A few thoughts on the new Roland Aerophone AE-10

ByBret Pimentel

To be fair, I haven’t tried out the new electronic wind instrument from Roland, and probably won’t bother. (Unless you’re out there, Roland, and want to send me a review unit to change my mind?)

Don’t get me wrong: it’s great to see another company get into this space, and I hope they will seek to innovate further in wind controllers and push other companies (Akai, Yamaha) to do the same. But Roland’s new Aerophone AE-10 seems like a misstep.

n06_0352

Much of the promotional material gushes about how “innovative” the instrument is, but there doesn’t seem to be much to support this claim—it is essentially a very similar instrument to the Akai EWI series or Yamaha WX series, both of which have been around for decades. In implementation and marketing, it really reminds me more of the Casio DH—a novelty for casual playing, not a serious instrument in its own right.

Roland brags about the familiarity of the AE-10’s fingering system: “most digital horns make you master a new fingering system, which can be a major setback…” This positions the instrument as a toy: something saxophonists can pick up and play immediately without having to pay any additional dues. This unfortunately seems to be embedded in the philosophy of the AE-10’s fingering system: fully embracing the limitations of a real saxophone, while missing an opportunity to solidify wind controllers as viable instruments in their own right.

The AE-10’s faithfulness to “real” saxophone fingerings extends to, for example, palm keys. Why do saxophones have palm keys? Certainly not for agility or comfort—palm keys are a significant technical issue for saxophonists. They are Sax’s 1840s solution to the problem of needing to locate tone holes at certain places on the instrument’s body. An electronic instrument has no such constraints: the keys can be literally anywhere on the instrument. (The Akai EWI series does a better job of balancing familiarity with innovation.)

Additionally, the keys appear to move, and to do so in a rather noisy, clicky way. I don’t expect the noise is enough to really be a problem in an amplified situation, but it seems cheap and sloppy—not up to the standards a professional woodwind player demands. (And it strikes me as a very fixable problem on Roland’s end.) Beyond that, I’m not sure that moving keys really make much sense on this kind of instrument. I find the Akai EWI’s motionless keys to be very comfortable and intuitive, similar in touch to playing a recorder or simple-system flute. It’s a very free, agile feeling compared to the relatively clunky mechanisms of a keyed instrument. Why unnecessarily introduce moving parts?

Also from Roland’s website: “There’s nothing worse than a studio session grinding to a halt because you need an instrument that you haven’t brought along. That won’t happen with the Roland Aerophone AE-10, which gives you a variety of additional acoustic instrument sounds like clarinet, flute, oboe, trumpet, violin, and more…” I suppose the AE-10 is being marketed here toward unprofessional studio musicians, who happen to be working on low-quality projects that will tolerate substitution of a synthesized sound when the musician fails to bring the needed instruments?

Speaking of which, most of Roland’s promotional materials surrounding the AE-10 seem to focus on its sounds that imitate “real” instruments (“Choose from alto, tenor, soprano, and baritone sax types that all respond just like their acoustic counterparts…”). But the videos are unconvincing. The saxophone sounds, as usual for an electronic instrument, seem especially unsatisfying—a poor choice for a product that seems to be aimed at the saxophonist market. (My preference is to use wind controllers for “synthy” sounds rather than imitative ones, and the AE-10 does seem to include some.)

The AE-10 does boast some nice but ultimately minor features that I wouldn’t mind having on my Akai:

  • Fingerings are, to some extent, user-programmable (though still not as flexible as the Akai’s EWI fingering mode).
  • An onboard speaker, which seems convenient for practicing. (Roland doesn’t pretend it is usable in a performance situation.)
  • A line-in jack, again probably useful mostly for practicing.
  • A number of handy user-customization settings.
  • It comes with a case.
  • The “Brass section” setting makes it easy to layer sounds.
  • The “Full range” setting automatically switches to different saxophone sounds depending on tessitura. I was unable to determine whether this setting is specific to the saxophone sounds, or whether it is programmable. Could be handy to have several sounds on tap depending on the octave.

The AE-10 seems to be priced in roughly the same ballpark as the Akai 4000S/5000 and Yamaha WX5. (Bear in mind that the Yamaha requires an external sound module at extra cost, while the Akai and Roland have some sounds on board.) My take: spend your money elsewhere.

Similar Posts

  • Review: PiezoBarrel “Wood” clarinet pickup

    ByBret Pimentel

    I’m a little late to the party here after Chris Mothersole’s recent article in The Clarinet, but I recently acquired a “PiezoBarrel” wind instrument pickup and wanted to share my experience.

    The PiezoBarrel pickup is a way to electrify wind instruments, for amplification and for the application of electronic effects, such as guitar effects pedals. There are a few models of PiezoBarrel with different tonal characteristics, and the “Wood” model seems to be optimized for clarinets.

    I have experimented with electronics previously using the Little Jake pickup, on bassoon, bass clarinet, and English horn. In those cases installation involved drilling a small hole into a metal bocal or neck, and soldering on a small adapter to accept the Little Jake. I considered pursuing the same approach with the clarinet, but had some apprehensions about drilling into a wooden barrel.

    While trying to work up the nerve to proceed, I discovered that the PiezoBarrel is available pre-installed on a clarinet barrel. (It can also be purchased separately if you want to take on the do-it-yourself task or have your repair tech handle it.) I found this to be a surprisingly affordable option, so I placed my order through PiezoBarrel’s eBay store, figuring this would at least be a way to test-drive the pickup before installing on one of my own barrels.

    On arrival, I found the provided plastic barrel to work quite well with my instruments, so my wooden barrels get a reprieve for now. If I choose, I can later use the same pickup with many other instruments, if I install adapters (available from PiezoBarrel) for mounting on wood or metal.

