Akai EWI USB Wind Instrument Sythesizer Controller

by Akai

Product Features

• Electronic wind instrument controller
• Plug-and-play USB connection to Mac or PC
• Custom Garritan Aria Player software, contains wind instrument sounds
• Multiple fingering modes: sax, traditional EWI, flute, oboe, and EVI brass
• Removable, dishwasher-safe mouthpiece

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 2.8 x 2.8 inches ; 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B001MTKAD0
• Item model number: EWI-USB
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,428 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #64 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Computer Recording > MIDI Controllers

Product Description

EWI USB is an electronic wind instrument for musicians looking for an easy-to-play, easy-to-use controller. Akai Professional’s decades of experience in wind and electronic music instruments are rolled into our most user friendly — and most affordable — EWI ever. PREMIUM PEDIGREE Akai Professional is the first name in electronic wind instruments. For over 20 years, Akai Professional has studied the art of playing saxophone, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and other traditional winds, and developed electronic wind instruments that enable wind players to enjoy the same expressive control as in an acoustic instrument. We designed EWI USB to give wind players the expressive musical capabilities previously found only in much more expensive instruments. PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE EWIs are the only choice for serious wind players looking to make music electronically. While EWI USB is easy and fun to use, it’s also powerful, flexible, and most importantly reliable enough for use on stage and in the studio by professional musicians. COMPUTER CONTROL EWI USB is the most flexible EWI because it harnesses your computer to generate its sounds. Its USB interface means that all you need is nearly any Mac or PC and the included EWI USB software, and you’re ready to practice, perform, create, and record with a full collection of wind instrument sounds. Aria Player software was produced specifically for use with EWI USB, providing wind players with an unprecedented level of expressive control. LARGE SOUND PALETTE You get over 75 different orchestral, concert band, jazz band, and synthesizer sound sets expertly recorded and programmed by Garritan, renowned for its ultra-realistic instrument sound libraries. MULTI MODE EWI USB offers multiple fingering modes including sax, traditional EWI, flute, oboe, and EVI (brass), so whether you’re just starting out as a woodwind student or an old pro wind player, you’ll find EWI USB easy to play. EWI USB is designed for you to spend your time playing music; not learning technology. SURPRISING AFFORDABILITY Historically, electronic wind instruments have fallen into two different categories: high-end, professional instruments and toys. EWI USB breaks the price barrier, bringing professional quality, expressive control, and a studio-ready sound library to a price the professional-wind-instrument world has never seen. Discover the world of expression that only wind instruments can offer with EWI USB.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible wind controller!, January 11, 2010

By 

Dan S. Tong "avid SF reader" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Akai EWI USB Wind Instrument Sythesizer Controller (Electronics)

I have used the Yamaha WX7, WX5, EWI-3020, EWI-4000s and this newest instrument, the EWI-USB. Not only is this instrument an incredible bargain at under $300 but it is much simpler to setup and use than all of the other wind controllers.

You do not have to mess around with 6 or 7 little knobs or screw adjusted controls in order to get this instrument set up to play properly.

In my opinion the EWI-USB has better dynamic range than the other wind controllers, plus it does not require an additional cable to connect with an optional power supply nor, because it gets its power via the USB connection, does it need batteries.

It includes a very nice selection of acoustic intrument samples (software synthesizer sounds) from the Garritan "Jazz and Big Band", and the Garritan Personal Orchestra package (it has a subset of sounds from these packages).

Some people prefer the Yamaha WX5 wind controller because it has mechanical keys which move, unlike the EWI-USB (or 4000s) whose keys do not move but work simply through touch (capacitive sensing). I would certainly agree that it takes a bit more time get used to the static touch action of the EWI-USB than for the mechanical keys of the Yamaha, especially if you are a student of the clarinet or saxophone. The action of the EWI-USB is more like playing the alto recorder -there is no key movement. My experience of having played recorder, flute,saxophone and then a Yamaha WX7 (mechanical keys) before moving to the static touch action of the EWI instruments was quite positive. I adjusted fairly rapidly and found that I much preferred the responsiveness of the EWI instrument, but people's experience varies.

