Great but be sure to get the updated sounds from Patchman

I love the EWI. I got it several months ago and played it for while but got tired of the horrible internal sounds. I updated my EWI with the Patchman Music EWI4000s soundbank and now IT ROCKS!
They also offer a package deal that includes their sounds and the horn calibrated by a pro.

Akai Wind controller gets thumbs up.

I am enjoying this EWI4000S by plugging it through my Alesis HD8. I am impressed that the Akai wind controller has no moving parts except for nine control buttons. This tool will last a long time. Some pretty smart people dreamed this thing up and made a digital horn that will take trills at lightening speed. I could not trill that fast on a keyboard. It really sounds like a horn. The models that are built in include a great soprano sax but nothing that sounds much like a tenor or alto sax. I assume horn players already have saxes so they want new synth and sample sounds anyway. I am a guitar and keyboard guys who wants a sax sound in my headphones while my neighbors and family hear nothing (I can practice longer) so I have to plug into a tone module for sax sounds. I do love this horn and believe its "no moving parts" idea will prove best as the years roll by -no moving parts = no maintenance I will predict. The Alesis HD8 has a wind modeling engine and it will prove useful with this horn. Yamaha Motif racks and synths offer a horn modeled soundchip option that I look forward to trying. In short, if you are a horn player you can use the Akai. If you are not a horn player, then you can become one and your chest and lungs will swell with pride! (ha ha). Because the breath sense if adjustable, you can make it easy or hard to breath into, and it takes a fair amount of wind to drive this thing, so it will get you into shape and that cannot be bad, right? I mean it. This thing will be my close jamming buddy for years.

EWI-4000s is Excellent BUT...

Like Reviewer Don Blum says - the instrument is excellent but the manual and instructions are terrible. Confusing, unclear, pretty near impossible to understand and follow.
Also why provide setup for the worthless built in kazoo sounds, but no software to setup for the rest of the configuration (MIDI settings)?
That would be far more important and useful. Too bad EWI developers lack common sense.

EWI4000S Review

The instrument is GREAT but the User Guide--Owner Manual, except for the different fingering charts and balloons identifying the different buttons and knobs is worthless ! ! A true professional may understand parts of the manual but I feel that even they would have trouble a lot of it.
No wonder many are trying to sell the instrument that was just purchased, Because of lack of decent instructions. Akai could sell more instruments and have satisfied costumers if they would take the time to write a thorough and understandable Owner's Manual. A link to some good tutorials as far as they go, was sent to me by Geoff Allen, but they are incomplete at this point in time. They were of help though and I thank you Geoff. db

EWI4000S

I had the old EWI1000 model its all gone now thanks to the hurricane,anyway i had the opportunity to play the ewi4000 i have to say that the 4000 is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! very easy to work with on stage as well the studio.


Thanks;
GWD