    The package I purchased included the plastic 65mm barrel, with a screw that can be used to close the hole (so the barrel can be used as a “normal” barrel). It also included the PiezoBarrel pickup unit, which is a cylinder just over 2cm in length and about the same in diameter (or just under 1 inch). It screws into the threaded hole in the barrel. It also includes an audio cable, with a 1/8″ end that plugs into the PiezoBarrel and a 1/4″ end that plugs into your effects or amplification. There were also a few extra adapters, such as for installing into my own wooden barrels, and a small screwdriver for adjusting the PiezoBarrel’s output volume. (This is something you would adjust once if needed, and then adjust volume for performance using your amplification system’s volume controls.)

    Installation was as simple as putting the barrel on my clarinet, screwing in the pickup, and plugging in the cable.

    PiezoBarrel package contents
    PiezoBarrel installed on a clarinet, front view
    PiezoBarrel installed on a clarinet, side view

    The PiezoBarrel doesn’t require an external preamp. It can be plugged directly into a PA system or something like a guitar or keyboard amplifier (using the included cable), or can be routed through effects units of your choice.

    Most pickups will impose some amount of “character” on the sound of a wind instrument. (For a more purely “natural” sound, use a high-quality external microphone instead, though this raises potential problems when working with live effects or on noisy stages.) However, I find the PiezoBarrel’s sound to be surprisingly close to natural on my clarinets.

    For baseline comparison, here’s me playing, recorded with a conventional microphone:

    And here’s what it sounds like through the PiezoBarrel:

    Here are some examples using effects, from the Boss GT-1000CORE guitar multieffects unit. All have a little added reverb. For simplicity, they do not have any noise reduction or added EQ/compression, which I might do to sweeten them for a real performance or recording situation.

    Overdrive plus chorus:

    Delay:

    Distortion:

    Pitch shifter:

    In my opinion, this is an excellent system for electrified clarinet—easy, affordable, and of suitable quality for performance.

  • |

    Anatomy of a bad bamboo flute

    ByBret Pimentel

    Bamboo flutes and other “world”-type woodwinds of true musician quality can be difficult to find, and if you’re not experienced with them it can be nearly impossible to tell if an online seller’s wares are genuinely playable or more like souvenir items. I’m going to share an experience of mine in which I gambled and got burned, in case it is instructive to anyone out there.

    Recently I needed a bamboo flute in a specific and unusual key (high B-flat) on very short notice for a gig (a performance of the Duke Ellington Nutcracker Suite). My favorite trusted flutemakers don’t currently make flutes in that key, so I placed an order with a flutemaker that I hadn’t bought from before. (I won’t identify the flutemaker here, but I will say that he and his staff were very nice to me. When there was a totally-understandable wrinkle in getting the flute shipped on time, they even overnighted it plus threw in a very nice flute bag at no extra charge.)

    Ability to ship quickly was certainly a factor in my choice of vendors, but I was also reassured by the fact that the maker sells flutes in three grades: student, intermediate, and professional. I ponied up the money for a professional flute, and expressed to the flutemaker my need for excellent intonation and a strong high register.

    Here is what I received:

    cute, right?
    cute, right?

    Now, the proof of a flute is in the playing, and there’s no way to know for sure if it’s any good without giving it a try. But here are some immediate visual warning signs:

    • Uh-oh
      uh-oh

      The embouchure hole is strangely shaped. I don’t know for sure what the flutemaker intended, but round-ish is pretty standard. Since bamboo is an irregular material, a certain amount of air noise (vibrational inefficiency) is to be expected, but this flute is very airy, and I suspect the oddly-shaped and roughly-finished embouchure hole is a contributor to this.

    • This is an extremely wide-bored flute. Often for flute-like instruments we see a length-to-diameter ratio of something around 30:1, but this one is closer to 15:1. To oversimplify the ramifications of this a bit, a wider-bore flute (a smaller ratio) will generally tend to be stronger in the low register and weaker in the high register. For this gig, I needed a flute that could play just to the second octave above the fundamental note—not an unreasonable demand for any common variety of bamboo transverse flute. I couldn’t get this flute to do it. A smaller-diameter bamboo would improve this flute’s upper range.
    • The finger holes are fairly large, and about the same size. Generally, similarly-sized holes leads to more even tone across the instrument’s scale, but also means that the right hand index and middle finger holes are placed very close together for a simple-system major-scale flute, and on this one the holes are uncomfortably close for me. Larger holes decrease the likelihood of finding usable cross-fingerings; I needed one good cross-fingering for this gig, and couldn’t find one that worked—couldn’t even “lip” the chromatic note into tune. A well-designed flute strikes a balance between large and small holes, and similarly- and differently-sized holes.
    • The second octave is quite noticeably flat. This is a common problem of bamboo flutes (or any cylindrical-bore flutes), but this one is particularly difficult to wrangle into tune. Really excellent bamboo flutes are sometimes made from bamboo carefully selected to have just a bit of taper in the embouchure-hole end, like a concert flute’s headjoint, or have some bore work done to create an internal taper; this helps to bring the upper register into tune with the lower.

    When I realized that the flute wasn’t going to be usable, I packed my piccolo and a B-flat pennywhistle as possible alternatives. As it turned out, we didn’t end up playing the movement in question, so I was off the hook.

    Shop smart!

  • Review: D’Addario Select Jazz alto saxophone mouthpieces

    ByBret Pimentel

    I like mouthpieces that are easy to play, especially in terms of response and tuning. But I also really like something easy to replace; I don’t like the idea of a mouthpiece that is so expensive, variable, or rare that if I drop it I can’t just order a new one, have it in a few days, and expect it to play like the old one.

    A few years back I did a fairly detailed review of the Rico Reserve clarinet mouthpieces (in two parts), and have been happily using the Reserves as my main clarinet mouthpieces ever since. The Reserves are, in particular, astonishingly consistent from specimen to specimen, presumably due to the very precise tooling that obviates the need for hand-finishing (which sounds cool but ultimately means a relatively high degree of variability).

