Beginning Band Instrument Choices

I must admit, the first time I unboxed the instrument, I was amazed at the build quality. It has some heft, the keys are properly and ergonomically placed and you know Akai really took their time to perfect this wind controller. But as a long time saxophone player, the first time I actually played some scales, I was quite disappointed - it didn't feel like a saxophone. I was beginning to regret my purchase and thought about exchanging it for the WX5. So I gave it a few more days. Days turned to weeks, and I am beginning to appreciate this instrument. Keep practicing those scales, breathing with the mouthpiece and you realize how this is such an amazing wind controller. I made a mistake thinking that this is a replacement for a saxophone in an apartment situation. In reality, you should think about how this instrument can be an extension to your musical endeavors. The possibilities you can do with the sounds and playability are endless. There are a few usable synths prebuilt, but I suggest using the Akai EWI 5000 Editor to really play and edit your sounds then save it to the user bank. Also there are synths out there that can be used if you plug the EWI as just a midi wind controller; unfortunately you can't upload other synth sounds into the controller. Definitely give it some time to get used to the instrument especially moving from one octave to another. Keep practicing and you'll appreciate that there's hardly any moving parts here. I was opposed at it first since horns have that tactile and key feedback. But with the touch sensitivity, it really felt I was playing an instrument from the future. Again, you just have to get used to it - think about when mobile phones shift from physical keyboards to the modern phones we have today. And here I am today still keeping my purchase and writing a review. I thank Akai for making a top-notch wind controller and continuing the support for the modern electronic wind musician.

Wow, this works really well. I bought it for the band at our church. Makes it very easy for someone who plays an instrument and sings to have a decent in-ear monitor without spending a fortune. Very solid all-metal construction. Setup and use are very simple; the diagrams & labels silk-screened onto the top make it easy to see what should plug in where. As a nice additional touch, it doubles as a direct box for the instrument input. I highly recommend the optional MSC106 mic stand adapter if you're using this on stage. Only drawback is that you need a long cable or an extension for your ear monitor / headphones. If you mount this on a mic or music stand, you don't have a lot of room to move. We'll be buying a mix of these and the 1-channel PM50s to move our whole band to in-ear monitors.

We use a snake combining vocal mic, instrument mics, D.I.s, and monitor cables for each band member, running to their area of the stage from the stage digital mixer, and this product makes it easy to customize those changes and change out cables when necessary.

If anyone in your band wants more me control of their in-ear foldback for both their vocals and an instrument (or two instruments), then this is THE box for them! Ok so it costs more than the 2 channel competition, but this has the essential 3rd channel the others lack, plus an integral stereo DI box, so the total cost is much the same. What is really nice is the way it can be set for mono or stereo inputs on both the instrument channel and the main foldback. The cct diagram even contains instructions to convert the mic channel for line level inputs. A really useful box, and a much better buy in real terms than the competing products, for use by real musicians!

..just beginning to know it..and use it..thank you

5/8-27 to either 3/8 or 1/4-20, simple and uncomplicated and the best price of all the other choices.

Can’t beat this little instrument for the money!

Fine instrument, does what it should do and more. I recommend it.

I like all the different choices I have especialy the free ones.

It's the only ink you can use in the printer. Not like you have many choices.