Mouthpiece Of A Wind Instrument

Like a pilot's mouthpiece. stops wind and breath effectively. No complaints. For those who can't envision what size 3/8 is, it's huge, grab a ruler. See if it works for your needs. You won't be hiding this in plain sight.

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.

The mouthpiece is a standard, readily available scuba regulator mouthpiece that is easily replaced if that is needed in future.

This baby has a strong far reaching beam. It's light enough to use with the mouthpiece and keep it straight. Quality is tough to beat.

I’ve been in the tech industry for many years. As a piece of tech the AE-01 works very well. It sends MIDI to my Mac, iPad, and iPhone, both wirelessly and via USB. USB to iOS needs an adapter from Apple. The iOS app works well. The AE-01 works as a MIDI controller with GarageBand and other apps. It also receives Bluetooth audio from Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It looks well built, like it will last a while. I am a beginner at wind instruments, with only a little bit of trumpet experience in elementary school. As an instrument the AE-01 works. I can play this thing a little bit, and from my trumpet experience I understand I will need a lot of practice to become competent. I can practice with headphones and not disturb my neighbors. The tutorial on the iPad app is helpful. One complaint I have is with the mouthpiece. Buying the simpler OP-AE01MP mouthpiece solved that complaint. The AE-01 comes with a mouthpiece like a clarinet or saxophone mouthpiece. It has a plastic “reed” that you can bite down on. Biting the “reed” controls the sound in more expensive models, but does nothing in the AE-01. Using the simple mouthpiece without a reed is much easier for me, and I don’t lose any functionality.

We previously had used the comstar package and we periodically had problems with our headsets breaking. Usually it would be the mouthpiece breaking, and we would have to send them back to be fixed. Not to mention they were very bulky and we constantly were having to check if our coms were on/tell others that their coms were left on. The Hub headsets have a much smaller form factor and are much lighter on the head. We really like that it will automatically mute when you put the mouth piece up. Makes it so most of our communication isn't telling others to turn their com off. It has been great thus far!

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