chas ... a friend of mine who is an excellent sax player knew that he was going to lose his 9 - 5 due to 'downsizing' at the 'ripe old age' of 52 years ... fortunately, he had a year to prepare ... he did all the usual stuff to try to get another job but he was in a 'young persons' profession - computer graphics design ... he decided to augment his free lance graphics income by playing gigs, so along with some sax work with bands etc. he began studying piano really earnestly and got to the point where he could do solo gigs on piano or arranger at restaurants, CCs etc. AND he also did a fair amount of NH gigs as well ... he's NOT a vocalist, so I asked him how playing solo instrumentals was working at NHs and he said it was fine ... and apparently it was, because he did that for quite a while ...
While WE (those of us on SZ who play them quite a bit) each have our own 'shtick'/delivery/style/whatever, the bottom line for NHs is that these people want to be entertained, and if you are entertaining as a solo instrumentalist, you will get work also ...

Now as for the 'hysteria' over a new TOTL KB, I put that in the same place I put the hysteria over a new iPhone - "It's NEW, so it MUST be BETTER, so I HAVE TO have it" ...

BTW ... I have no idea as to why you don't think you have the skill set to play an arranger ?!?

No, no Tony. I can play the arranger just fine (even enjoy it occasionally; just not nearly as much as playing my Organ (KeyB Duo Mk111). I meant that I can't (don't) sing, am extremely mike shy, and just don't have that 'entertainer' type personality. For those that do, I think it's every bit as much of a talent (maybe more) than playing an instrument.

chas

I agree to some extent, Chas. For me, and many of the entertainers I know, both those doing the NH circuit and those doing the clubs, without good, high-quality vocals you're essentially out of business. When Sinatra performed with the Count Basie Band, the audiences didn't come to watch the band play - they came to hear Sinatra sing. That said, there are orchestras that I love to watch perform, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Dorsey Brothers Band, U.S. Navy Band, U.S. Army Band, they're incredible musicians as well as entertainers. The venues these guys play are sold out six months in advance and the tickets are not cheap.

Audiences worldwide want to be entertained, and a great vocalist is usually a great entertainer as well. Sammy Davis Jr., Rascal Flats, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Jimmy Buffett, Karen Carpenter, Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, they were and some still are, great entertainers and singers. Most people could care less about the band that backs them - vocals have always ruled. Great musicians can be found throughout the world, but great singers who are also entertainers are a rare commodity indeed. So, I contend that if you are a good to excellent vocalist you can make a good living in the OMB business, even if you cannot play worth a damned - I should know!

Now, as you know, Chas, I waited more than a decade to upgrade from my PSR-3000, an instrument that served me very well during that period. I never considered upgrading with the S900, S-910 or newer Tyros series became available, simply because I didn't consider them to be beneficial to what I do. I did upgrade a few months ago to the S-950 because it had some outstanding, new features that would prove beneficial, and wouldn't hinder my performances or increase dead time between songs. And, it sounds one Hell of a lot better than the 3000. And, there have been several occasions where audience members asked if I had a new keyboard. So, I guess they do actually notice those backing sounds, but as was stated above, no one ever comes up to you and says they loved the way you played a particular song on the keyboard, but they frequently comment about the vocal performances. At least that has been my experience over the years, even when I played a guitar as a solo player/singer in a smoke-filled country bar.

I only wish I were 50 years younger, had the knowledge I currently enjoy, and had just half the playing skills of Captain Russ, Chas, DonM, Uncle Dave, and some of our members from across the ponds. Who knows, if this were the case, I might have been successful enough to buy a bigger boat. But alas, I live with the cards I've been dealt, work nearly every day in a trade that many people only dream of.

Cheers,

Gary

Gary ... I find it interesting that my experience has been the opposite of yours, in that no one this year has asked if I got a new KB (maybe the KORG doesn't sound better or different than my technics - although I KNOW it sounds different, and some sounds, like the sax, are not as good), and I have on a number of occasions been complimented on an instrumental ...

Tony, I don't have your playing skills, therefore, it's my vocals that I rely on primarily. Yeah, I play some instrumentals, Last Date, polka medley, and several others, and I do them pretty darned well, but my vocals are my strong point. I think the audiences noticed the new sounds of the S-950 when I performed many of the songs that I previously performed on the 3000 - they really sounded different because of the improved instrument sounds.

Gary

People I played for, or with, on a regular basis were more likely to notice a change in my keyboard...also other keyboard players.

I think a lot would depend on what you used as your primary solo instrument on the arranger...for quite some time now, the main piano sound on all arrangers has been excellent, so if you played mostly piano licks behind your vocals or used it mainly on instrumentals, I doubt if someone would notice a change.

However, guitar and wind sounds only became dramatically better in the last few years, so a new keyboard may be more noticeable if you tend to use those sounds as well.

Ian

I also agree with Chas...As for so called "upgrading"...it isn't always the upgrade we think we are getting...Personally when I have a tool that does what I want and need it to do.....I don't shop for another..

Another point...I cringe at being labeled an "arranger player"...not even close...I happen to use an arranger keyboard as my choice of tools...It happens to be the best instrument..second to none for any musician that is open minded to try one..

The same musicians that will get a drum machine, and splitable keyboard for bass and piano....Arranger keyboards do not mean you have to use all the style parts, pads, whistles and alarm clocks...Use what you need...you are still playing music your way...

Well said Fran. You have nailed it on all counts.

And there is no reason arranger functionality couldn't be added to all workstation keyboards. It requires no special technology at all, it is only the onboard software. And workstations have plenty of buttons onboard that could be used for arranger control. It is simply economics that manufacturers keep arrangers and workstations separate to create 2 distinct markets. Though I am sure if Yamaha added Tyros functionailty to the Motif for every Tyros sale they lost they would gain another Motif sale. Plus it would add a lot of market appeal to the Motif as well. I guess the only difference is simply the labelling of the buttons. But that could even be overcome with multifunction labelling or clear overlays. Just a thought anyway.

Hey that is not to say that upgrading can be a good thing. Of course better technology is always a plus. But it really isn't always that important to your performance. While it is beneficial to you as a performer your audience often will never notice the difference because they are more focused on the performer than the hardware.

Bottom line is, is ANYONE here making a living playing ONLY instrumentals? Sure, it's fine to do a few in your set, or evening, but try playing the whole night like that, see if your crowd drops or swells... (might be embarrassing if it swelled! LOL)

Sure, play something ELSE (guitar, sax, ocarina!) and the audience has something to look at, but play an evening doing the sax solo on the arranger... meh! Boooooorrrrriiiinnnnggggggg.

But, OTOH (you know I use two, don't you?!), let's not forget the most demanding, pickiest person in your audience...

YOU!

Hopefully, you hold your act to higher standards than your audience. And hopefully, you always want to push yourself harder, reach higher, achieve more... And that is the RIGHT reason to go for new gear from time to time. But there's a warning on the label... DON'T do it unless the new gear does something RADICALLY better. Don't waste your money on a few gewgaws and little else. Don't buy into the hype, don't let amazing demonstrators blind you, don't be a 'me too' buyer.

Find something in the feature set that makes you go 'I GOTS to have that! That will make a radical difference, that will allow me to do stuff I've NEVER done before'. And don't do it until you feel you have used at least 90% of the stuff on your OLD arranger. WAY too many ditching old gear for new long before they have mastered the current one, long before they have tried all the stuff that made them want it in the first place.

Let's be honest here... how many of us with a sampler in our arrangers doesn't actually USE IT? How many never touch the style editing? How many have dropped Markers into an SMF? And then rearranged an SMF on the fly?

Use what you have fully before you move on...