November 15th, 2008 – Ok, the title may be technically incorrect; you blow the EWI. No, it’s not a musical breathalyzer, it’s a MIDI controller that works off the power of your lungs. This supposedly gives you better control of your synth and sampler instruments.

I’ve seen someone play the “flute” using a Yamaha breath controller to recreate Bolero using an acoustic modeler, and while it sounded a lot better than most sampled wind-powered instruments I’ve heard, it still sounded a bit off. That was 4 years ago though, so I’m sure the technology has improved. The EWI USB is Akai’s lowest price breath controller and looks kind of like an elongated Wii controller. At an MSRP of $500, it includes a generous Garritan instrument pack to get you started.

Akai EWI USB via MusicRadar

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 1:28 am.
Categories: Asides, Gear.

2 Comments, Comment or Ping

  1. CHUDI, UWADI

    please, i play the traditional sax (alto) but i just love the simplicity of the Ewi usb. i want to buy one but i need a price tag so as top know if i can purchase now or safr up for it later.
    Also, how easy is it compared to the traditional sax? i have been playing the sax for 2 yeasrs now and need to know if its more difficult than the traditional sax.

    thanks .. the instrument looks cool!!! really rocks from the video clips seen. your early response will be most appreciated.

    Nov 30th, 2009

  2. Sean

    @ Chudi, Uwadi : Thanks for stopping by! Amazon.com has the EWI USB with software selling at $299 US. As for the difficulty of using it, I couldn’t tell you for sure since I’ve never used one. However, I have watched others use them and by the fact that these other people were not wind or brass musicians, I figure that the EWI USB is a lot easier to play. Hope that helps!

    Nov 30th, 2009

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