EWI USB Incredible Value

Just arrived. Always wanted a wind controller but they were always too expensive. Now I have one and it rocks. I installed it on my Mac and within minutes I was playing the superb Garritan instruments it comes with through the included Aria software. The jazz tenor (th) is a highlight, as is the double bass (that's right...playing the DB with a wind controller!) Also works great in Logic. Had a blast using it with Sculpture and with a guitar sound with "metal god" preset in Logic's amp simulator. Wish it had a stand, could be used wireless and had a sturdy case. Still for $299 I'm not complaining. Money well spent.

Best musical invesment I made in years

This is the most pleasure I have gotten out of a musical device purchase since I bought my Korg M1 in the 80's!!! And it was surely a lot less money than that M1 was then. So far I've used it as a sax with the included Aria software, but I also created a very impressive harmonica using Sonar's TTS1 virtual synth. I'va tried it with Sonar's Dimension Pro also. If you get all the controllers programmed just right, the results are out of this world. This is total love at first blow.

I play keyboard in my band, and wanted an expressive device like a wind controller for some of my sounds. I am not a sax player, but have played primitive flutes all my life. So within 2 to 3 hours I was able to get awesome sounds out of this beauty, and used it live on stage within days with beautiful results.

As far as bad things, the touch plates tarnish very quickly, but that does not affect the performance of the instrument. The Aria software is VERY slow to load, especially as a VST in Sonar. I have not experienced any hangs, but the instrument can initialize incorrectly if not handled properly. Do not touch anything while the device is first plugged in.

It plays best with very little wind flow. In fact, it takes very little air. So if you are a sax player, you will find it hard to pull back your blowing enough to fall within the sensitive range of the instrument. But once you get used to this, the range of expression is terrific, especially compared to what can be done on a keyboard. If you are a sax player, you'll enjoy controlling other virtual instruments and synths using the expressiveness that the breath and bend controllers can give you.

In conclusion, I have not been as excited and have not had as much fun on an instrument as I have on the EWIUSB in years. And for the money, it is hard to find this kind of musical fulfillment in an instrument any more. I highly recommend it!

It's okay, but spend the Money for the regular EWI

The EWI USB is a good concept and I love playing it, but like all things new and electronic, it is in need of improvements. Most notably with Windows, it hangs quite a bit. A decent driver update would hopefully solve that problem but Akai is pretty famous for taking their time in supporting their stuff. And if my experience with tech support is still on the money, you probably have Akai, Garritan, and most of the sequencer and DAW writers arguing over who's fault the stuck note is. If you are really into the EWI sound; especially professionally do yourself a favor and fork over the bucks for the 4000s.