Calypso Wind Instrument Review

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.

Can’t beat this little instrument for the money!

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

Wind bad, this good. Keep wind out.

It's a good quality instrument that I like so much

Very steady for this heavy instrument.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This keyboard is portable. Light comes with a bag to carry the instrument in. The pedal and headphones are nice touch for playing without disturbing other people. I have played endlessly with the number of keys to make different sounds. And what a value for a beginner.

The previous review was the only negative one I've seen on the web, and it seems misinformed. The product is not advertised as needing or having a driver on cd. It worked right away with no extra work, creating its own MIDI setup on my computer. BUT, (1) you have to pay attention to the MIDI connector colors (plug the red one into your instrument's MIDI OUT port), AND (2) do some MIDI setup on your instrument (e.g. local control=OFF for playback). Finally, (3) it's not an audio cable, it's a midi cable, so understand the difference. It carries MIDI signals for music software, not sound for recording.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Loved receiving this product. I never “played” and instrument but so excited to finally learn. I had a keyboard as a kid and self learned some simple songs. This was super easy to set up and has so many different sound qualities I can’t wait to dig I more and learn more piano ?

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm using as exterior monitor to my iMac 2020 running flight simulation software X-Plane11 and Air Manager. X-Plane runs on my iMac monitor and Air Manager shows plane's instrument panel on my TD1655. With touch capability and the addition of a device called Knobster, I can activate any control knob or switch on the instrument panel to make changes, and not have to use mouse or keyboard when flying in simulator. Really cool. I love the monitor.