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.

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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.

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  • Review: Duos for Doublers by Gene Kaplan

    ByBret Pimentel

    I was pleased to hear from woodwind player and composer Gene Kaplan, who sent me a copy of his new duets books, Duos for Doublers. These, as far as I know, are a one-of-a-kind set of duets for two woodwind doublers, with the first part including flute, clarinet, and alto saxophone, and the second part including flute, clarinet, and tenor saxophone. The instruments are used in various combinations, with each player playing at least two instruments on each duet (with one exception, where the second part is tenor-only on one of the duets).

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    The style and the difficulty level of the duets varies. They are probably not suitable for those just starting out on their doubles (yet), as they do not shy away from bugaboos like the flute’s third octave, the clarinet break, and the saxophone’s below-the-staff notes.

    I think a real benefit of these is that they do require quick instrument switches in real time and without losing your place (something that’s much easier to “fudge” with, say, solo etudes), in the company of someone who presumably will be understanding if you need to back up and try again. These duets would be great for getting together with another woodwind doubler for a little friendly challenge.

    I’m on record as saying that saxophone-flute-clarinet-“only” doubling is a somewhat dated approach, and that modern doublers need to take the double reeds seriously, as well as auxiliary instruments in each woodwind family, plus probably some “world” woodwinds. These duets are still useful for working one commonly-used subset of those skills. (Gene is a double reed player himself, and acknowledges that he didn’t include them here in order to make these duets playable for more woodwind doublers.)

    The set costs $30 at the time of this review (shipped free in the continental US). They are self-published, with paper covers and a clear plastic sheet over the front. The plastic comb binding is exactly what is needed for a book of sheet music to lay flat and stay open (something that some large sheet music publishers get wrong).

    There are a couple of issues with layout that make these a little bit of a hassle to play, but which also probably provide just the kind of training that aspiring woodwind doublers need for real-life gig situations. The first is (some) impractical page turns, sometimes in places where the only option is to photocopy a page or to drop out for a couple of bars. Some happen during short rests, and some of those also coincide with an instrument change. The second issue is that each of the books includes only one part. My preference for duet playing is one book with both parts on the page, score-style. (This can also potentially mitigate the page turn problem, if you have four hands available instead of two.)

    Here’s a quick video demo of “Acapulco Nights” by me and my less-handsome twin brother.

    I’ve added these to my list of compositions for multiple-woodwind instrumentalists. Let me know if there’s anything else on your radar that should be included.

    Get Duos for Doublers from Gene Kaplan’s website.

     

  • Review: Hercules DS538B woodwind stand

    ByBret Pimentel

    After my recent glorious victory in the Saxquest trivia contest, I had a gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket and I decided to get a new stand to hold my saxophones and perhaps some other woodwinds in my office and on gigs.

    I had been tempted previously by SaxRax stands, which I continue to hear good things about but haven’t been able to try out seriously in person. I find it difficult on SaxRax’s website to find out exactly what products they are currently making; I had to use their contact form and wait for a response to determine that their single alto and tenor stands can no longer be joined with a special connector, and the double flute-clarinet peg is no longer made (though some old stock are apparently still available). I had hoped to buy a single saxophone stand and eventually build onto it with a second, but now you have to buy a combo alto-tenor stand, and that is currently out of my price range.

    Click for larger.

    Next on my list were the stands by Hercules, which are more expensive than the various cheap stands but considerably less costly than the SaxRax. Hercules’s website is very clear about what products they make. I settled on the DS538B, which holds alto and tenor saxophones, and includes a soprano saxophone peg and two flute-or-clarinet pegs. Saxquest currently sells them for USD $69.95, plus a fairly steep shipping charge (the stand is a little heavy, I guess).

    Many moons ago, I did some mini-reviews of various stands, including the Hercules DS543B flute-piccolo-clarinet stand. I had a complaint about it, that holds true for the DS538B as well:

    It has yellow trim. Not on the pegs, which might be useful in the dark, but on the base, where its only function is to call attention to itself (and perhaps provide a little free advertising).

    I got in touch with a Hercules representative, who pointed out a functional reason for the bright trim on the base:

    The reason we make the yellow trim eye-catching is to prevent stumbling over the stand or instrument on the dark stage.