    The pro-line products formerly released under the Rico name are now D’Addario Woodwinds products, and they now include some alto saxophone mouthpieces, the Select Jazz series. I was pleased to hear from a contact at D’Addario Woodwinds who sent me some samples to try out.

    My point of reference is the various Meyer-ish alto mouthpieces I have played for about the last 20 years, most recently the V16 series from Vandoren. I used the A6/medium chamber for a number of years, but more recently switched to the A6/small chamber, which gave me a little more bite in my sound that works well for me in louder situations (like big band lead playing, or blues gigs here in the Mississippi Delta) without having to strain as much.

    The new D’Addario Select Jazz alto mouthpieces are currently available in three flavors, the D5M, the D6M, and the D7M. Larger numbers in the middle correspond to larger tip openings (details at D’Addario’s website). I got a couple of each to try. Each one says “medium chamber” on the box, so maybe D’Addario is considering other chamber sizes. At the moment street price seems to be a little higher than the V16s, but still basically in the same class.

    If you read the second part of my Reserve mouthpiece review, then you won’t be surprised to see that the Select Jazz mouthpieces are extremely consistent. Check out the very even and symmetrical rails and tips.

    L-R: two each of the D5M, D6M, and D7M. Click for higher resolution.
    L-R: two each of the D5M, D6M, and D7M. Click for higher resolution.

    As mentioned in a couple of other reviews, the Select Jazz mouthpieces have an unusually tight fit on the neck cork, and they chewed up my aging cork a bit. Cork grease!

    The mouthpieces have individual serial numbers, like the Reserve clarinet mouthpieces. When I asked about this during my clarinet mouthpiece review, the Rico/D’Addario rep told me there might in the future be some way of registering your mouthpiece online, maybe to access some kind of members-only content. I haven’t seen anything happen along these lines, so maybe there’s a more logical explanation, like that the numbers are just for quality control.

    Here is a sound clip of each of the six mouthpieces I received, plus my two V16 mouthpieces for comparison. For all the sound clips I used the same inexpensive fake-leather-type ligature, but different reeds, a D’Addario Select Jazz filed 3S and a filed 3M, depending on which worked best with each individual mouthpiece. The V16s and the Jazz Select D5Ms worked better with the 3M reed, and the Jazz Select D6Ms and D7Ms seemed to prefer the 3S reed.

    D’Addario Select Jazz D5M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D5M, specimen #2

    D’Addario Select Jazz D6M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D6M, specimen #2

    D’Addario Select Jazz D7M, specimen #1

    D’Addario Select Jazz D7M, specimen #2

    My old Vandoren V16 A6M

    My old Vandoren V16 A6S

     

    The differences are minor at best, and really in a pinch I could make any of these eight mouthpieces work, but here are a few observations:

    • The Select Jazz mouthpieces have noticeably more stable intonation than the V16s, especially the D5M. This is a bigger deal than tone, which is more malleable and more subjective.
    • The Select Jazz mouthpieces are, again, very consistent. This is the killer feature of D’Addario’s mouthpieces. I found the two D5Ms to be virtually interchangeable in terms of tone, response, and tuning, and the two D7Ms too. One of the D6Ms (#2) has, to my ear, just a tiny bit of an edge that I find unpleasant. I suspect that this one is slightly “off,” but the difference between the two is still quite minor compared to the differential in hand-finished production mouthpieces.
    • I do still want something with some edge to it, and the V16 small chamber still feels like is has more of that than any of the seven others, but not by much. The Select Jazz mouthpieces seem to have a bigger core and body to the sound, plus a bit higher volume, so I’m thinking it may be an acceptable tradeoff as far as making my presence known among the electric guitars.
    • Overall, I find the Select Jazz to respond better both down low in the staff and up above it than the V16s do. I didn’t play any altissimo in the sound clips, but I find the Select Jazz to have a slight advantage in that register as well.
    • The D5M and, to a lesser extent, the D6M, seem to be the best fit for my style and needs. The D7M doesn’t work as well for me—it has the louder but more spread tone and less-stable intonation you might expect from a larger tip opening—but it’s still one of the best mouthpieces I’ve played in that category, and it’s really only slightly large, not nearly as extreme as the tip openings offered by some other makers.

    I think the Select Jazz D5M is going to be my new mouthpiece. (I’m keeping a D6M in my case for now too until I can try them both on a loud blues gig, but so far the D5M has worked well for small-group jazz.) The combination of solid intonation, pretty-but-gutsy tone, budget-friendly price, and amazing consistency make this a solid, versatile, and practical option for a working saxophonist. They are great for educators, too—they are easy to recommend to students because they are so easy to play and because they are so reliable in quality (much less need to order a half-dozen on approval and hope there’s a “good” one in the bunch). A great all-around, no-nonsense alto jazz mouthpiece.

    I look forward to more offerings from D’Addario Woodwinds, perhaps alto mouthpieces in other chamber sizes, or mouthpieces for other saxophones.

  • Review: The Many Sides of Al Gallodoro

    ByBret Pimentel

    I recently picked up a copy of The Many Sides of Alfred Gallodoro, Vol. I from Half.com. (As of this writing, they don’t have any copies left, so you’ll either have to get yours from his own website or from CD Baby. There are sound clips at both sites.)

    Mr. Gallodoro is a living legend of woodwind playing: born in 1913, started playing professionally as a teenager, and is still at it. I’ve got him listed on my little woodwind doublers’ hall of fame, and you can read his full official bio here. Read More “Review: The Many Sides of Al Gallodoro”

  • Review: ReedGeek “Universal” reed tool

    ByBret Pimentel

    reedgeek-1_mini

    I’m a little late to the party on this, as the ReedGeek has been around for a number of years now and has been widely reviewed, but I finally picked one up (at ClarinetFest) after a long conversation/demonstration with inventor Mauro Di Gioia.  I have been using mine for a few months now and wanted to add a few points to the conversation. Here is my take.