I can think of only one negative aspect of the EWI-USB and that is the cramped spacing of the upper and lower end of the octave controllers (4 rollers). The roller at the upper and lower end are not free to rotate and the walls of the instrument are spaced too close to the up-most and bottom-most rollers making it sometimes more difficult to play very, very high and very, very low notes. Akai really ought to have designed this part better. The much more expensive EWI-4000s has 8 rollers so you are never cramped at either end.

If you are interested in playing lots of instruments including the trumpet, trombone, tuba, french horn, flute, oboe, bassoon, saxophone, clarinet, and even violin, viola or cello without having the time, money or sufficient talent to learn all of these, then this is the way to do it. Once you learn the fingering (much like the flute, recorder or saxophone), you can play any of the instruments listed above, provided you get good samples (synthesizer samples).

Not all synthesizers have really good samples of acoustic instruments (as opposed to poor imitations of acoustic instruments sounds or merely "electronic sounds"), and not all that do, are made to work especially well with wind controllers.

After many years of searching and re-searching I can recommend the "Ketron SD2 Orchestral Wizard" as the best hardware synthesizer for really good acoustic sounds. It's also one of the least expensive.

However if you want the absolute best trumpet sound then you need to get the "samplemodeling Mr. Trumpet". It's totally incredible. Sounds just like a real trumpet with all of the complex tonal variations that change with loudness and attack and virtually all of the subtlety of the real instrument. It is the most responsive of any virtual instrument and has been especially designed to work with wind controllers. If you already play flute, oboe, saxophone, or clarinet, then you will find it quite easy to learn to play a wind controller. In fact the EWI-USB has a trumpet valve fingering mode for brass players (which I have not tested), so it's even more versatile.

If you would like to hear some audio samples find 2010Jazz on the kara-moon website where I've uploaded lots of songs.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Opinion, November 30, 2009

By 

D. Baker (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Akai EWI USB Wind Instrument Sythesizer Controller (Electronics)

After seeing an extremely negative review on the Akai EWI USB I had to chime in. I've been composing for years with a Yamaha WX5 and have grown accustomed to scoring with wind controllers - there's nothing like the performance you can get from them. After dealing with waning support on older wind controllers and specialized accessories and dead batteries all the time I finally jumped onto the Akai mainly to simplify things via USB and up to date software support. I don't regret it one bit. The keys lack action which takes a little getting used to, but this is now my go to instrument. For the price I completely recommend it for anyone with wind instrument experience looking to get a more natural sounding performance out of their digital work.

And of note - I primarily work in Cubase and have never had any software issues with this. It's treated as a standard USB keyboard with the wind data simply sending extra controller information.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Instrument, January 10, 2010

By 

Vincent Cirelli "vcirelli" (Marina Del Rey, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Akai EWI USB Wind Instrument Sythesizer Controller (Electronics)

I was apprehensive about buying a wind controller, as I've played good old fashioned woodwinds and brass all my life. However, I was shocked to find how expressive and emotive one could be using an electronic controller like this. The EWI comes with a nice library of sounds out of the box, some are better and more natural than others. My experience with the setup and software was great, it worked flawlessly on my MacBook (2.5 Intel Core 2 Duo). I installed the software and plugged in the EWI, restarted and was up and playing in minutes.

The hardest aspect for me to adjust to was the octave scroller. If you go to the Akai site and look at the images, you'll see metal rollers that allow you to switch between multiple octaves. It took a few days to be able to run through material without accidentally shifting octaves, and at times was extremely frustrating. But now, it's no longer an issue.

The other issue, is that the EWI's mouthpiece has a very restrictive airflow. By allowing air to escape as I play, I was able to attain a breathing pattern that works well.

I don't want to mislead anyone, as I have not tried the other wind controllers on the market. But, given the price point, this was the right purchase for me. Do you're homework, there is a lot of great information and opinionated pieces (like this one) on the web. I really enjoy this instrument alongside all my lacquered ones and hope you have as much fun as I'm having.

Side note: When paired with 'Sample Modeling Mr.Sax or Sample Modeling Trumpet' the results are truly fantastic in my opinion.