PG Music Home Forums General Discussion Off-Topic EWI-USB vs EWI-4000s Pros and Cons

The Akai EWI Wind Controllers (EWC) strong advantage over the Yamaha Win Controllers is the optional brass/trumpet fingerings offered by the EWI-USB and the EWI-4000s. The pricing of the EWI-USB makes it very interesting for many who have a limited budget.

EWI-USB Pros:
1 Very light
2 No meticulous setup and configuration (tricky to setup optimal dynamic range)
3 Comes with some interesting Garritan Aria software and sounds
4 Does not require AC adapter or batteries
5 Hooks up to any computer via USB -thus negating the need for an extra MIDI port (or having to buy a USB to MIDI interface box)
6 Cost less than the EWI-4000s
CONS:
1 Has only 4 octave keys and the highest and the lowest are awkward/poorly designed. Your fingers have less room because the concavity in which the octave keys are built was not scooped out enough.
2 Drawback if you play live, you because you will need to use and depend on a computer.

Akai should provide a utility program to set the MIDI parameters. The utility program they supply is for the built in sounds -which sound mostly like a kazoo.
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EWI-4000s Pros:
1 Has 8 octave keys so you are less likely to run into the space problem found on the EWI-USB model. Plus, the 2 middle octave rollers have knurled so you can find your position without sounding a note.
2 Has pressure sensitive strip which may be very useful for additional control (such as trombone sliding)
3 You can change the MIDI control parameters using various keys and the LED alpha numeric display. The entire system is poorly designed and the display is cryptic (dual octal display only), and the section of the manual that details this is very poorly written in my opinion. Point being that you can change from breath control to volume without having to connect to a computer like for the EWI-USB.
4. May be better for live playing because you do not need a computer like you do for the EWI-USB because you can plug directly into your synthesizer. Some musicians feel that a hardware synthesizer is far more reliable than any computer and therefore do not wish to risk their live performance on the moods of their computer.

CONS:
1 Setting parameters for optimal dynamic range with tiny control knobs is tricky, not because of the knobs but because dynamic range requires two parameters to be adjusted interactively. EWI-USB is always optimal.

2 This instrument is longer and thicker than the EWI-USB and has more metal in it. It is therefore considerably heavier. I did not think it would make a difference to my comfort, but after having used the EWI-USB a lot, coming back to the EWI-4000s I really noticed it.
3 More expensive than the EWI-USB and you may also have to purchase a USB-MIDI interface box

If there is no specific Pro or Con for either instrument for you, then I would recommend getting the EWI-USB, because it will produce great music right out of the box at a lower cost so you can then save up for samplemodeling trumpet <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

For anyone who plays a MIDI Wind Controller the sample modeling technology is the absolute best there is. Not only are the Trumpet sounds incredibly realistic but the responsiveness is beyond belief. It's the only company that has developed synth settings specifically for Wind Controllers (Yamaha or EWI). Those of us who play WC's, unlike keyboard players playing w one hand only, do not have a spare hand for keyswitching, nor the option of using expression and other pedals (at least not as conveniently as kb players) so it is a welcome relief to know that we do not need keyswitching. Attack and breath intensity alone will produce much of the nuanced control that you only used to get from playing the "real" instruments. The trumpet changes it's tone and character just by playing your Wind Controller.

The Roland Aerophones are good windcontrollers and they have the best built in sounds, as far as acoustic instrument sounds go.

Here are some up to date pieces on my soundcloud page done with the samplemodeling, as well as audiomodeling (since they have split and are now independent)

https://soundcloud.com/dstong


Thanks for your attention,