    The ReedGeek isn’t completely replacing my traditional reed tools, but, I am using it for some of the tasks that I used to do with those tools:

    • Flattening the backs of single reeds. This seems to be what the ReedGeek does best, and it is now my go-to tool for this procedure (by far the most frequent adjustment I make to my clarinet and saxophone reeds). I used to do this with wet-dry sandpaper on a piece of glass, and with flat files prior to that. Using the ReedGeek is faster and neater, doesn’t remove as much cane unnecessarily, and leaves a nice smooth non-shredded finish even on wet cane. I had also experimented in previous years with using knives for flattening, which is fast and leaves a nice finish but is risky because it’s so easy to gouge out chunks of cane by accident. The ReedGeek is much safer.reedgeek-2_mini
    • Smoothing out oboe reed windows. I still like my double-hollow-ground knives for carving out oboe reed windows, but I do have a tendency to leave the windows a bit rough and craggy (like from knife chatter). That’s fussy and time-consuming to fix with a knife, and if not handled delicately a knife can actually exacerbate the problem. But the ReedGeek cleans up my windows pretty quickly and easily, with much less risk of making the gouges worse. I mostly use the squared-off end for this.reedgeek-5_mini
    • Scraping bassoon reed channels. The concave parts of a bassoon reed blade are all but impossible to get at with a straight knife, and I find round files or sandpaper to be only a little less clumsy. The ReedGeek’s slightly curved tip works very well for this. Mr. Di Gioia describes this as being similar to using a pencil eraser—you just “erase” the cane you don’t want.reedgeek-4_mini

    I’m not currently using the ReedGeek for:

    • Balancing the corners of the tips of single reeds, though it certainly can be used for this. I’m still used to sandpaper and glass, which at this point feels more controlled to me. If I have both tools available I still grab the sandpaper but if I’m away from my reed desk and traveling light, the ReedGeek will do the job. The ReedGeek can, I think, be used effectively to target specific spots on a reed’s profile (using either the square or the curved end), but I personally do very little of that.
    • Double reed making. (It’s fair to point out that the ReedGeek isn’t exactly being marketed as a tool for this anyway, though the company does publish a document on its website that provides some instruction for double reed players.) For one thing, the ReedGeek is quite small, and for reedmaking I like big, chunky, comfortable knife handles. A handle would also get my hand out of the way, which was a problem for me when I tried to use the ReedGeek for some fine tip work on oboe reeds—it was hard to get everything angled so I had control and could see what I was doing. I spoke to Mr. Di Gioia on the phone while preparing this review, and he hinted at a soon-to-be-revealed, more double-reed-oriented version of the ReedGeek, with some kind of extension for increased leverage (though he shied away from calling it a “handle”), and with scraping surfaces tailored more for double-reed applications. Because of the ReedGeek’s extremely hard alloy, it may be tougher on reed plaques than a traditional knife, but if you’re planning to use the ReedGeek in that way, the price difference between the ReedGeek and a good knife will buy you dozens of plaques.

    The ReedGeek is very portable, won’t be confiscated at an airport security checkpoint, and doesn’t need sharpening like a knife or replacing like sandpaper. (When I spoke with Mr. Di Gioia he joked that he has to hope that people lose them so they will have to buy more.)

    The ReedGeek has a hole drilled though one end (visible in the oboe reed picture), which I thought might be a way to attach some kind of handle, or perhaps to put it on a lanyard or keyring. In my follow-up call with Mr. Di Gioia, he explained that the hole has to do with the ReedGeek manufacturing process, and that keeping the ReedGeek on your keyring would likely damage your keys as it is much harder than the metals keys are made from. Also, the ReedGeek’s edges feel sharp to me, but not really in such a way that I would cut myself on them; Mr. Di Gioia recommends handling it with care but isn’t aware of people injuring themselves with it. He has an idea for a sleeve or sheath that may become available at some future date, and that could make carrying the ReedGeek in your pocket more feasible.

    The verdict: for me, it’s useful and I will easily get my money’s worth out of it as long as I don’t lose it. For a single-reed player, I think it can realistically replace most or all of your tools. For a double-reed player, it’s currently a supplementary tool at best, but stay tuned for a possible new product.

    At the time of this writing the ReedGeek goes for right about $50 from the ReedGeek store; some retailers also carry it.

  • Required recordings, spring 2010

    ByBret Pimentel

    As I explained back in August, I’m having my university students purchase a required recording every semester.

    The purpose of this, of course, is to help the students develop good aural concepts of tone, phrasing, expression, vibrato, ensemble, and so forth. To try to learn to play an instrument well without a solid aural concept is like trying to learn a foreign language from a textbook. You might pick up a few things, but you’ll be sunk unless you get to really hear—over and over—how the words and phrases sound.

    I’m discovering that it’s a challenge to make the recording selections meet all the criteria I’d like. For example, I would like for each one to:

    • Be by a major soloist, preferably living
    • Contain very standard literature that my students should know, without too many repeats from previous selections
    • Contrast with last semester’s selection (for example, if last semester’s recording was music with piano, I tried to pick a concerto recording this time around)
    • If at all possible, contribute to a sense of diversity

    The last one has been a challenge. So far my two-semester tally, selecting recordings for four different instruments, is six white men and two white women. I’d like to improve on that in the future, though I do think that, ultimately, what comes through the earphones is more central to this project than the colors or genders represented on the CD covers. I’ve got a few ideas for future selections and welcome additional suggestions.

    Here are this semester’s selections: Read More “Required recordings, spring 2010”

40 Comments

  1. I thought this was a toy as well, and then heard these….

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHlG_PwwvGY

    And now I’m not so sure…..some of those sounds sound pretty good. I think Roland is aiming more towards the EWI5000 with the builtin sounds. I’d have to listen to a 5000 to see (last I remember, I thought the 5000 sounded kind of meh). I guess it really comes down to how does it play. If it plays well, or plays well with Midi, like maybe with Apple Mainstage, I could see people using this. Just plug in a USB cable you could have a fairly good controller to use with your laptop to get some more realistic sounds.

    The marketing though needs to drop the chump with the hairdo though. He can’t play his way out of a paper bag.

    Reply

  2. Bret
    It hasn’t been released yet & the feature set hasn’t been finalised yet.I play all the woodwinds except bassoon & have all the wind controllers so far released except the sylpho.I am used to a number of different fingering systems but as my principal instrument is the saxophone,the wind controller I am most adept at playing is the synthophone (which as you know is a saxophone stuffed with electronics & is very expensive).Despite working hard with the ewis I still glitch from time to time.The appeal of a controller where you can feel comfortable on straight away is I think going to make it appeal to sax players particularly at the price point.As far as the sounds go I am not going to replace my acoustic saxes,clarinet,bass or contrabass clarinet,flute ,oboe,english horn or piccolo with the aerophone-but would consider using it for sounds of instruments I don’t play if needed.It may also be a quiet mobile practice tool.
    The marketing & product release method is unusual-more aimed at consumers.

    Reply

  3. I’ve played the WX series since they were invented. Also had both EWIs (sold both.) Woodwind synth is a different animal, but I think I’ve played the Yamahas long enough to consider them a separate instrument from the saxes (I play bari,tenor,alto and soprano.)

    I’ll give this a fair chance. I’ve tried teaching some world class sax players to use the WX with horrible results (but these guys are in their seventies / eighties. I think this might work for them.

    Certainly the firmware is WAY more advanced than anything we have experienced from controllers before. There is room for lots of potential customization.

    Reply

    1. Hi Jan

      I agree with your comments – I too have used the Yamaha’s WX series and the EWI’s before coming back to the WX 5 with the VL-70m with the Patchman Turbo chip
      I have had the Aerophone for some 2 months and despite trying to tailor the sounds to my taste I find it disappointing in the sound menu
      I have the RD700 and love the SuperNatural sounds on it but the chance to use this method to have near acoustic sounds it falls towards synth sounds which are boring
      Where is a Flugel horn – several trumpet and muted trumpet sounds
      The WX 5 + VL-70m with the Patchman Turbo chip is ,in my opinion far superior in providing realistic sounds
      I have just updated to version 2 expecting an improvement – but again dominated by extra synth sounds

      Reply

    2. Today I tried the ae 10, the reason for my choice is that one can adjust the amount of breath required to play the instrument and the sax fingering.
      I found the fingering easy to get used to and the octave key well placed easy to operate. The breath adjustment was excellent and I soon found the setting I required. But oh dear the sound through the speaker, now that was poor, the alto sax sounded more of a tinny sound than a sax, the clarinet was slightly better and the flute even better but all lacked something.
      Put the headphones in and what a difference the sounds were really good and clear.
      Batteries lasted well but oh why can’t they be recharged in situ when you plug in the mains lead!
      In the end I didn’t buy one the reason, well I wanted something I could take out of the bag switch it on and play with a realistic sound, not something one had to plug in headphones, or speakers or computer or amp to get that realistic sound.

      Reply

  4. Bret, your initial thoughts were EXACTLY the same as mine! I question the business notion behind this device- who exactly do they think they’ll sell it to in mass quantities? I used to be a district manager for a large music retail chain, and Roland always seemed to view the wind synth market with great disdain. This is a big surprise, and I too thought of the Casio toy at first. I don’t really care about emulations or on-board sounds- I can get all I need out of my 2) VL-70’s and Motif rack with my WXs. I’ve been playing wind synth since 1978 (Lyricons) and have owned EWIs, too. The first AE-10 videos I saw were a joke, but then I happened across this guy Alistair in the links Eric posted, and he really plays it musically. Made me stop and wonder. Akai and Yamaha have not innovated much over the past few years, and with the advent of iOS synths and Mainstage setups, it would be neat to have a USB-based controller to consider. So I remain skeptical, but I’m interested in trying one to see if it’s a viable instrument- maybe even hopeful :).

    Reply

    1. I came in from the WX-11 platform until its brain (read breakout-box) got fried after 30! (!) years of service. A machine manufactured by Yamaha in Germany. So I had to find a replacement and the closest thing I had was AKAI since Yamaha stopped making the VL70’s and their WX5/WX7 hardware controller. I was stuck and I was taking a hard look at myself and what I did. All I really needed was a direct USB in to work with my wind-synths from Sample-modeling and I would be in the clear.
      The EWI 4000s was on the market at the time and I had no feeling for its sound, nor did it have a USB port. And the price at the time was really expensive. (Now it’s down to a good, reasonable price-point here in Japan.) There was only one solution. The Akai EWI-USB answered my need and I was a little bit scared to try it out in the store, however I can now recommend anyone who have gone sad for their old WX/WT/VL hardware breaking down, but still only using it to control VSTi’s. Look no further.

      The Akai EWI 5000 is doing everything that the Roland does. Akai’s has more value for the money and it also has a lot more offering for people from different backgrounds can come into the EWI series and learn a new instrument from scratch. It did take me 2 weeks to re-adjust my “thumb-rest” error on the EWI, but now it’s like a part of me. Using it live with my Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with Sample Modelings more superior acoustic/physics modeled sounds. Plus I also program my own lead patches in Omnisphere.

      The Akai EWI-USB is the most incredible piece of machine and I’m now glancing at the Akai 4000s as a cool thing to have on stage for the more synth-based stuff and hook it up to vocoders etc.

      For just MIDI-control if you don’t care about the machine not having any sounds, go with AKAI EWI-USB.
      If you want some acoustic sounds and a huge variety of sounds on the MOVE, Akai EWI 5000 does it better than Roland. (EWI 5000 has 100 patches plus user-banks, meanwhile Roland has only 40.)
      The EWI 5000 is also more reasonably priced than the Roland Aerophone 10.

      I’m not saying that any of those 2 instrument could replace any real winds or brass, but it could add an element of feeling when performed in a group, not by itself.

