GlennGalen

Thanks pogo97, I could not have said it better myself than Anderton did. The Korg Pa4X can do all that. It can also import a standard MIDI file and make a style from it. All your sequenced stuff inside the Korg can be saved as a MIDI file. There is a USB connection from the Pa4X that makes its internal drive appear as a drive to the PC. I effortlessly move things between the Korg sequencer and the DAW (Sonar). I like to add soft synth pads, leads, and motion things on the DAW with Omnisphere 2. The sky is the limit in studio use of a Korg arranger (since that is the brand I am familiar with).

Thanks, Bob. And that is excellent advice about throwing in some non-backing track numbers to show off what you as a performer can do all alone

Very true. The audience has to see YOU doing the "main thing" live. Backing tracks create a wonderful sonic experience *if they are not the center of attention*. How do you do that? It's not just about volume. It's about complexity of the backing when there is only a single person on stage. It becomes incongruent when they see one woman or guy performing and hear a 15-piece band. Interestingly, you can get away with it for a BIG song now and then. But mostly, a solo person should stick with a small rhythm section, with a non-intrusive pad. You can do a LOT with that. Also, with guitar players they can see your hands. Keyboard players should sit sideways so they can see you playing. Maybe even have a camera and a TV monitor where that can see "over your shoulder". You have to be energetically "making music" before their eyes if you want a great "live show". But I am a big believer in backing tracks, well used.

Bottom line here: How enjoyable is your "sound" for the audience? Is it primarily about your technical skill? Or is it about their enjoyment? My non-musician wife, she says that she cannot tell during a live show if what a musician is doing is hard to play or not. She cannot tell how "skilled" they are, only how it all "sounds" to her. A state of the art arranger today has backing tracks made by pro studio musicians and arrangement people. The only "cheesy" backing tracks are the old legacy backing styles they always include for compatibility with much older models. I never use those. In my experience, an arranger is a truly unique instrument. It is like a backing track you and "play" and conduct in real time. I bit like a looper as well, but much more sophisticated. The possibilities are limited only by your skill and imagination. You can go SO FAR beyond simple arrangements, if you have the ability and the vision.

They are commonly used for solo acts in Europe and the Middle East. It's very satisfying to improvise and change chord progressions, tempos, add breaks and fills on the fly, live. You really feel like you are leading the band, rather than playing over a track.

I have a Korg Pa4X arranger keyboard. I am truly impressed by this instrument. It is light years beyond the simple "retirement home waltzes and ballroom dance standards" that we in America tend to associate with arranger keyboards. I understand that in Europe arrangers are huge for live solo acts. The accompaniment is professional and not "cheesy". It is in 4 variations on 8 tracks and with sliders so each style can be adjusted to as simple or as complex as you like. If you want the focus to be on you and your singing and playing, you can do that. There is a built-in TC Helicon harmonizer and compressor/effects unit whose settings can be saved with your customized songs. There is also two built-in MIDI player and MP3 players. The audio out runs through an adjustable Waves-brand processor that really makes it sound great. Anyone here using it successfully for solo gigs? Tell me about it. I am really wanting to work out something original and entertaining with this keyboard / MP3 / Midi player setup. Myself on the PA4x straight out of the keyboard to the recorder, doing my take on the Beach Boys song "Til I Die": Finally, here's a song where the Pa4X provided the essential bed and rhythm tracks, and I sweetened it up with some pads from a soft synth in the studio: