Akai EWI USB and 4000S
December 2, 2008 8:59 PM   Subscribe

Can anyone tell me of owning or experiences with the Akai EWI USB or Akai EWI 4000S wind controllers? (EWI=Electronic Wind Instrument). Are you happy with the instrument? Does it perform as expected? Do you experience any lag or delay? Many thanks.
posted by Ynoxas to Media & Arts (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I haven't owned one, but it's a MIDI controller, so any lag or delay won't be due to the controller, but due to your DAW's relationship with your computer, assuming you're using it to control soft synths. If you're using it purely through hardware, you sha'n't have troubles with latency.
posted by nosila at 9:21 PM on December 2, 2008


My roomate has an EWI (we occasionally play together in an all-MIDI band), I'll ask him to write up a quick review when he gets home. What's your background? Clarinet?
posted by drumcorpse at 10:46 PM on December 2, 2008


Best answer: My roommate says:

"I have the 4000S. I haven't used it much with softsynths, but the internal hardware synth is excellent. As stated above, lag or delay aren't an issue unless you're playing with a softsynth. It definitely sounds like a simple synthesizer (square, triangle and sine waves-- kind of like an old Roland analogue, or I guess more accurately a Nord-type digital). The fingering is based on a saxophone. There are 8 octave keys, and it's definitely intuitive, but expect to spend sa little time with it to get fully comfortable with the overall feel.

The biggest drawback is that there's a lot of back-pressure. They recommend controlling velocity by letting various amounts of air out the sides of your mouth while playing, but it doesn't really feel natural and takes some practice to get used to. The mouthpiece is rubbery and you need to concentrate on not biting it with the same pressure as a regular wind mouthpiece. It tends to grip on your teeth and can get a little uncomfortable after a half hour of straight playing (this may be due to my playing style and could be corrected with practice).

The vibrato mechanism is good, it's both sensitive and customizable. In general though, all the knob-based settings are a little tricky to do during live performance.

Overall it performs as expected and I'm happy with it. As long as you're not expecting realistic instrument sounds out of the box and are comfortable with its kind of retro synth aesthetic, it's pretty nice."


An aside from me: That thing is an awesome nintendo space flute. I love it. If you have any more specific questions I'll ask my roommate.
posted by drumcorpse at 11:38 PM on December 2, 2008 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Hi, Ynoxas! I got your MeFi Mail but I will just reply here.

I haven't actually used it too much, but it is fun. I totally agree with drumcorpse's roommate above, though -- I think -- I'm not familiar with the term "back pressure," so I'm not sure -- but I have to blow a lot harder than I'm used to. This is adjustable, but not so much that it feels comfortable to me. I'm a flautist, though; if you're an oboe player or something you might find it less onerous.

The other weird part is using your left thumb to change octaves, rather than just blowing harder. It's unnatural, but it will come with practice.

No lag or delay that I've noticed.

Feel free to ask more specific questions, although I suspect drumcorpse's roommate will be a better source of info than I am.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 4:57 PM on December 3, 2008


Response by poster: Thanks all!
posted by Ynoxas at 11:31 PM on December 3, 2008


Response by poster: Follow-up:

I received the unit. I had to hit an immediate learning curve learning about ASIO sound drivers, which I had never heard of before.

But, with some freely available ASIO drivers my EWI is singing away.

I've been playing with it a bit the last 2 weeks. As posted, there are not really any problems with latency. It has been fun so far.

I've easily tripled my knowledge of MIDI, which admittedly was only a trifle when I started.
posted by Ynoxas at 11:18 AM on January 2, 2009


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