0:50 - Don’t You Want Me Baby - The Human League 1:55 - Final Count Down - Europe 3:14 - Funky Town - Lipps Inc 4:54 - Blinding Light - The Weeknd 6:29 - Take On Me - a-ha 8:04 - Chameleon - Herbie Hancock 9:50 - Cars - Gary Numan 11:34 - Stranger Things Theme 12:55 - Axel F (Beverly Hills Cop)

Best benchmark video. Congratulations

Great review thanks. Been playing awhile, way back to the earlier Yamahas. Settled on the AE 10 because of the sounds, for me, best for performances. Just want to take something out of the case and be able to play without a lot of hassle. Looking at upgrading to AE 20. Thanks again

I still have my WX-7! And I love it!!!

Great video - thank you for creating and posting! I currently play a Roland AE-10 which, as you mentioned, is now a few years old. I more recently bought a Yamaha RDS-150. I have been in "garage bands" since High School - playing drums, guitar, keyboards, bass and singing - all self taught - so (in my opinion) I was adequate but never great at any of them. I am a schooled engineer, so music has always been a "hobby" not a profession. Sometime in my mid 30's I added saxophone to my list of instruments - my first instrument to actually take lessons. I played for about 4 years, then set it down as life/kids/etc. got in the way. Fast forward and the kids are grown and I am back in a working club cover band as a singer and bass player... with the desire to fold in a bit of sax. I still have my old saxophones (Tenor, Alto, C-Melody (!), and curved soprano) so I got them out and started practicing on them and got good enough to play on a few songs. A sad truth suddenly jumped out: Sax's don't like being "left alone and busted out on one or two songs"... between my ~weak embouchure and the dry/cold reeds, the sounds was not good. The solution is now to play a wind synth... I can ignore it all night then pick it up and with limited embouchure developement - still play perfectly in tune and without any squeals and squeeks! So unlike "real sax players", the wind synth for me is 100% a PERFORMING instrument... and I use it to sound like a SAX - which honestly the Roland doesn't do very well. Surprisingly it actually does very well as a violin, flute, French Horn, and a few other instruments that I use it for. So I bought the Yamaha hoping for a better SAX emulation... So far - its is better at sounding like a sax (not perfect of course!), but it has other limitations that make it obvious that it was designed to be a Practice instrument (as you mention), and not so much of a "performance instrument"... Since I no longer play a "real sax" I don't really care that the Yamaha keys feel more like a real sax, but wish the Yamaha had more octave keys (up and down), better on-board display, and better choices for interface to a PA mixer (currently only a 1/8" stereo cord that comes out the side instead of pointing "down"... I am still waiting for a wind synth to get a small "microphone" in the mouthpiece so it can detect your humming and growl the same way a sax growls, rather than an awkward "joystick"... I am an engineer and know that these kinds of transducers are not very expensive nor should they be particularly difficult to incorporate... really - is this too much to ask?? Oh well, I will just work with what I have and wait until improved models come out.. they are getting better all the time! Thank you again!

That is gorgeous❤

Very interesting, thanks for sharing! I've my eyd on a Yamahaha YDS...

Great rundown. I suppose I would like something like the EMEO.

Really excellent summary! Thanks. One thing you didn’t say much about is octave keys. One thing I like I like about my ancient WX-11 is having an almost-pianistic range, with three octave-up and two octave-down keys.

Great breakdown my first wind synth was Akai ewi usb(feels more like a sax) also have Roland ao5 connect to Daw and software to get realistic sounds.

I was able to get an EWI Solo for Christmas and everything about it I love. The EWI was a bit of a learning curve but a few days of messing with it and playing some tunes, it wasn't hard at all to get used to after playing tenor sax for almost 8 years now. I would highly recommend the EWI's

oh wow, WOW. the emeo looks like a freaking DREAM. I'm an sax/oboe player so it's been difficult to find a good wind synth..I also have small hands which makes it even more difficult. I have an ewi usb but man i wish I could afford n emeo- legit looks like the perfect fit for me.

