Akai Professional EWI USB Electronic Wind Controller

i love this Akai EWI USB wind instrument very easy instructions and very good sound quality i figure it out how to use it well and this the best quality instrument i have ever play with. very good quality and configuration to play with-recommended for musicians.

Difficult to use if you don't know how to play a wind instrument. the software is simple and awesome. can layer sounds to create something unique. This was a great buy.

The buttons don't move and they are laid out differently. Took some getting used to but it makes a great controller for recording. Also good for practice late at night. For programming horn parts it give you articulation you simply not get from a keyboard.

I have been looking at wind controllers for a few months now, and unless you want to go out some 7-9 hundred dollars, this is simply the best in it's class. I am a trombonist/bassist/euphonist who was looking to expand his sound palette. This instrument struck my eye because of It's Evi mode. Using the Garritan software included I down-tuned my Ewi to Bb, and now it plays almost exactly like a euphonium (albeit the excessive weight and the fact it can sound like nearly anything). Make sure when you set it up, If you desire to change it to Evi mode, (for valve players), that you have both the MIDI in and out set up for the Ewi, or else it won't take effect. If you want more sounds just hook this up to Garageband or a similar DAWS. Overall a beautiful instrument for horn players.

I like the way it works. This may just be me, but the octave rollers seem to be pretty sensitive and the volume control is a bit constrained. I remember playing real loud on my sax and on this you just can't get it to play super loud no matter how hard you blow into it. I've not played a woodwind instrument in years so it's gonna take me a while to get it back, but overall it's a very nice piece of equipment.

It's everything you'd expect it to be. It plays very well, the keys are incredibly responsive, it's comfortable, and the breath control responds very nicely. However, 1. The included Aria Software is very quiet, and not very punchy. It goes well with the EWI, and compliments the breath control of the EWI, but it's not really suited for being in a spotlight, as it's rather soft and lacks "strength." Luckily, since the instrument's USB powered, you can go ahead and plug it in to something better (like Reason!) 2. While I said the breath control mechanism responds very well, one thing it does NOT do is respond super-quickly. There's a horn patch in the Aria software, but it's nigh impossible to make it do the signature fortepiano effect that horns do. In other words, sharp dynamic changes are a little difficult to pull off. But hey, for the money, I'm very happy.