I Ordered One of These Today...

[happyrat1]

In the neverending quest to broaden my musical horizons and accumulate as much gear as humanly possible before I die I spotted this little gem today and immediately ordered one. At $300 it definitely won't break the old bank account.

I used to play woodwinds as a kid and this gave me such a sense of nostalgia I just had to have it. And from the tutorial videos I watched this afternoon the adjustable sensitivity of the instrument won't require me to have an asthma attack to play it like a regular acoustic flute Plus one review told me it works with Linux.

What do you guys think? I can't wait to run it thru the keyboards and hear multilayer orchestral sounds blowing thru like a trilling flute

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/589255-REG/Akai_EWI_USB_EWI_USB_Wind_Instrument.html

http://www.harmonycentral.com/expert-reviews/akai-professional-ewi-usb

Gary

 

[CowboyNQ]

I think it looks rather cool. Would be no good to me but I reckon heaps of fun if you know how to play woodwinds. Sort of like a keytar for clarinet players!

 

[happyrat1]

Here's what one of these sounds like in the hands of a virtuoso.

 

[happyrat1]

Well it arrived today.

First the good news. It works under Linux, the software installs and runs under WINE Windows Emulator and it has the intelligence to save the last used settings in the device after it's unplugged and replugged.

Also good news, it works flawlessly with Catia so I can redirect the output to any of my synths or modules.

Now comes the tricky part. There are about 20 adjustable parameters controlling the sensitivity and speed of the breath control, bite control, and fingering as well as 6 different fingering types.

Having been a flautist in my youth I naturally chose flute fingering.

The thing is, sensitivity on this thing ranges from somewhere between "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and totally unplayable.

Furthermore unlike a flute or sax or clarinet, the left thumb does not control the notes G, G# or A but rather the octave in which you are playing. The natural impulse for a flautist is to lift his thumb when he wants to play an A but on this thing it ends up jumping octaves and sounding like an epileptic chicken :

I'm going to have to spend some time this weekend studying the fingering charts for this thing and I'm going to have to invest a few days into teasing the fingering and breath control settings so that it responds like something I'm used to playing.

All in all though, I don't regret my purchase at all. It is an intriguing and well built instrument with enormous potential. But just don't buy one expecting it to play like an Armstrong Flute or a Yamaha Saxophone cause you are going to be spending some time in the classroom again learning how to finger this thing properly.

Then again, a perfect indoor project for the upcoming long winter nights ahead and I have to say, the sounds it can produce range from the outrageous to the sublime.

Definitely a keeper and a new tool for the old musical toolbox

Gary

 

[SeaGtGruff]

Gary,

I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying your new "toy" *-- despite the wrinkles-- and I'm looking forward to hearing some songs with it posted to SoundCloud.

Never having played the flute, clarinet, or other wind instrument ** myself, I don't know if I could ever learn to play a MIDI breath controller-- although it sounds like maybe I'd be better off not having any old habits to unlearn if I were to buy one.

* My previous boss used to get very upset whenever he bought a new computer or other piece of computer equipment and I'd say (with a big grin on my face) "So you bought a new toy? How is it?" And having recently bought a PSR-E443 even though I already had a PSR-E433, I can sympathize with him as I fend off exclamations of "You bought a new keyboard?!?" with "It's not a toy! It's a critically essential piece of equipment for conducting extremely important research and development with!" ***

** Well, I used to play the tuba (sousaphone), but I don't consider that to be a "wind instrument"-- even though it sure took a lot of wind to play it!

*** To be read in your best Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop "IT'S NOT A TU-MAH!" voice.

 

[happyrat1]

Actually it has a special fingering mode for valve instrument players called EVI mode so you'd be all set. Though for the life of me I wouldn't begin to be able to figure out how to play an octave on it with three fingers

EDIT >>> Here's a link to the EWI Fingering Charts

http://www.patchmanmusic.com/EWIFingeringOneWatts.pdf

And here's a link to the original EVI hardware and inventor.

http://www.patchmanmusic.com/NyleMIDIEVI.html

Gary