As a whistle and flute player some of the faster folk tunes were always difficult on fast octave transitions. That was until I found the WARBL which does the octave change by overblowing just like a normal whistle and has a comprehensive app to refine the set-up. Of my various midi-controllers it is the one I tend to use most as it plays and feels just like a normal whistle. For anyone who enjoys playing folk music I can highly recommend it.

My career was made playing the lyricuon and the yamaha’s WX7 with people like Bob James, Suzanne Ciani, Vangelis, and Stanley Jordan. I never liked controllers that didn’t have lip control over pitch and vibrato

The instruments you want to be part of the band at a certain famous bar on Mos Eisley… ❤️🎷 Love this though 😎

I'm way late to the party here, but just wanted to chime in. For reference, I have zero background in wind instruments and come from predominantly a vocal and synthesizer background. I decided on a whim to get my hands on an Aerophone AE20. Within an hour or so I was already playing short little songs like twinkle twinkle little star, auld lang syne and other simple songs like that. It was easily the most excited I've ever been about playing an instrument. I would highly recommend it.

This video makes a great point, wind synths have really improved. Nevertheless the emphasis is how they compare to a sax. The Wind synth is an instrument on its own terms. Sure, it can be like a sax but they can do so much more and should not be graded on how sax "like" it is.

I think you missed mentioning that the EWI 5000 that it can play its built-in sounds wirelessly. (Not that they’re that good, mind you). Also, you _can’t_ put more sounds on it.

Great video! Wish you would have included NuRAD for comparison but this is a great rundown, especially from a sax player’s perspective (I am a wind synth player and not a saxophone player. I play and love the Akais but totally agree that the other models make more sense for saxophonists who just want to pick up and play).

I think the one thing that I found missing was what you think provides the best sound or bang for the buck. The EMEO clearly wins for Saxophone appearance/feel, but how does it sound? Does it have the movement feature that the Roland AE-30 has? Can it emulate other instruments?

Digital/Practice Sax: Yamaha & Emeo “Own instrument”: Akai & Sylphyo Inbetween but closer to digital sax: Roland

keren sekali ! matur suksma

I often enjoy playing my Emeo more than my real horns!

I’m torn between the Roland A-E10 and the Yamaha 😢. Both have particular features I would love to use that the other doesn’t have. I would love to be able to find a Music Store near me that supplies these and allows me to test run both of them

Thanks for the video. I am looking for an electronic wind instrument where the player can (or has to) intonate the right note/pitch himself. Just like with acoustic trombones or violins/cellos etc. As far as i understand all the instruments shown here have fixed pitch which means that when you push a button and the note comes automatically in the right pitch Do you know of any electronic wind instruments that have variable pitch? thanks in advance

The emeo is marketed als a practice tool not a full performance ready windinstrument. It has no breath sensor , midi messaging is more limited compared to the Roland AE 30

The best wind synth video on KZfaq, well done.

Great thing about living in Beijing China, as I am watching this video...I am searching for the instruments...guess where most of them are made... :D Now mmmmh which one to buy? Been playing alto sax for 20 years, tenor for 4 years and baritone for 1 month. Never owned a electronic saxophone but been thinking about it for years... Which one should I pick? :D

Any of these have the capacity for microtonality? It must be feasible to make an EWI which allows you to alter which fingerings sound which notes. There are plenty of fingerings I don't use which I'd like to employ for playing quarter tones.

OK but really should have mentioned the octave range of each, the lack of bite control on the Yamaha and Emeo, the extra MIDI controllers available on the Akai and the clacky key noise of the Rolands. I'd advise folks to do their research and learn about MIDI if they are not familiar with its capabilities, particularly if looking for an expressive MIDI controller and want to do more than produce sterile, lifeless sounds. BTW - Respiro by Imoxplus is a super virtual synth available standalone to use with any of the wind/breath controllers.

Any thoughts on which of these would be best for a "stand in" instrument? Say I needed a flute or oboe for one song? Or playing in a (volunteer) pit orchestra where I've got to play clarinet, bass clarinet, bari sax and bassoon - but I don't have or know how to play a bassoon? I can run it through a DAW for sounds, but is there one that is easier and better suited for "doubling"?

