Wind Controller; EWI USB, the wind instrument for multi-instrumentalists

Hi there future readers.  Lothmak here with the EWI USB! With the EWI usb you'll be able to play any woodwind instrument without changing your fingering.  We are talking reed instruments, flutes, brass, even strings and bass; with the EWI USB there's no limit at to what instrument you play; and  the fingerings can be changed from EWI original to Recorder or brass so any musician can play without any problems.  <-- Billy Mays was awesome...


Well, back on topic; today we'll talk about the Akai EWI USB, or USB Electronic Wind Instrument from Akai (the little instrument on the picture above). If you know a bit about wind controllers, you'll find that name a bit familiar. The ewi usb is a cheaper version of the akai ewi 4000s wind controller. The good thing is that, this one is usb; so it's audio midi usb. Check this out.

Image from Wikipedia

I bought an akai ewiusb about a year ago, and it's currently replacing all my woodwind instruments.  The Akai ewi has been hiding in the background of the music industry for years.  Michael Brecker a pillar of modern jazz played an Akai EWI for years; and a famous group in japan called T-Square use the EWI as main instrument in a lot of their songs.

Why is the ewi not so known? who knows... The ewi itself is just a Midi controller, with a breath sensor and bite sensor to play keys according to how the wind passes through the mouthpiece; and it can bend notes and create vibrato with the bite sensor.
The Ewi also uses touch keys, and it plays just like a Recorder; but that's not all, the EWI USB has a feature that no windinstrument can offer.
The ewi has an octave roller; for wheels that switch the pitch of the notes, so you can have a way bigger range of sound than a normal instrument.  Also since this is a Midi controller, you can use a lot of sampler programs to emulate sound.

The Ewi comes with an Aria sampler database program called Garritan, packed with Many different sounds and synths (synth sounds that would sound crappy on a keyboard sound awesome when you play them with the ewi thanks to the pitch bends and volume control);

 

And if you feel inspired enough, you can use the EWI USB as a proper Saxophone using Kontakt Player's MR. Sax T to create super realistic tenor saxophone sounds) or SaxBrothers samples.

I use my EWI USB with Kontakt Mr Sax T. and let me tell you... it's been a blessing.  I can play Tenor sax, with Recorder fingerings, and with Headphones on giving me complete freedom as to playing my instruments without bothering anyone. 

There are a Lot of videos on youtube showing off the power of the EWI USB, so feel free to check them out to see if the EWI USB is an instrument for you.

The Ewi USB sells for around $300 but it's $300 bucks that cover sound ability development, different instruments, privacy and you'll get a  'wow' effect from the crowd once you start playing huge sounds from something like looks like a small vacuum cleaner.

The Main site for the Akai EWI USB is a little tricky to find if you just search for Akai EWI USB; so here's the link. http://www.akaipro.com/ewiusb

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Abdiel Rodz

Hi. I’m a social researcher, developer and consultant. Bringing you news that would probably make your head hurt and some others that will make you want to hug a puppy.

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