SM instruments and choice of windcontroller - Akai EWI 5000?

amufidamufid
edited December 2014 in Windcontrollers
I am a sax player who is selling my sax (haven´t played much the last few years) to buy an Akai EWI. I have been waiting for reviews on the new 5000, but have not seen anything yet. I am not interested in the onboard sounds, I will just use SM sax and flute patches, then possibly expand a little.

1) Have anyone in the forum tried the new Akai? - I am about to choose between the new one and a ewi usb - experiences/recommendations. Is the extra cost for a 5000 well spent money?

2)I am particularly interested in the new function presented in early ads which says that the instrument will "sense your playing style and adjust itself". Has anyone found that the new controller is easier to set up than the older EWIs? I am wondering if would be easier for an newbie like me to start using the 5000 controller with SM instruments than playing the EWI usb.

Comments

  • MSchnellMSchnell
    edited 5:09AM
    As they do wireless-to-USB only for the built-in sounds but not for Midi, IMHO the device is prone to a revision that maybe is just software and that I think potential buyers should wait for.



    -Michael (not a sax player, but an embedded software professional)
  • dickbarbourdickbarbour
    edited 5:09AM
    See the Patchman windcontroller forum:



    http://www.patchmanmusic.com/forum/



    There is a separate section for the EWI5000 with a lot of information, not all of it positive. I'm a WX5 player myself and have a EWI USB that I don't use anymore, but it's interesting to keep up with the few alternatives we have these days. At least Akai has put out something new, which is more than we can say for Yamaha for a very long time.:(



    Dick
  • MSchnellMSchnell
    edited 5:09AM
    Seemingly there are small companies working on interesting stuff.



    -Michael
  • KobirKobir
    edited 5:09AM
    I use EWI USB with laptop running VSTi (mostly Sample Modeling) and was following closely the reviews and demos of the EWI5000. If you ignore internal sounds (you should! They are really bad...), there are still some potential features for more advanced midi control, such as high definition midi CC, but as far I can see no VSTi supports it at the moment anyway. When you buy EWI 5000 you pay mainly for internal synth and wireless audio. When controlling VSTi you are not using these features, so it would work pretty much the same as EWI USB.
  • MaddcowMaddcow
    edited 5:09AM
    The EWI 5000 has additional MIDI functionality that the 4000 doesn't have i.e. it can send more CCs and a few other things. It also has some hardware functions that the 4000 doesn't have. I own a 4000 (and a Yamaha WX5) and if I were buying for the first time, I'd go with the 5000 because it's the next-generation controller with more future potential via software updates PLUS it already has a better feature set than the 4000. Given that the cost isn't much more than the 4000, I feel that buying the 5000 is a no-brainer. I certainly wouldn't bother with the EWI USB unless you're constrained by cost. The EWI USB is a great controller but ultimately, it is limited.



    You may never plan to use the built-in sounds but you just never know when they may come in handy. You can also practise stand-alone with headphones which you can't do with the EWI USB.
  • KobirKobir
    edited 5:09AM
    You indeed have a good point that the only reason to buy EWI USB is to save money, since 5000 can do everything it can do plus more. Having basic built-in sounds is indeed nice to have for quick practicing or backup.



    On the other hand, I don't feel the EWI USB is limited when it comes to using it as midi controller for VSTi and rather invest money in new SM instruments, than another wind controller. If I had nothing, I would have likely bought the EWI 5000.
  • amufidamufid
    edited 5:09AM
    Sorry for the late response. Thank You for good advise. I will buy an Akai EWI 5000 soon.

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