Will they review the WX5? Also, those devices with tiny OLED screens: do they come with reading glasses?

I come from a Trumpet background and prefer the EWI fingering to the AE-10, which I own both. But I will say that the fingering is the only thing I prefer over the AE-10. On every other point, the Roland AE-10 is far superior to the AKAI EWI. Anxiously awaiting the EWI-6000 lol.

Makes me wondered is there any wind synthesiser in a kind of Trumpet or Trombone ?

You CAN NOT add sounds to an EWI5000. The Sylphyo also has wireless MIDI with the link which no one else has. The biggest difference with the Sylphyo is that it's built to be the ultimate wind controller and the best MIDI instrument, not an emulation of something else. It is constantly updating sounds you can download which is unique. It also has the best breath sensitivity of any controller. While I realize this is a Sax channel, reviewing wind controllers according to how close they are to a sax is not a good way to evaluate a wind controller. Many wind controller players are NOT saxophonists and it makes sense that a good WC will be conceived from the ground up to take advantage of what a wind controller can do. I'm sure most synthesizer players are pianists but synthesizer reviews do not evaluate the instruments by how much they seem like a piano. Ee.g. very few have fully weighted keyboards, and that's because you have more agility without the weight. Most WCs have fingering systems that are better than sax fingerings, that they're different is not a downside. Most sax players I know are doublers and don't think it's terrible that flutes and clarinets don't use sax fingering, they learn the different instruments for what they are. Whereas a lot of WCs have built-in sounds these days, the first consideration should be how it acts as a controller because any serious WC player is going to be primarily using the instrument to control other more professional instruments. The now ancient Yamaha WX-7 (still easy to buy used) has no built-in sounds nor do the WX11 or WX5, but they are great controllers still and many professionals still prefer them.

An enjoyable video… but the only one in my price bracket is the ewi solo, as I’m about to retire. However - I’ve just bought one of the 2nd gen ‘baby-digital-sax’… think Vangoa on steroids with better design work - it’s actually an IRIN S56. Having played trad flute for 40+ years… this was my first step - and I’m blown away by it! Using it as a midi controller to input to Waveform 12, playing the built-in sounds through a big Orange amp or tablet based amps and pedalboards…. Ok - it’s not a sax - but damn, it sounds good, it’s great fun - and the soprano sax voice has become my default choice; sounds like the main theme for ‘Inspector Frost’. I’m really considering the ewi solo - but in terms of size and comfort, I may wait for next years models from the chinese makers - good playable instruments that just work!

I have the ae-10 and the emeo. Still play my ae-10 I had been playing it long enough to grow accustomed to the keywork, I appreciate that its ready to play right away. I Love my emeo and usually do at least an hour on it at night. I need to have the action lightened it's super heavy, and its hard to play for a long period of time since its not just the springs that are heavy. They need to do something about the neck receiver/neck though its a little fiddly. I contacted about getting the dimensions to have something 3d printed. They said they were working on it internally. All the same still one of the best purchases I ever made.

Can you tell me which would render the most authentic tenor sax sounds when plugged into a PA? Would the same Wind Synth catch the nuances of the player as well? Looking for one for live performances in a small venue where a real sax is just too loud.

Which version may work for someone with double-jointed pinkies. On a traditional saxophone my pinkies would become "Locked" and I had to stop and snap them back into place.

Hey guys, I have a question if by chance you read this post : is the air speed of the EWIs a volume or a velocity control ? Imagine I build a sound on a synthesizer that has velocity sensitivity (for example the more velocity the higher the cutoff of a filter). If I begin to blow slowly in the EWI and then I increase my airspeed, will this affect the velocity or the volume ? Or even both ? Thanks!

Hello ...I bought an Emeo a couple of months ago......Im not to fond of Respiro sounds........I would like to play it through "Soundpaint " and other sax plug -ins ....Does any one know of any books I can buy that explains how I can do this as well as help me to get knowledgable in the digital space Thanks in advance.

