I've never owned an Akai, but have owned all models of Yamaha, currently the WX5.

I would never buy the USB Akai. Why? I've been using MIDI since the 1980s. Back then there were a lot of other things computer while MIDI is still going strong:
  • Motorola CPUs for Mac - obsolete
  • Power PC CPUs for Mac - obsolete
  • DOS for PCs - obsolete
  • Windows 3.1 applications - obsolete
  • Atari and Amiga computers - obsolete
  • SCSI connectors - obsolete
  • Punch cards - obsolete
  • Mouse roller balls - obsolete
  • Parallel printer connectors - obsolete
  • RS232 - obsolete
  • 5.25" and 3.5" floppy disks - obsolete
  • DAT - obsolete
  • Mini Disks - obsolete
  • Cassette tapes - obsolete
  • VHS and Beta - obsolete
  • CRT monitors - obsolete
  • ADAT - obsolete
  • Fire Wire - obsolete
  • Dot Matrix & Daisy Wheel printers - obsolete
  • Laser discs - obsolete
  • Zip and Jaz drives - obsolete
  • DynaMO and other magneto-optical drive/disks - obsolete
  • Dial-up modems - obsolete (Remember U.S.Robotics?)
and all these were either in use when I got my first MIDI instrument or came and went since then.

MIDI is still around - unchanged - and with built-in room to grow without making the old obsolete.

We thought the floppy, SCSI, RS232, MiniDisc, and other formats would never go away when they were popular. How long with USB be around?

I've never played an EWI but prefer the WX for a few reasons:
  • The EWI has a capacitor in the bite sensor that discharges at it's own speed. This means that the vibrato speed cannot be controlled by the lip as the capacitor discharge rate regulates the return to zero pitch.
  • I don't really like the built in sounds of the EWI (of course the USB doesn't have any) and don't want the weight or the expense of an on-board synth I don't like
  • I like the keys as I tend to keep my fingers on them - if the Akai had the features I needed, I could learn the touch plate method
  • I have high resistance in my skin, like others, I would probably have to use hand cream to play the EWI, and then the cream would get on my sax, guitar, and flute as I also play these on the gig
  • I've heard horror stories about when playing in the hot sunlight, sometimes the EWI goes crazy and plays the "One Note Samba" - I don't know if they have corrected that or not, but I do pool parties in the summer so I don't want to take a chance.


That's my $0.02 anyway. It's all my personal opinion, your situation and your mileage may vary.

Notes

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
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