      So best value for many between Akai EWI 5000 and the Roland, the EWI wins, hands down.

      /Daniel Lindholm
      EWI-player, music-producer

      Reply

      2. I have had the Akai 4000 and the 5000 and to be honest I would NEVER buy another instrument with a built in / purpose made battery,and the Akai are very prone to going wrong. Roll on the Roland with its replaceable batteries.

  5. itI’m working with EWIs since the EWI 1000 decades ago (EWI 5000 is my third one) and after watching the first promo videos of the AE-10 and listening to the clicking sounds of its keys on some other videos I was rather disappointed, so I share most of Bret’s resentments, despite the excitement of Roland finally launching a wind synth after my playing Roland synth keys and modules since the early 80’s. I still hope to find a wind controller with premium internal sounds and a fast CPU. The Akai, while having perhaps half a dozen usable presets, is awfully slow regarding patch loading, and the sample based engine has a lot of restrictions performancewise, so overall, I think despite the mature hardware itself the EWI leaves a lot to be desired. On the other hand, I like Roland’s Supernatural engine and the prospect of having wind gear using that is rather tempting. Additionally, as Michael Webster aleady mentioned, ir is almost impossible not to glitch on the EWI, so the mechanical keys are perhaps not so bad as it seems. As I mostly play synth sounds with the wind controller, it remains to be seen, if the AE-10 will satisfy the needs of professional musicians.

    Reply

  6. Hey guys, y’all haven’t seen the real beast! So let’s wait and try it out. I have so much equipment from ROLAND and I’m using it for decades… Nothing they did was sh**. Would be happy to own one.

    Reply

  7. I have played a Casio DH500for about 10 years, love it but wanted a bit more as far as various tones. I have a wireless midi set-up that attaches to a Casio Keyboard ( a small one) and that gives me a bit more in sound and novelty. I have scribed thousands of midis using Melody Assistant and Notation Composer ( at 78 I have the time and inclination to do so), scribing music from 1120 through 2016 – early music, classical music, jazz, Irish, folk music, etc. and look forward to experimenting with the Roland Aerophone ae-10. I perform only as a non-professional and play along with these midis. It seems from all that I read that we now have the replacement for my Casio DH500 ( I have three of them) that also has an internal speaker, has 40 voices and from what I have seen on YouTube meets all that I have asked Casio to manufacture, but they never ever answered my e-mails. Congratulations to Roland for having the courage to make this and enter the Wind Controller market.

    Reply

  8. Now that I’ve played on an AE-10 for two hours (and happily returned it afterwards) I sadly have to confirm all of Bret’s concerns and then some. I could write a list of things that bothered me when trying it out. One of them the mouthpiece being cheap plastic so you see wear from your front teeth on top after two(!) minutes of cautious playing. The ‘reed’ is just a kind of modulation on/off lever, so you cannot produce a sensitive manual frequency vibrato with your lower lip like on a real sax, or on an EWI. A woodwind sound like an oboe with preprogrammed, mechanical vibrato is just awful imho (being a professional woodwind player for about thirty years). Some of the sounds were better than expected, like the alto or the tenor. Others, like the few synth patches, were (considering Roland to be a mayor player in making synthesizers) just uninspiring. The chunky “palm keys” are really no joy to practice with, when you have to press two of them with one finger for certain fingerings. The dreaded octave glitches on the EWI are there, too, but at least on the EWI you know where you are. It’s easy to accidentally slide to the small octave buttons next to the main ones. And the “joystick” knob beneath the thumb hook is really awkward to use, as your thumb is important to support the instrument. Of course, if you practise many, many hours, you might be able to cope with that. And why is there a single joint output for headphones and audio? Why is there no option to change the type of controller message the AE-10 sends? It’s preset to CC 11, and all my synth modules are working with CC 2, so I would spend some time to accommodate the new gear with my MIDI setup. I could rant on and on, but I’ll stop here. I really wanted to like the AE-10, but in the end the weak impression persisted.

    Reply

  10. In terms of brass instrument replacement, marvellous for people who have to practice in small apartments – urban Japanese, for example; but it’s always going to sound like a stylophone in the end. And what do you do about spit?

    Reply

  11. I’m sure your points are spot on if you cwant snider this to be an instrument in its own right. I don’t! I’m learning the saxophone, and thus the fingering system, I have young kids, and live in a semi-detached house. Basically I can practice when the kids are in school. Anything after 3 pm is just a nuisance. Furthermore, being a long haul pilot, I spend A LOT of time in hotels. Needless to say, practicing an acoustic sax at 3 am (due to jet lag) wouldn’t go down too well.

    With this instrument, I can practice where and when I want, without having to learn a new fingering system. That is unlike any other electrical sax on the market that I’ve found. This is a god send for people like me.

    The fact that the sound may not be spot on doesn’t bother me at all. As long as it sounds remotely like a sax, and is in tune, I can practice my playing on this, and then get the real sound when I get home to my acoustic.

    Is there a big enough market for this instrument. I don’t know. I don’t care. As long as I get mine in 7-14 business day, I’m happy!

    Reply

  13. I bought an Aerophone – never played a wind instrument before as I am a guitarist- and have some much fun with it.
    The sax-like fingering was very important to me because I can start learning the instrument by using a regular sax course. Was not sure how to start with an EWI.

    I also prefer moving keys against touch keys.

    The EWI 5000 has also a built in battery and this is an ABSOLUTE NO for me.

    Reply

  15. I’ve used the Yamaha WX series for well over 25 years now, but in a quite different way from what the other posters do, I’m sure. I’m a woodwind player and band director (now retired) and I discovered years ago what a great help the wind controller can be in working on intonation (if I’m playing a note in unison with the flute player and we’re not in tune, it ain’t my fault!). We’re approaching intonation from an entirely aural, rather than a visual perspective (using a tuner, that is).