I'm interested in the MIDI latency.

Hey ! I am from India . Is it advisable to buy EMEO ? I am worried about service

Yamaha wX7 I think. 30 years ago more or less had a mouthpiece with fake reed that moved when you bit on it. What I recall is that as you bit on it the pitch went up I think . I liked it. But many of the newer one don’t have that. What’s the story with that? I

You might have added the bassline....WX5, which remains in very wide use today.

As a clarinetist first, saxophonist second, I do wish Yamaha or Emeo would do a version with clarinet key work.

What type of Ewi is that?

What I was know is does the emeo work in music production. Like sometimes I need to record my ideas into my daw but I’m not where I can play my actual Sax…normally I’ll do it with a MIDI keyboard but obviously the natural work of a MIDI Sax would be so much better. Is that possible?? If so it’s a go for me.

Just bought and AE-05 for testing anf it can't keep up with a tremolo. Waiting on the Yamaha, but I'm very unimpressed with the Roland.

Do EWI's vibrate the teeth like a reed?

why do none of these allow changing octaves through breath control like on a flute?

I’ve been seeing other electronic wind instruments not in this video. Might be time for a new comparison. There is Robkoo and new Nux and Greaten to name just a few.

rapport qualité/prix le YDS 150 est le meilleur .... for me ! 😉

Thanks for a great video guys! Just wondering whether you could do a more detailed comparison between the YDS150 and the Emeo? Of all listed we’ve narrowed it to those 2 but wanted to know if the YDS150 has a ‘good enough’ sense of realism compared to the very real looking and feeling (we imagine) Emeo. A deeper dive into them please (Sorry not sure if you take requests 😁)

I bought a ae-05 for practicing saxophone fingerings at night

Hey, what about a concert flutist looking for a “not specifically saxophone” midi? (Hehe on a budget? Lol)

Would be great to compare the sax sounds as well

I play the EWI-5000. Here's what it sounds like. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e7Shn7ydqMWmlIk.html It's a pro axe with seven octaves. Also, the keys don't "press" they respond to your touching them therefore no "membrane" clicking and you can do lightning fast lines. The EWI solo is not a pro axe and doesn't offer pitch up (only pitch down). Fun stuff and we just can't wait to see what comes out next! I would have enjoyed talking about the "portamento bar" on the EWI. Also, interested in learning more about how "motion" is being used for expression on some of the newer models. Finally, prices would have been nice. Best wishes.

I've got the AE-05 a couple years ago. Played for a week and it's been sitting in its case ever since. Nice toy but nothing like the real deal.

Do any of them have response to reed pressure?

Which synth for a non-sax player? I’ve played trumpet, baritone and 6-hole Native American flute.

I'm not a saxophone player i play flute can i still go with these

For my is a dream 😂

For those of us who are interested in digital sax to practice, those of us who need silence to coexist. Why don't you make an Emeo vs Yamaha 120?

i dont get if aerophone 05 is good or not

Excellent presentation of the currently available windcontrollers, but it is a rather poor presentation for those of us who want to be able to play lots of wind instruments that sound somewhat real with learning just a single fingering. The demo sounds that are played without exception sound like a kazoo. This is a terrible disservice to windcontrollers as well as for the incredibly wonderful realistic virtual instrument sounds made by samplemodeling and audiomodeling designed not only for keyboard controllers but for windcontrollers. Check out their webpages with our own ears. As far as comparing windcontrollers with built in sounds the Roland Aerophones have the absolute best built in sounds. This includes flutes, saxes, brass, and even strings. As far as the comparison between mechanical keys vs the capacitance based keys of the EWI windcontrollers (no moving parts) I agree that sax, clarinet etc players will feel more at home with mechanical keys. However, many musicians who take the time to get used to the the EWI no moving part keys, end up liking it a lot. Certainly the mechanical keys, sometimes make too much noise and or get stuck. Just about everyone complains about the time it takes to learn to get used to these mechanical octave keys. While the emulation of acoustic instruments is by far the best in the more advanced (more costly) Aerophones, the best emulations are achieved using software synths which require the use of a computer. Don't take anyone's word for this, go listen to the sounds. Finally, if you don't need built in sounds (great for portability or practice anywhere), the EWI-Solo which is longer and heavier than most, has the best price performance value. You can check out my soundcloud page here (no built in sounds): soundcloud.com/dstong

Would have been nice if you had included MSRP.

