy to get involved, or to even try, thank God there are stores like George Key´s, Dan Oneal´s, and in Phoenix, AZ (where I work, Guitar & Keyboard City) and a few more.
We have 3 stores, and even then , only in the main store, my co-worker Juan Miguel and I, are the only ones that more or less, know the arrangers, also the product reps, seldom are up to date in the arranger area.
Is most likely for us, to tell them what´s going on. I hope this improves in the near future for ALL the stores, reps and give more sales training to those "kids".

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mdorantes

Personally, I hope the ignorance and bias continue. You don't know how many bands come to my jobs and have no idea what I'm doing. All they know is that I'm working and they are NOT. Some of them ask what I'm playing, or if it's a Motif or Karma or whatever. I tell them it's an exotic, high-end computerized keyboard hand-made in Italy and totally customized for my use.
And that's the truth.
DonM

About a week and a half ago, I was pleasantly surprised at a GC sales rep.

When I asked him if he knew about the Tyros he said yes. He did not sound condescending about it at all. In fact, he said he was impressed with the sounds on that board. He said he was trying to get a Tyros and possibly a PSR 3000 in his store.

Some one came in to the store with it and did not know how to operate it. Because he was familiar with Yamaha’s OS he said he was quickly able to figure the Tyros out. He said it was very easy to use.

A few years ago, there was an outfit called MARS (Music And Recording Studios) in our area. They had more stuff than anyone could have imagined, including keyboards. The folks working there mainly consisted of younger folks that really didn't have a clue about the operating systems of keyboards, synths, midi, you name it. Additionally, the display models were virtually destroyed by children who were permitted by both their unconcerned parrents, and uncaring store employees who allow the kids to pound on the keys and switches with their fists. I believe the chain may have been owned by Sam Ashe Music, but I'm not sure about this. At any rate, they were out of business in just a few years. Ironically, most of the smaller stores are still around, and when you go into Keyboard City or visit George Kay, you'll encounter individuals who know the keyboards inside and out--that's why I deal with them instead of GC.

Gary

I bought my SD1, used, from DanO a few months ago. Last week, out of the clear blue sky, he sent me some style disks. See if GC will do that!
DonM