    As I explain to the students, it has 3 great advantages: 1) I’m never “out of tune” (yes, I know, but temperament’s a discussion for another time); 2) I can be heard above the entire band; and 3) I can play in unison with the piccolo and the tuba and everything in between. Oh yes, and if need be, I can play as fast as any of you!

    I’ve use both the WT-11 and VL70m sound modules but I use only one (yes, one) sound, the clarinet. I’ve long dreamed of having a midi controller with onboard sound (just one) and speaker that I could roam around the room with. I do have a MidiJet Pro with the WX-5, which works well, though it’s a bit cumbersome and, worse, if I’m working with the tubas in the back of the room and the sound’s coming from the front of the room, that’s far from ideal.

    I tried the Akai, which meets some of those needs, but I do prefer keys that move, and I found the octave mechanism very unsatisfactory, so I remain in the Yamaha camp.

    My dream is a simple wireless wind controller with just one sound. I’ve visited with some of my friends at Yamaha about this, but to no avail. You’d be hard pressed to find a band room in my state (Texas) without a Yamaha Harmony Director keyboard, currently about $1,500. It’s a wonderful device, but hardly portable and, like most band director types, my keyboard chops lag far behind my woodwind skills.

    If someone—Yamaha or anyone else—could produce a simple, inexpensive device (say, $500 range or so) of the kind I describe, and marketed it properly, I haven’t the least doubt that band directors nationwide would be beating the doors down to get one.

    Reply

  16. My biggest complaints about the Akai EWI are

    – I cannot rest my fingers on the keys as I do with other instruments
    – The EWI is a compromise that isn’t 100% intuitive for anyone

    I love that a company has created something for a sax player to give them something closer to the feel of their axe. There is no reason that a company shouldn’t be able to deliver something that’s intuitive to the player from day one.

    I recognize that the fingerings on the EWI are more flexible and that many people have invested time in learning the EWI. That’s great, but that shouldn’t preclude anyone else from having the option of an instrument that they can “just pick up” and feel at home with.

    Reply

  17. Excellent comments from most here — For a pretty good first impression review from a sax player on the AE-10, check out this video:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3T0hPzH6jhU

    A bit of background: I started playing oboe when I was 13, then sax and flute then in the late 70’s I got a Lyricon, then switched to Yamaha WX7 in the 80s which are my controllers of choice. I have all of them but favor the WX11 for its octave key layout and overall reliability. I also own an EWI 5000 — but anyone who thinks it’s onboard sounds are good is aiming way too low or has never played through a VL-70. I have two of those with Matt’s chips onboard and highly recommend this combo to ALL wind players. If anyone here knows of a better, more playable wind controller-geared synth, please post your thoughts.

    Reply

  18. I just saw the Aerophone 2.0 at NAMM 2017! I absolutely love it! I’ve been playing an AKAI EWI 4000s for about 5years. I’ve never felt comfortable enough to really use it at gigs. It’s temperature sensitive,unpredictable in the strange sounds which come out of no where and I’ve never quite figured those darned octave rollers. Yes, it came with 100 sounds built in. I have only found about 10 to be of any real value. So that immediately leads us to Patchman Sounds if you want any real synth sounds on an EWI 4000. He is basically a one-man shop supporting these upgrades. When I called him to to discuss an upgrade, he basically hung up the phone before I was really done inquiring. The EWI requires waay too much “tweeking” in order to play. As a saxophonist, I only wanted a synth for exotic and fun sounds and for music scoring. Why would I expect it to sound as good as my acoustic saxes, which I love playing and have heavy investments of time and $$$.

    We buy equipment for specific purpose and roles. The Aerophone more than fulfills that role.

    Reply

    1. I have just downloaded a free app for AE-10 from Roland, Aerophone Editor which looks exciting. I look forward to some expert comment on the usefulness as I am a bit old to be much more than casual user. It downloads to my Samsung S6

      Reply

  19. I have the original Akai EWI 1000/2000, but sadly, it needs repair.

    I have the Yamaha EX5 and the Yamaha VL70m (no Matt Patchman goodies, though), but sadly, the octave “keys” are stupid small for my Rachmaninoff size hands.

    A friend of mine has the Akai 5000, and the sounds are dull in my view.

    I’ve not tried the Akai 4000.
    The octave rollers on my EWI 1000 were challenging but doable;the WX5 octave buttons just are not (even with extensive attempts and modification).

    I do prefer the WX5 non-octave keys to the Akai touch plates.

    I also prefer the Yamaha reed to the EWI bite plate (at least the 1000’s one)

    I’ve played saxophone since 1973 (same Mark VI tenor, in fact).

    I’m primarily a Jazz player.

    If I’m correct the either the EWI 4000 or 5000 can be MIDI’d, it comes down to (1) onboard sounds and (2) play-ability (including the mouthpiece, or reasonable facsimile thereof).

    Anybody here who has actually played all three and can comment on issues 1 and 2?

    I don’t double on other woodwinds. I play piano.

    Thanks,

    – Jeff

    Reply

  20. Now a after a year of reading posts and watching videos I have changed my initial opinion which was based on horrible marketing and a product that was released before proper testing. After two firmwear and one color change it now is worth taking the risk. I have a bad case of G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

    Reply

  21. Mike, honestly to do a review of some gear without trying it out seems to me worthless. These are all words without substance, sorry for that. I tried out an AKAI and I was disappointed mainly because of the touch keys. There is a big difference in keeping the finger tips resting on the keys rather than floating them above the sensors.

    And there is an other point I want to mention. A lot of musicians using DAWs and for instance MainStage even on stage today. So there is not wrong by using a midi controller at all. If someone prefers a wind controller rather than a keyboard, why not.
    And a word to the YAMAHA VL-70m: this is old stuff from the last century. Compared to the processors today it sounds familiar and great to the owner but horrible.