Let’s talk key responsiveness!!! On all of these!!! Man… if you have fast fingers, it becomes a pain to use these. 😞😞😞

My life... so full of instruments... 1) piano, 2) French horn, 3) acoustic guitar, 4) electric guitar, 5) synth keys, 6) organ, 7) electric bass, 8) drum kit, 9) theremin, 8) bass-baritone vocals, 9) trumpet... Coming soon: 10) viola. O.K. So yeah, 53 years on piano, now. Yeah, I played a lot of pro gigs. Decades on French horn - yeah, major symphony pro stuff, etc. A. Gtr/ E. guitar/ E. Bass: hack. Synth keys: c'mon - if you can play Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto, you can work some pitch-bending/modulation wheels and completely copy the best. Organ: give me the pedal coupler, or I will only play the first note of the measure on the pedals!! LOL!!! E. Bass - Yeah, I can do it - forget fretless, for now. Drum kit: give me another life to be worthy. Theremin: I'm a natural. Bass-baritone vocals: Great voice, but allergies take it away. Trumpet: playing very well, long way to go, striving (3.5 years, now). VIOLA: Yeah, I'm in love with the viola, so I'm saving to buy a good one and start from scratch. Why not?!!! Nevertheless, I am very interested in clarinet/saxophone/flute/recorder/etc. techniques. ESPECIALLY saxes. What a BOSS instrument.

What is the point of spending so much on an instrument like EMEO when all the sounds are in the external device? I mean, I have been checking the best EWI to learn and buy, but now I am seeing they seem to bring fancy sounds, but other than that, you need subscription to libraries, learn to use many extra buttons they add, etc. At the end of the day, the real only gains are: 1. Multi instruments in one; and 2. Silent instrument for practicing.

Wow, the "ultimate" wind synth rundow with no mention of the Yamaha WX7??

Yo soy saxofonista profesional y Pienso qué son mamadas Lo mejor Es un instrumento 🎷real para la música Real

Travelsax2?

Please, anyone used EMEO for a gig?

Ae 30 Roland aero...

Bludy oboe☝️🥸

I have an AE20. One of the first things I noticed is that all the rubber bits (thumb rest etc) fall off so easily and immediately become a rubber chew toy for my dog (which I only notice when it has reached the point of no return). Fortunately Roland were great in getting me a replacement thumb rest. I think the synth sounds are pretty cool but, in general, the woodwind and brasswind emulations are pretty poor. Also, even though it has 'sax fingering' it doesn't really feel great - especially that low C# key. My F# seems very 'laggy' too. I'd get an Emeo just for the more authentic sax ergonomics if I had the money.

Prices would have been nice.

All those electronic voices seem to be a smokescreen for hiding that these cannot sound like a real wind instrument. I'd argue that the number of voices ought not have a big impact on price. Especially when all sound plastic and ugly. The biggest challenge with a sax and other wind instruments is how loud they are, even when played soft, so as a practice instrument these might solve that. But then, assuming you play the real thing on the real thing, the practice device needs to help you train embouchure and fingering. Some of them seem to have a clarinet/sax like mouthpiece and here the question is if the "instrument" will still be silent. What is heard when the synthesiser in the device is muted? One of these instruments has a pitch-bending wheel and a sax player would normally bend pitch with their embouchure - compare a guitar player that bends a string as a way to make the pitch bend. Needing a pitch wheel takes away from the teaching/learning qualities inherent in the device. The pitch bending in the embouchure, by the way, is not something you need to be capable of just for bending away from the proper pitch, but also as a way to get the correct pitch in the first place because some real saxophones are not consistently tuned across their range. Where the fake instrument does not offer the same fingering, it's a fail. Where the fake voices sound fake, it's a fail. As a MIDI device these probably relate volume and attack to a flow meter that monitors your blowing into the pipe in it. That gives some control of volume. But that's a far cry from actual embouchure. Sax.co.UK have sound-reduction cases that fit around your real sax, but these of course are limited in what they can do if you need to rehearse with the real thing to shield people in your house and the neighbours from your frantic attempts at perfection. In "We Built this Amazing Practice Booth in 1 HOUR!" [ kzfaq.info/get/bejne/lauoaMuT1NLMfGw.html ] we see model "One Plus Voice Over Edition" by company Studiobricks converted from building blocks into a soundproof cabin placed in Jay "BetterSax" Metcalf's home. That's a bit more expensive than a very professional top-tier sax plus a MIDI sax, though, considering the discussion in the comments about its price: € 8,279 + € 1,479 for the Voice Over Edition + € 299 for the extra Table = € 10,057, including 19% sales tax (VAT) for a German buyer. A commenter and Mr. Metcalf discuss how €$£ 1,000 in materials and some labour buys you a DIY cabin, but you most likely will not be able to arrive at the fine look and feel of this modular cabin that can be taken apart again, easily, when you need to move house. You likely also will not get the sound proofing that the Studiobricks thing has.

Thank you for a very informative video. I’m a Saxophonist and recently purchased the Yamaha yds 120 I’ve only had it at this writing for two weeks and it is very comfortable to play bu Yamaha should have left Bluetooth on like it’s predecessor Yamaha yds 150 This will probably lead me to send this back😔

Yo first loke

It drives me nuts when people showcase instruments and barley play them

£1,649.00 for the Emeo is ridiculous.

I am a bit confused they are Wind synths but with only 2 of them you mention it has midi output. Is it so obvious you don't mention it? Who would ever use the on board sounds or yet another app on your phone when you can get every sound in the world on in your DAW? Also it is not a true rundown without without mentioning the price or at least the price segment.

IMHO, why play these instruments in a “synth” mode and not in a sax mode? I wanted to hear them play and compare their sound. By playing different sounds I get no point of reference. Thank you

Programmability is important for a synth, I'd rather not be limited to just the presets. I know EWIs have programmability and can be used as a midi controller for Vital and have good community patches, but know nothing else about the other wind synths. But why are you playing simple keyboard melodies in the demo? Doesn't seem like you actually know what you're talking about when you don't really play anything that leverages the wind controller.

I'm hearing a lot about onboard sounds, but the real strength of all these instruments is that they are MIDI wind controllers, capable of playing any instruments on a PC, Mac, iPad, etc, which is what any serious musician would use it for.

Would have been nice to hear some actual sax sounds coming out of these. Not trying to be mean but this video kind of dissuade me from considering one.

The current state of the art wind controller is from Berglund instruments, the NU Rad. There are other custom made controllers on the market. Nice video production, poor content.

Very salesy and superficial. The point of view seems to be how "instrument like" they are. For anyone that's looking to purchase a wind-controller, I highly recommend connecting with one of the many fine wind-synth players. There are multiple social media groups with thousands of players who have deep background and vast experience on how different controllers work from a practical perspective. Wind synth players use breath control to shape and articulate the sound. There's no demonstration of this. Wind-controlled synthesizer is essentially playing synthesizer with a different type of MIDI controller. The breath response, expressive controls, ability to fine tune and calibrate the controller to suit one's playing style are critical. The playing examples in the video could have been achieved with any velocity sensitive keyboard.

Background muzak playing while the chaps are talking is intrusive. No need for it

Superb, really helpful. But why oh why that awful background music.Great, terrible background music.

somehow i have zero trust to this review)

A synth is only 'real' if its the same shape as a crappy sax? GTFO from every real wind player.

So the Roland will only last as long as the app….. LAME!

Your presentation is helpful, but incompetent. And that's now endemic in the culture. Very sad to say.

Shoulda got someone who actually knows how to play one and make it sound good.