    The DS538B appears as though I could disassemble it with an adjustable wrench; it’s tempting to attempt this and spray-paint the yellow parts black. (I can only assume that attempting something like this voids applicable warranties.) Read More “Review: Hercules DS538B woodwind stand”

  • 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.

  • Review: D’Addario Reserve alto saxophone mouthpieces

    ByBret Pimentel

    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you.

    If you have read my reviews of the D’Addario clarinet and jazz alto and tenor saxophone mouthpieces, you won’t be surprised to learn that I’m a big fan of their new classical alto saxophone mouthpiece, too. (As with the last several reviews, D’Addario sent me some mouthpieces at no cost, with the possibility but not the promise of a review.)

    I’ve been hammering on one point with all the D’Addario mouthpieces, but it’s worth bringing up again because it’s an important innovation in how mouthpieces are made and bought. D’Addario’s manufacturing process (precisely milling mouthpieces from solid rod rubber) produces mouthpieces that are extremely consistent, much more so than other mass-produced professional mouthpieces, which are generally finished a little by hand. The old system is that you try out a bunch of mouthpieces that are the same make and model (by going into a store or putting a big deposit on your credit card), and pick out the one that plays best. The new system is that you order a D’Addario mouthpiece from your favorite retailer, and know that it plays just like all the others. This is a game-changing development in the sub-$200 mouthpiece market.

    And, of course, like the other mouthpieces in D’Addario’s lineup, the new Reserve alto mouthpiece plays great.

    I’ve been playing on a Vandoren Optimum AL3 for the last 8 or 9 years (and used an AL4 for a few years before that). What I like about the Optimum is that it’s very easy to play, with good response in all registers, good dynamic range, a lot of stability (so pitch and tone are very consistent, without much effort from the player), and tone that tends toward a warm, almost muted quality (in a good way). It’s a mouthpiece for a 21st-century classical saxophone player.

    The D’Addario mouthpiece has these same qualities, with some subtle but important improvements. When I started playing on the AL4 I liked its richness of tone, but ultimately decided I needed to sacrifice that a little to embrace the AL3’s superior high register. The D’Addario Reserve does an impressive job of blending those qualities, and even improving upon both.

    In particular, I have been impressed with scalar movement in the altissimo register, which on my Vandoren mouthpieces could be just a little lumpy as I crossed from one partial to another. The D’Addario mouthpieces make this feel really smooth, effortless, and secure.

    I have been using mostly D’Addario Reserve reeds for classical saxophone playing, and with my Vandoren mouthpieces I sometimes wished I could get a reed strength between 2.5 and 3.0. I did hope that switching to the D’Addario mouthpiece would eliminate that need, but after trying them I still feel like a 2.5+ would be a useful option. (D’Addario does make some “plus” reeds, such as the Reserve alto saxophone 3.0+.) If I have one complaint about the Reserve mouthpiece, it’s that I don’t get quite the ease of low-register response I would like with the 3.0 reed. A 2.5 helps that but plays a little brighter than I want.

    The Reserve mouthpiece comes in three flavors at the moment: D145 (1.45mm tip/medium facing), D150 (1.50mm tip/medium-long facing), and D155 (1.50mm tip/medium facing—yes, it is the same tip opening as the D150). The mouthpiece has what D’Addario touts as a “unique oval inner chamber.”

    I’m really quite impressed with all three of the Reserve options, and not 100% settled yet on which will be my go-to. But I recently used the D150 (with a Reserve 3.0 reed) for a concerto performance with band that involved some double tonguing and plenty of altissimo. The D150/3.0 setup worked well for that situation—just the right amount of resistance to make the double-tonguing comfortable and easy, good security in the altissimo, and enough guts to be heard over the band without getting spread or edgy.

    Here’s a quick comparison between the D’Addario Reserve D150 and the Vandoren Optimum AL3. I’m using the same ligature and reed in both clips.

    D’Addario Reserve D150:

    Vandoren Optimum AL3:

    To my ear, the D’Addario has a richer, fuller, and more even sound, and also responds better to dynamic changes.

    So far D’Addario is scoring 100% with me on their mouthpieces: each new mouthpiece they have released has replaced my former setups (clarinet, jazz alto, jazz tenor, and now classical alto). I look forward to whatever is next.

  • Review: Bob Hartig’s Giant Steps Scratch Pad Complete

    ByBret Pimentel

    Recently, I’ve noticed a lot of jazz musician bloggers opining about the evils of memorizing patterns and “licks,” and calling for original and creative improvisation. While I don’t think anybody will argue about the importance of individuality and creativity, I do think it’s a big mistake to ignore the value of memorizing, practicing, and internalizing established jazz vocabulary.

    When a person learns a foreign language, they learn first to repeat some standard useful phrases. Then they learn to rearrange the vocabulary and syntax of those phrases to create new ones. Over a lifetime of study and practice, they may learn the language well enough to speak or write with their own distinctive creative voice. But if a student tries on the first day of French class to be creative and original, they aren’t likely to make much sense. To speak the language, you need to hear it, imitate it, and then repeat over and over. Genuine individual originality comes much, much later.

    So I was pleased to read an excellent blog post by saxophonist Bob Hartig:

    If you listen to a lot of Kenny Garrett, and if you take it upon yourself to transcribe a bunch of Kenny Garrett solos, and if you steep yourself in those Kenny Garrett solos, then chances are you will come out sounding an awful lot like Kenny Garrett.

    Now, if that’s all you aspire to, then that’s where you’ll end up: as a Kenny Garrett clone. But if you desire to forge your own voice, then Kenny will simply become a part of your vocabulary, a vocabulary that includes other influences besides Kenny and increasingly reflects your personal explorations with melody, harmony, timbre, and nuance. You are an individual, after all, and the sheer force of your individuality will direct you toward your own sound and approach.

    Bob expands on this in the comments section:

    A good writer doesn’t become one by attempting to create a different dictionary. He or she develops expertise by becoming conversant with the existing language, and that happens largely through reading the works of great writers who have gone before. Through careful scrutiny and application of how others have handled the English language, the individual’s personal writing style emerges.

    Shakespeare is noted for adding a huge number of words and phrases to the English language—undoubtedly one of the most creative minds working in that medium. But how many of the words and phrases in his works were really brand new inventions? Surely less than 1%. And how much did Charlie Parker or John Coltrane add to the jazz language, that wasn’t already there? Their contributions are staggeringly significant, but what they actually created out of thin air was a drop in the bucket among all the notes they played in their careers. For most of us mortals, our truly original contributions to the language (be it English or jazz) are few and far between; most of our creativity happens when we shuffle and remix the materials that are already before us.

    Bob backs up  his ideas about the importance of jazz vocabulary with his Giant Steps Scratch Pad project. The Scratch Pad provides a wealth of tasty and useful vocabulary for playing over the chord changes to John Coltrane’s tune “Giant Steps,” a tune that has challenged the best of jazz players for decades because of its unusual and elegantly symmetrical chord progression. Bob was kind enough to send me a review copy of the Giant Steps Scratch Pad Complete, a new PDF-only (at least for now) edition that contains the same material as the Scratch Pad, transposed into all twelve keys. The transposed material makes this especially good for those who aspire to play Giant Steps in all twelve keys, or who double on instruments of different transpositions.

    I took the Scratch Pad Complete for a test drive today. Read More “Review: Bob Hartig’s Giant Steps Scratch Pad Complete”

  • Essential saxophone recordings: A work in progress

    ByBret Pimentel

    Seminal Early Concert Soloists

    Mule, Marcel

    Marcel Mule: Le Patron of the Saxophone (Clarinet Classics, compilation 1996)

    Marcel Mule: Le Patron of the Saxophone: Encore! (Clarinet Classics, compilation 2000)

    These compilations also feature recordings by the Mule Saxophone Quartet.

    Wiedoft, Rudy

    Kreisler of the Saxophone (Clarinet Classics, compilation [year?])

    Leeson, Cecil

    Rascher, Sigurd

    Regrettably, recorded performances by Sigurd Rascher and Cecil Leeson are not currently in print. Important out-of-print recordings include Sigurd Rascher Plays the Saxophone, volumes I and II, formerly published by Grand Award, and The Art of Cecil Leeson, volumes I-VII, formerly available on the Enchante label. Read More “Essential saxophone recordings: A work in progress”

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.

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  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.

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  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?

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  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!

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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    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

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  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

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  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)

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  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.

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  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 !

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    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.

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      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

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  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.

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  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.

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  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’

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    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.

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  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.

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