    Reply

  22. The Akai 5000 is a cool looking insrument. It has 100 sounds but only 10 are decent sounds the other 90 are cheap cheesy toy and awfull I would certainly never use them , I am a pro sax /flute player and vocalist and I bought it for the synth sounds but unfortunatly theres not many of them and the sax sounds are embarrassing.Lets hope Akai in the future come up with better quality internal sounds in the future then they will have cracked the wind synth market !

    Reply

    1. I agree re 5000 sounds. In fact, thery are so cheese city that I bought the Aerophone instead. I own the original, analog EWI. Much hipper.

      Reply

      1. With the 2.2 update for the AE10 I was finally able to get the vibrato I want with the Sample Modeling Istruments I mainly use in a Big Band. For an acoustic guitar group I am using and loving the internal Violin sound. When people ask me “what is that” I tell them it is a fiddle stick. That is the only usable internal sound that has gotten acceptance in that group and I enjoy the expression I can achieve.

  23. Hello all
    Was googling AE-10 and found this post. So I hope someone will read this and maybe have some thoughts? No one responded to me on the yahoo wind controller mailing list and I can’t figure out if the patchman music forums are still active.
    I am a blind sax player and play the wx5 with the vl70M with patchman music upgrade chip. I purchased in college and since I was majoring in music, I had friends and professors who were willing to help me memorize button presses. For example, I can switch patches on the wx5 as well as add patches to the internal bank on the vl70. It’s been quite a few years now doing this on my own.
    I have to send the wx5 back to patchman because the circular rubber piece that holds the mouthpiece in place won’t stay lubricated. As of now the mouthpiece will not come off of the wx and I don’t want to force it. I have the money to get it repaired but I was thinking about the AE-10 since the wx is now discontinued. Not sure how much longer parts can be found etc?
    I have a few problems with this however even though I am quite fascinated by the AE-10. The built in sounds sound quite nice and so does 7 hour battery life.
    Cost:
    I probably won’t be able to trade my wx for an AE-10 unless patchman music had a used one? I’d like them to set it up since they set up my WX5-vl70M for me and all I have to do is play. I will use the internal sounds but will also be using it with the vl70M, Yamaha Motif Rack XS (Haven’t bought soundbanks yet) and eventually the patchman Native Instrument Kontakt instruments and saxes/brass from Sample Modeling if someone could help me configure them for wind controller use. Looks like a $130.00 USB to midi adapter would be needed.
    Usage:
    Being blind, the display screen and menus scare me. The IOS and Android editors somewhat read with the built in screen readers (VoiceOver and TalkBack) but not sure how useable they would be and don’t see Roland assisting 1 blind player with improvements anytime soon. As said above, can it be set up once and I’ll never have to use the menu again? There appear to be shortcut keys for selecting preset and user patches but what about selecting patches from the vl70M/motif?
    Any thoughts or assistance on this would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
    Regards
    Jay Pellis

    Reply

  24. The reviewer admits right off the bat that he hasn’t actually tried the product, thus entirely disqualify himself as a reviewer and losing all credibility.

    Then his main criticism of the instrument seems to be that the fingering is too much like saxophone fingering, which is actually a huge plus for saxophone players (who are, of course, the primary market).

    Hilariously lame.

    Reply

  26. Well I have played the Akai EWI and the Roland Aerophone and as a Sax player I can say I am enjoying playing the Aerophone way better. Brett said Roland missed the mark and embracing saxophone fingering was a mis-step. I disagree. It not only is instantly familiar to sax players but give you range that you don’t have on a regular saxophone. 3 octaves up and down make this instrument a beast. That coupled to the synth sounds build in and the ability to midi it to your favorite computer DAW and you can compose music with this laying track after track. This is a hit as far as I am concerned and going gigging with this is a way better experience than the Akai EWI since I would have to drag around a lot more equipment with it.

    Reply

  27. Ok, I have an issue when someone admits they haven’t tried a product but still writes a review about it. Can you imagine a food critic writing a review about a meal but never tasted the food? Why was this review even posted. Here is a review from someone who has actually tried the Roland AE-10 version 3.0 and I LOVE it! I am an experienced sax player and has played tenor and soprano sax for over 20 years. I was just looking for something fun to add to my sax family. I was playing the EWI 5000 for a year, but 2 weeks after playing the Roland AE-10 I decided to sell my EWI, that’s how impressed I was with the Roland AE-10. It was so much easier and fun to play, and the quality sounds are amazing. I recently played this at my church and I used the violin and harmonica sounds and after church many people were coming up to the band wondering who were playing those instruments. I have started using the Roland AE-10 in some of my studio sessions. Now don’t get me wrong there are some minor quirks I hope Roland work on such as the sound the keys make when pressed, but that’s minor. The only time I hear the keys is when I am playing the instrument and listening through the unit speakers. The majority of time I play with the head phones or through a sound system. Coming up with a wireless unit like the EWI 5000, would be a nice upgrade. Bottom line, take it from someone who has actually tried this instrument and who has thoroughly enjoyed it. I think most sax players will love it too. Just sayin’

    Reply

    1. Total agree with Saxmo, this “review” is BS. I received my AE-10 today and am VERY impressed. It’s definitely not a toy, obviously it won’t replace a real sax but the fact that you can transfer your knowledge and play it out of the box is a huge win. I’ll use it to practice when I want a practice in non-conventional hours and for travel I think it’s perfect too. Roland did a great job with this instrument.

      Reply

  28. Thanks Bret and everyone in the comment for the critical reviews. Been browsing reviews on the aerophone for a while but for some reason, all of them seem to be only positive reviews. Roland has been aggressively pushing out paid reviews everywhere, including some comments here which keep linking back to Roland own YT videos (pretty obvious right?). Also, Alistair has been covering only aerophone since its release in 2016 (not a single review on EWI and Yamaha), so I’m very skeptical of his reviews or whoever mentions him.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments that take a negative or confrontational tone are subject to email and name verification before being approved. In other words: no anonymous trolls allowed—take responsibility for your words.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.