Akai EWI USB Review
I’ve been playing with the Akai EWI USB now for 4 days. Here is my complete review of it. If you don’t have time to read the whole review I can summarize it up real quick. I Love it.
The Akai EWI USB is basically a MIDI controller for any one with experience playing a valved instrument or a woodwind instrument. You can play synths in your computer and make music on a instrument that works similar to a horn like a trumpet or saxophone. Why would you want to do this? Well for a few reasons. First not all of us a blessed with good keyboard skills. Second because you can actually blow into the instrument there alot of room for expression in your playing. Your MIDI will sound a lot more realistic.
I purchased my EWI USB from BH Photo in New York. The price was $299 which is pretty standard. Before hand I had looked online at the usual places Sweetwater, Sam Ash, Guitar Center and Amazon. At $299 this is a deal. Prior to this product an EWI was at least an $800-1000 investment.
The Akai EWI USB is much cheaper then EWI 4000s because there are no onboard sounds. You must plug the instrument into a computer by USB to get sound from it. It comes packaged with a library of Garritan Sounds. The sounds range from clarinet and flute to different types of synths. There are also patches that try to emulate trumpets and saxophones. Most other reviews commented that the sounds sucked. There not that bad considering your only paying $299. Besides that the true strength of the EWI USB is that you can play just about any sound you want because its MIDI. Just about every MIDI trumpet and saxophone I have ever heard sounds like MIDI. If you do buy one I recommend using simple presets like clarinet or flute when you first start out.
It does take some practice and getting used to. I spent the earlier part of my life on the trumpet so I am using the EVI fingerings. I am still getting the hang of it and feel with some practice it is well with in reach. You can also you Saxophone and other woodwind fingering settings.
The actual instrument is made mostly all of plastic. The keys do not move. This also take a bit of getting used to. Once you start playing it though you will realize how much faster the response is. There is a plastic mouth piece which you breath into. As a trumpet player this was also a bit awkward at first. Brass players are used to blowing harder to play in the upper registers of an instrument. The EWI makes all this happen mechanically through use of the fingerings. The breath control focus more on timber and tone of the sound. If you a MIDI expert you could also use a program like Logic to reassign the breath controller to just bout any MIDI Message you want. I’ve already experimented using it to control filter cutoff with Logic’s EXS24 Sampler. Along with the Keys on top there is an Octave roller that you work with using your left thumb. This has been the biggest obstacle for me so far. This s where i think the most practice with your technique will need to happen.
Other things in the box include a neck strap. A USB Cable that is about 8 feet long and a cap for the mouthpiece. The neck strap could be better. If you are a saxophone player you more than likely have something better already. It did not come with a case or a stand. From what i have read on forums though most people are using cases made for soprano saxophones.
Overall this is one of the best and most fun gear purchases I have made in a long time. Honestly for $299 its a must for any horn player want to take their chops into the world of MIDI. As I play the Akai EWI USB more I will post more.
Tech Notes: I am using my Akai EWI USB on a Apple ghz 2.4 Intel Macbook Pro running Snow Leopard. The standalone application will work fine, but if you want to use the Garritan sounds as an Audio Unit plugin with a program like Logic Studio you must download the free update from the Akai website. I also have been using the EWI with a Dual 2.0 G5 running OSX Tiger and Logic. On this system I installed no programs or drivers. I took the USB cable plugged it in to the computer and it worked perfectly as a MIDI controller. Its important to note that the EWI USB will work as a MIDI controller on OSX Tiger but you must have one of the new Intel systems running OSX Leopard to install the Garritan sound library and configuration application. The application is where you set the preferences for the device including the fingerings.
Thank you for your kind mention of B&H Photo. Please accept our warm thanks and deep gratitude for your patronage. We look forward to earning your trust and continued business for many years to come. I invite you and your readers to check out our new informative and entertaining blog at http://www.bhinsights.com
Hershel K. Waldner
B&H Photo, Video, Pro Audio
This sounds really dope, I’m sure messing with the settings and your style of playing you can probably freak any sound and get rid of that standard digital midi sound that most generic midi sounds have. I would love to see what I can do with this when I take a sound run it through any flanger plugin and mess with the pitch bender….. wow, I got something I’m gonna have to save for, lol. Great review.
If you can play a wind instrument such as saxophone clarinet flute or even recorder the WX5 comes with a reedless recorder type mouthpiece in addition to the saxophone type mouthpiece you can already play the WX5!.. Since the WX5 is a 100 MIDI-compatible controller it can be used to play any MIDI tone generator on the market today – starting with the extensive lineup available from Yamaha.The Yamaha VL70-m Virtual Acoustic Tone generator for example is a perfect match for the WX5.