Roland Aerophone vs. Akai EWI: 3 differences between the Aerophone AE-10 and EWI5000 

Many thanks for the detailed commentary. It's always interesting to read/hear what other players think about these electronic wind instruments. Interesting that you prefer the saxophone-like mouthpiece on the Aerophone AE-10 over the EWI mouthpiece, although you usually play the flute. However, in my experience the combination flute & saxophone is not that unusual. I know more than one flutist who plays the saxophone as a second instrument. I first bought the EWI and was (am) very happy with it. But lately I too have been playing almost exclusively the aerophone. It somehow just feels more natural to me, although I actually prefer the octave rolls on the EWI. Have fun with your electronic wind instruments!

Vielen herzlichen Dank 😀!

Many thanks for your comment. Happy the video was helpful. And if your sax/clarinet inspired MIDI-Controller is ready, let me know!

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Mit dem Sylphyo habe ich leider noch keine Erfahrung, tut mir leid

Thank you for your comment, Laurent. I think the internal sounds of the EWI5000 are fine (but the sounds of the Aerophone Ae-10 are even better from my point of view). I don't have a video of the EWI sounds yet, but you can find them on my website (at the moment only in German, sorry): www.ewi-player.ch/blaswandler-blog/ewi5000-sounds But if you want to use sounds of a software synthesizer rather than the internal sounds, then an EWI USB is of course a cheaper alternative to the EWI5000.

I personally prefer the saxophone sounds of the Roland aerophone. Whether the sounds are authentic is another question. Some people think that the sounds are not authentic at all, others are satisfied with them. So I think it depends on the individual expectations.

At first, you might be annoyed by the clicking noise, because you are used to the "silent" EWI keys. Personally, I got used to the clicking. You can hear it, when just using the internal speakers. As soon as you connect the aerophone to an external speaker, I don't think, the clicking is a problem (and by the way: if you press the keys of a saxofone, there ist also a clicking noise, but it's not annoying as soon as you blow into the instrument ...)

@@ewiplayer I have no problem with the thud type sound you get from a valve or pad key, the clicking sound seems to be a step worse. Thanks for your response!

Yes, the Aerophone AE-10 is also a MIDI-controller.

@@ewiplayer What do you think is better for performance purposes, the EWI or the Aerophone? Also, what's your thoughts as it pertains to the natural instrument tones, are they better on the EWI or the Aerophone? Would you recommend getting the EWI or the Aerophone given I am a sax player? I've found a lot of professional windsynth players use the EWI so I'm worried the Aerophone doesn't have the same use but it is also only one year old with upcoming firmware and updates. Thank you so much, the video was extremely helpful!

Happy to hear the video was helpful! I am not a professional player, but as far as I am concerned, the EWI5000 and the Aerophone AE-10 are both great digital wind instruments and both work perfectly fine. There are differences for sure, but I think, if one of them had big flaws, you could find comments about it on the internet (and that’s not the case as far as I am aware). I also think that Roland is a renowned company, they updated the firmware more than once (Akais last EWI update was several years ago …). Therefore, Roland seems to be interested in producing a good instrument for all players. Some think, the Aerophone looks like a children’s toy, but this has no effect on the performance of the instrument 😊. Overall, I hardly play the EWI anymore, since the Aerophone feels just more natural to me, because of the saxophone-like mouthpiece, the key layout and the mechanical keys. I also think the sounds of the Aerophone AE-10 are better in emulating «real» instruments. This is of course not relevant, if you want to use it mainly as a MIDI controller (I usually use the internal sounds with both instruments). On the other hand, on a professional level, the EWI might have an advantage over the Aerophone if you want to play really fast, because of to the touch sensitive keys. This is on the same time a disadvantage, because there is a greater chance for «sound glitches», if you touch the wrong key by accident. And yes, I also think, there are more professional players, who use the EWI and therefore the Aerophone has not been “stage tested” as much by professionals yet. But this might just be (as you mentioned), because it’s much longer available than the Aerophone. I think the EWI and the Aerophone are the best digital wind instruments on the market now (maybe also the Sylphyo from Aodyo, but I have no experience with it). As a sax player, the Aerophone might be easier to play in the beginning, but it is no digital saxophone (that’s just what Rolands marketing wants us to believe 😊). At the end of the day, it depends on your personal preferences. If you tend to the Aerophone, I would go with it.

Yes, you can bite it with your teeth (top & bottom). Hold the mouthpiece gently in between your lips with your teeth and exhale into it. You can produce a vibrato effect by gently biting the mouthpiece while blowing into it, but do not bite too hard

EWIplayer thanks ！！ i will do that！