Having sax as my primary instrument I'm luckier than guitarists in the MIDI world. The wind MIDI controllers have almost instant response - about as instant as a keyboard controller.

Sax is my primary instrument but I do play guitar, bass, drums, keyboards and flute along with the wind MIDI controller.

I find putting in rhythm guitar parts with the keyboard a lot of work. Proper guitar chord inversions must be used, and sometimes choking and sustain has to be 'massaged' in the MIDI sequencer/DAW after entering. But it's all worth it.

Years ago when I tried the MIDI guitar, as I noted earlier, the latency drove me crazy. Perhaps I should investigate one of those MIDI guitar controllers.

For lead lines I find using the wind MIDI controller easier. Yes, I'm predominantly a sax player, but I also find that the reed on my WX5 does a much better emulation of string bending than the wheel or joystick on any of my keyboards.

The Yamaha WX5 does have mechanical keys unlike the EWI. But I'm so used to slapping keys on a sax, this is no problem for me. Yamaha made a very sturdy instrument. What I like most about the WX family as opposed to the EWI is the reed.

The EWI has a bite sensor that works with a capacitor discharge for return to 'zero pitch'. That gives the machine control over vibrato return speed. I want to be able to do things like bend up quickly and slowly come down to pitch like a guitarist does. The guitarist in a band I was in a long time ago called it a 'ghost bend'. Yes there are bending plates on the EWI that you can control this with, but my fingers are busy with other functions. I prefer it in the reed.

The Wind MIDI controller's con is that it doesn't do double stops. Everything has it's price. But they could be added.

So for making BiaB styles and the backing tracks for my duo, I use keyboards for chord input and melodic percussion input, and wind MIDI controller for wind, guitar, and other lyrical instrument leads or background riffs.

There are exceptions and no hard fast rules. The right tool for the job might not be the one that works most of the time. If something isn't working right, try other tools and you never know what will work best.

For me music isn't instant gratification. I like the process of making the music as much as I like the music itself.

Sometimes making a backing track for a new song in my duo might take only an hour or two, other times a day or two. It depends on the song and my skills.

The harder songs improve my skills and after working on them for many hours, hearing the playback the way I want it is the reward. And I've been in this duo for many years now, so if I'm lucky, I'll get to play that song hundreds or thousands of times, and I'll be glad I spent the extra time with it every time I play it.

Insights and incites by Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks