MIDI Wind Controllers FAQ - Version 1.2 - March 23, 1995

Compiled by:
David Rees
djxr@star.ucl.ac.uk
NO WARRANTY:
THIS WORK IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS. THE AUTHOR PROVIDES NO WARRANTY WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE WORK, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Availability:
This is available via anonymous ftp from
ftp.star.ucl.ac.uk in pub/djxr/
See also:
Periodic postings on wind-l, emusic-l, synth-l, rec.music.makers.synth, rec.music.info and alt.music.makers.woodwind

Table of Contents

Section 1: Introduction.

1.1 What is a MIDI wind controller?

A MIDI wind controller can loosely be defined as an electronic instrument that simulates a traditional wind instrument. This is usually a saxophone, but others are available. It converts fingering/breath control etc. into MIDI output that is used to control MIDI synths.

1.2 What is wind-l?

wind-l is a mailing list devoted to wind controllers.

1.2.1 Getting on wind-l

To get on it, send a message to: listserver@morgan.ucs.mun.ca with the following as the body of the message:
subscribe wind YOURNAME
where YOURNAME is your real name.

1.2.2 Posting to wind-l

To post to this list, you can send messages to: wind@morgan.ucs.mun.ca .

1.2.3 Unsubscribing

To unsubscribe (why would you want to do this?) send a message to listserv@morgan.ucs.mun.ca with the following as the body of the message
unsub wind
If this doesn't work, try contacting the list's owner, andrew@bransle.ucs.mun.ca.

1.3 What wind controllers are available?

Several different controllers are available, and are detailed in the following sections. The most common are the Yamaha WX series and the Akai EWI series.

Section 2: Yamaha wind controllers.

2.1 What is the WX series?

The WX series are the "professional" Yamaha instruments. They are based on the saxophone, although look somewhat sleeker and more high tech.

The basic sensor inputs on the instrument are a breath pressure sensor, a pitch bend (bite) sensor, and the keys.

When you blow into the instrument, at a certain pressure threshold a Note On is sent. The velocity of the Note On is based on how fast you attack the note. The instrument plays legato, in that if you key a different note while maintaining breath pressure, the controller sends a Note On for the new note before sending the Note Off of the first note.

While a note is on, the breath pressure sensor produces a stream of continuous controller messages. This is typically used to control overall volume and brightness.

There's a set of octave switches on the underside of the instruments, controlled by the left thumb. The octave ranges of the fingerings overlap, so it's possible to thumb the octave shifts at convenient points.

The mouthpieces look much like sax or clarinet mouthpieces. There's a reed, which doesn't vibrate, but if you bite into it you can vary the pitch. This is useful for bends and for vibrato. The WX7 also has a pitch bend wheel controllable by the right thumb.

The WX7 is no longer made, but can be found second hand. The WX11 is still in production.

2.2 What is the WX7?

The WX7 is the most flexible of the Yamaha instruments. It includes a set of pots to adjust the feel of the instrument, and a set of dip switches for various configurations. These make it highly customizable, but can be difficult to set up.

The WX7 has the following features:

The WX7 always transmits Breath Controller (cc#2) or Channel Pressure (a.k.a Aftertouch) messages in response to how hard you blow. This is an exclusive OR; you select one or the other with the DIP switch closest to the mouthpiece. In addition i to BC or Aftertouch, the WX7 can also transmit MIDI Volume (cc#7) messages. You turn them OFF or ON via the second DIP switch from the top. If you send MIDI Volume messages, they appear always to be exact copies of the BC (or Aftertouch) messages; in other words, they are technically redundant. The WX7 seems to do the following:

  1. It samples your breath pressure at some set sampling rate.
  2. It digitizes that breath pressure to a value between 1 and 127. If a note is in progress, and if this integer value is the same as the previous breath value transmitted, go back to step a.
  3. If the first DIP switch is set for BC, it puts that value in a cc#2 message and sends it down the line. If the first DIP switch is set for Aftertouch, it puts the value in an Aftertouch message and sends it down the line. Always one or the other.
  4. If MIDI Volume messages are turned on (via the 2nd DIP switch) then it takes that same integer value, puts it in a cc#7 message, and send it down the line too.
  5. Go to step 1.

P While technically redundant, the MIDI Volume (cc#7) messages may be useful in practice. Suppose that you have been playing Yamaha FM synths that are programmed to modulate volume and timbre with BC messages. Then you add a Roland synth to your setup, and it CAN'T respond to BC messages. Solution: program the Roland synth to respond to MIDI Volume messages (almost any synth can be programmed to make cc#7 modulate volume), turn on MIDI Volume messages from the WX7, and you're back in business.

The WX7 was not sold with a dedicated synth, so there was obviously some pressure to make it compatible with various external synths, many of which, at the time, had severe restrictions on what kinds of MIDI messages they could be programmed to respond to.

Because breath messages make up the vast majority of MIDI messages transmitted by the WX7, turning on MIDI Volume messages almost doubles the number of messages going down the line. (The fact that this situation does not seem to lead to MIDI clog suggests that when transmitting ONLY BC (or Aftertouch) messages, the WX7 could sample breath pressure at least twice as fast, which might make fast crescendos and decrescendos a bit smoother.)

The WX7 requires a BT7 battery pack which both powers the unit and provides a MIDI out.

2.3 What is the WX11?

The WX11, which was usually sold with the WT11 sound module, is less flexible than the WX7, but is said to be easier to play without glitches.

It transmits ONLY cc#2 in response to how hard you blow, with no possibility of Aftertouch or MIDI Volume messages. This is often a problem, but it can fairly easily be overcome by feeding the output of the WX11 through a MIDI mapper. Possibilities include the WindTamer (a rackmount unit designed especially for WX11 users that maps cc#2 to cc#7 AND provides some other nice features, see below), Anatek Pocket Mapper, a trivial MAX program running on a Macintosh, etc.

A companion piece to the WX11 is a synth module, the WT11. (See next question.) If you don't use the WT11 you'll need the separate BT7 battery pack.

Specifications:

Sensors
wind sensor, lip sensor
Keys
14 keys (Boehm fingering)
+ 5 octave shift keys (-2,-1,+1,+2,+3 oct)
Switches
Setup, Hold, Program Change
Trim control
Lip zero
Connections
Special connector (power and MIDI out)
MIDI Transmit channel
1
Dimensions (L x W x D)
596.5 x 65 x 69.4 mm ( 23.5" x 2.5" x 2.75" )
Weight
420g (15oz)
Supplied accessories
Soft case, cable, strap, polishing cloth

2.4 What is the WT11?

This is a 4-op FM synth (a la TX-81Z or DX-11) with a few digital effects, and programs specifically designed for wind control.

Specifications:

Sound source
FM tone generator (4 operators, 8 algorithms)
Simultaneous notes output
8 note polyphony (last note priority)
Internal effects
10 digital effects
(Hall, Room, Plate Reverbs, Delay, L/R delay, Stereo echo, Distortion & reverb, Distortion & echo, Gate reverb and Reverse gated reverb)
Internal Memories
Preset performances x 96, User performances x 32, Preset voices x 96, User voices x 32, Program change table x 1, System Setup x 1.
External Storage
Cassette, MIDI Bulk Dump
Display
16 character backlit LCD
Audio Connections
OUT L (MONO), OUT R, PHONES
MIDI Connections
IN, OUT, THRU
Other Connections
WX In, Cassette, 2 x footswitch (MEMORY INC and DEC), DC 15V IN
Power requirements
15V @ 500mA (from PA-1505 Adaptor)
Dimwnsions (W x H x D)
310 x 43.2 x 221mm (12 3/16" x 1 11/16" x 8 11/16")
Weight
1.2kg (2lb 10oz)
Supplied accessories
PA-1505 Power Adaptor, Cassette Cable

2.5 What is the EW30 / WindJammer?

The WindJammer and the EW30 are the same thing. It is a hook-em-while- they're-young version of the WX11/WT11 combination, sold through Yamaha's band instruments division. The most serious limitation seems to be the lack of the "reed" for pitch-bend. Also the keys are buttons which have been said to be perhaps a bit difficult to play.

2.6 What is the Wind Tamer?

[While not strictly a Yamaha product, its specific use with the WX7/WX11 justifies its inclusion here.]

The WindTamer is a 1 unit rack mount box, black, maybe six inches deep. The front panel has a three digit, one-inch red LED display, a jack for the supplied WX cable, and a toggle switch used to select PLAY or SETUP. The back panel has a MIDI out port, a jack for the supplied wall-wart power supply, and a fuse holder. There is no On/Off switch.

Features:

  1. It supplies power to a WX7/WX11 via the custom cable, replacing the WT11 and/or the BT7.
  2. It can map controller #2 to one of four options: controller #7 (volume), #7 with velocity set to 127, controller #1 (modulation), or controller #10 (pan), or you can set it to pass #2 unchanged.
  3. You can select patch changes 0-124 via the five octave buttons on the WX. Think of the buttons as being numbered 0-4. Pushing 000 transmits patch change 0. 004 = change 4. 010 = change 5. 444 = 124. That's right, all you have to do is convert from base five to decimal (or vice versa) in your head! Fortunately, the manual has a chart showing all the possibilities.

The WindTamer costs $225.

Contact:
Doug Smith
Mutech, Inc.
1146 Mopac Ct.
Indpls, IN 46217
(317) 885-9475
Posting from Doug Smith to wind-l, 14/2/94.
"For those of you who have expressed interest in the Wind Tamer, here is the story. My partner and I (who both have full time jobs) borrowed a very small amount of money to begin building the Wind Tamer. Unfortunately, we did not now how expensive the FCC testing was going to be and that blew away any profits we had planned to use to keep building Wind Tamers and our other products that we have designs for. If you use a Yamaha WX7 or WX11, The Wind Tamer lets you access virtually any synth by remapping controller #2 to #7, eliminates the battery power pack and increases the program changes from 5 to 125. If anyone is interested, please contact me at DOASMITH@INDYVAX.IUPUI.EDU"

2.7 How do I remove a WX7 mouthpiece?

[Ken Beesley posted the following to wind-l. Please be careful, and read the disclaimer at the top of the FAQ before following the instructions.]

"First of all, don't try to twist it.

The WX7 mouthpiece consists of the external part you see, including the attached reed, and an rounded oblong "stem" about 1.5 centimeters (about 0.6 inches) long that fits inside the body of the instrument.

The WX7 mouthpiece is quite snugly fitted, with two rubber-band like seals fitted like piston rings around the oblong stem. I assume the WX11 mouthpiece is the same.

I remove the mouthpiece occasionally for inspection and cleaning. Some players find that gunk can get in there, clogging the openings to the breath-pressure sensor and to the breath-exhaust tube that leads down to the bottom of the instrument. Best prevention: wash your mouth out with water before you play, as with any wind instrument.

Before removal, be aware that inside the mouthpiece is a thin metal lever, one end of which normally rides on the reed. You can see this end through the mouthpiece tip opening. The lever extends back through a rubber shield to the actual lip-pressure sensor. This metal lever (and perhaps the sensor itself) are all too easily damaged when the mouthpiece is off.

I remove the mouthpiece by seizing the body of the instrument firmly with one hand, the mouthpiece with the other, and pulling them straight apart. Slow and firm. Wiggle the mouthpiece from side to side just *slightly* if it's stuck. Do not twist - the inserted stem is oval rather than round. Keep a firm grasp on the mouthpiece and especially on the body so that you don't drop anything when they come apart.

Because the lip-pressure lever/sensor is so vulnerable when naked, be sure to replace the mouthpiece (slowly and firmly) as soon as possible. A thin coating of petroleum jelly on the rubber-band rings will help make the next removal a bit smoother."

2.8 What should I look for when buying a second-hand WX7?

The WX7 was sold originally with a case, an extra mouthpiece, a couple of small rubber plugs that could fit into the breath tube inside the mouthpiece (to increase the blowing resistance), a BT7 power pack, a MIDI cable, a cable from the controller to the BT7, an extra (5 meter?) extension cable that can be placed between the controller and the BT7, a neckstrap, and some little pads that can be stuck under the WX7 key bumpers to adjust the amount of key travel. There was a small screwdriver attached to the shorter cable. So look to see that everything is there. Make the seller rummage about for missing parts. Try to get the manual.

The best way to test the WX7 is (somewhat counterintuitively) away from a synthesizer. Until you have good wind-sensitive patches to work with, you'll have great difficulty telling if a problem should be traced to the controller or the synth or the patch programming itself.

What you want to do, if at all possible, is to see if the WX7 is transmitting MIDI messages correctly. This can be done with programs like midiscope or a simple MAX program. It is complicated by all the DIP switches and trim pots.

To start: Hold the WX7 with the back toward you and the mouthpiece pointing up. Open the rubber switch cover and move all the DIP switches to your left. In this position, the WX7 should transmit Breath Control messages (cc#2) when you blow. Blow and check midiscope (or whatever) to make sure.

Then move the top DIP switch to the right. It should stop sending cc#2 and start sending Channel Aftertouch messages.

Move the 2nd DIP switch from the top to the right, and the WX7 should start sending cc#7 (MIDI Volume) messages in addition to the cc#2 or Aftertouch messages selected by the top switch.

Also check to see that both the lip sensor and the thumb wheel are transmitting Pitch Bend messages. If not, the trim pots could be wildly misadjusted, or the lip-pressure sensor may be broken or bent. This happens a lot when people take off the mouthpiece.

If you have trouble getting a response, the apertures inside the mouthpiece may be clogged. (See previous question.)

The best plan, if you can possibly arrange it, is to find another successful WX7 player to do the testing. The WX7 is a great little controller, but all the setup options can make it a nightmare for a beginner.

2.9 How do I contact Yamaha?

USA
Post Office Box 6600
Buena Park, CA 90622-6600
(800) 443-2232 Customer Service
(800) 854-3619 Technical Service
(800) 443-3548 Parts/Manuals

International
Yamaha International
6600 Orangethorpe Avenue
Buena Park, California 90620
(714) 522-9011

Technical questions
Yamaha Technical Help (California)
(714) 522-9011

UK
Yamaha Kemble
Sherbourne Drive
Tilbrook
Milton Keynes
MK7 8BL
(0908) 366700

Section 3: Akai wind controllers.

3.1 What is the EWI series?

Like the Yamaha WX's, the Akai EWIs (Electronic Wind Instruments) are based on the saxophone.

These have touch sensitive keys which take some getting used to, since just touching a key produces a note. ie. you can't rest your fingers on the keys like on a real woodwind instrument, although to counter this you can buy an EWI-FR finger rest.

The Akai wind controller is pretty versatile. When using an external sound module, you can program up to 4 note chords. Each note of the chromatic scale can be set to a (1), 2, 3, or 4 note chord. (It has nothing to do with which fingering you use to play the note.) When setting up your chords, you just pick which notes will actually sound when you play a particular fingering on the controller. It takes some advance planning for a piece, but can be well worth it.

Also, you can get control over dynamics on a sound module by using a line in jack on the Akai. This loops the module back through the Akai before going to the mixer. When doing this you can mix the ratio of volume between the Akai and your sound module. This is done on the Akai.

A dual foot pedal with a stereo plug allows you to change patches up and down while playing.

The following models have been made:

3.2 What is the EWI1000 / EVI1000?

The Akai EWI1000 (Electronic Wind Instrument) / EVI1000 (Electronic Valve Instrument) are vehicles to introduce MIDI to the horn player. Developed from the "Steinerphone", created by Nyle Steiner, by using traditional sax-like and trumpet-like fingerings. Feature include a seven octave range, touch sensitive keys (no moving parts), breath sensor in the mouthpiece for control of dynamics and timbre. Biting the lip sensor in the EVI controls the amount of glide while glide on the EWI is controlled by a touch responsive glide sensor. Lip sensor pressure on the EWI controls vibrato and modulation and a vibrato lever has the same effect on the EVI. Both instruments have a special touch sensor control allowing the player to bend note up or down

3.3 What is the EWV2000?

The EWV-2000 sound module is usually sold with the EWI1000 or EVI1000, and consists of a programmable analog synthesizer with 2 VCO's, 3 Filters, 2 Envelope Generators and 2 VCA's. It can perform as two parallel synthesizers with two different sounds or as a single complex synthesizer. Breath and lip pressure can control vibrato, pulse width, modulation, filter modulation and volume. The three different filters allow the creation of resonant formants for simulations of cups, mutes and plungers. External input allows other instruments to be processed through the EWV2000. Other feature include wave envelope FM, 64 user programmable memories, and a 16 character backlit LCD. Additionally, the EWV-2000 is equipped with a MIDI out jack. Patches (all patch data/single voices) can be saved on cassette. There is no MIDI dump of patches, but then again you couldn't dump the patches back to the EWV2000 via MIDI, since there is no MIDI in.

3.4 What are the EWI3000/EWI3000m?

The EWI 3000/3000m combination includes a wind controller (3000) and dedicated analog synth module (3000m). The synth module is voltage- controlled, and also emits MIDI information. The controller is basically sax-like, with a number of alternate fingerings, and includes eight metal octave rollers. The mouthpiece is tubular and nothing like that of an acoustic single-reed woodwind; it contains a bite sensor that controls vibrato. The controller can be used with or without a plug that prevents air from flowing through the instrument. All keys are non-movable touch sensors, and there is a touch sensor sensitivity adjustment. The sensors may fail to operate cleanly with extremely dry hands. The right thumb rests on a grounding plate, above and below which are pitch bend up and down sensors. Portamento is controlled (to some extent) by a metal strip next to the octave rollers.

The 3000m module contains knobs to adjust breath sensitivity and gain, portamento time, pitch bend sensitivity and gain, vibrato and volume, with a bar-graph mode for the LCD display that aids in setup. There is memory for 100 patches, of which the last 50 are user-programmable. The first 30 factory patches are for use with the EWI controller, while the next 20 are set up for keyboards (with the last 10 being bass patches). The synthesis engine is a 4-oscillator 2-voice unit-- there are 4 VCOs, with 2 VCOs feeding each of two resonant (but non-formant) filters and amplifiers. (This is apparently different from both the earlier EWV2000 and the later 3020m, which are 2-oscillator 2-voice.) Each VCO is fed by a triangle, sawtooth, or square wave (the square wave may be pulse-width-modulated), or by the external analog input, which allows you to control an external synth with the EWI's filters and amplifiers. For use with external MIDI keyboards, the module has envelope generators (breath control may be turned off). All 12 chromatic transpositions are supported.

The module emits MIDI Note On, Note Off (actually Note On/zero velocity), pitch bend, portamento (though the implementation chart doesn't acknowledge this), and one of {breath controller, mod wheel, channel aftertouch, volume, or off}. Note-on velocity is fixed at a user-selectable value (64-127). There is memory for 16 user-defined chords of up to four notes, a different one of which may be assigned to each of the twelve chromatic pitches (the chords work with an external MIDI module, not with the analog unit). The 3000m also has a MIDI in, unlike the EWV2000, and can be driven by an external keyboard or sequencer.

Folk wisdom asserts that the EWIs in general are a bit harder to master than the Yamaha controllers, but when driving their dedicated analog modules are capable of a greater degree of expressiveness than is a MIDI-only unit. In my own experience, the difference is real, but subtle, at least with well-programmed MIDI wind patches.

Or, from Akai promotional material,

An Expressive Encore

Put the Human Feeling and Emotion Back Into Your Music
There have been many advances in electronic musical instruments since the first days of MIDI yet musical expression was limited to what could be played on a keyboard. Now, Akai is widening the expressive horizons with the introduction of the new EWI3000 Wind Controller and the EWI3000m Sound Module. The EWI3000 will give you the freedom of expression and "human feel" that musicians have been searching for all these years. The powerful expressive capabilities of the EWI3000 and the rich sonorous sound of the EWI3000m will let you soar to new levels of musical expression and creativity.

The Akai EWI3000 MIDI Wind Controller and the EWI3000m sound module set is a completely new type of electronic instrument that even unexperienced wind players can quickly and easily master. Like the saxophone, the EWI3000 uses fingering similar to a recorder which makes it very easy to learn and play. And due to the use of a special easy to blow breath sensor, beginners who might have a difficult time with acoustic instruments such as the saxophone can quickly and easily learn to control sounds using the Akai EWI3000.

The EWI3000 and the EWI3000m sound module are designed as a complete set that is capable of extremely sensitive musical expression. The EWI3000m contains an exquisite selection of professionally programmed electronic wind programs so you can start playing beautifully expressive sounds right from the beginning. There is no need to use an external synthesizer or sampler.

The operation of these instruments is designed to be intuitive and easy to understand so you can spend your time playing, not figuring it out. And because the EWI3000 (in conjunction with the EWI3000m) provides full MIDI implementation, you can also use it as a master MIDI controller that provides the utmost in human expressive capabilities whether you are playing a lead solo or a lyrical symphonic line. With the EWI3000, you will be able to play lines and phrases that would be impossible on a keyboard controller, And you can start playing immediately.

A New Expressive MIDI Controller and a Colorful Sound Module
The EWI3000 and EWI3000m are the successors to the EWI1000 Wind Controller and the EWV2000 Sound Module. Both of these highly acclaimed instruments have been used by top performers throughout the world and have developed a reputation as being the most expressive and warm sounding electronic instruments ever designed. We have now taken this proven concept and refined it even further. By both enhancing and enriching the sonic capabilities and providing more functional capabilities, we have created a new cost-effective MIDI wind controller and sound module unlike any other ever designed. The EWI3000 will let you have expressive control not possible with any other type of MIDI controller. And with its incredibly fast and sensitive response, you can control other MIDI sound Modules, synthesizers, and samplers as well as the EWI3000m. This instrument is a powerful new expressive tool for both wind players and other musicians who are seeking creative new MIDI tools.

The Power of MIDI Control with Human Expression
The EWI3000 gives you unsurpassed performance control and the ability to .shape any musical line with tremendous feeling and expression. The EWI3000 has a special breath sensor, lip sensor, a touch sensor for pitch shifting, volume controlled pulse width, vibrato, and glide. You can play synthesizer sounds and control external MIDI modules with the expressive characteristics of a brass instrument. The EWI3000 gives you the ability to perform tonguing just as on a real brass instrument. In addition to being able to play the most incredibly expressive monophonic lines, you can also play chords too. Using any MIDI polyphonic sound module, it is possible to program and play chords with up to four voices.
Rich Analog Synthesizer Sounds with Dual Voices
The EWI3000m analog sound module uses four VCOs to create its incredibly full warm sound. The sound module contains 4VCOs, 2VCFs, 2VCAs, and 4EGs. You can also mix two different sounds together giving you the freedom to create rich powerful sounding programs. The back-lit 16 character LCD will guide you easily through the editing operations and provides you with a monitor system to check the control sensors. The EWI3000m with its convenient desktop design, is very small and light so it can be easily carried with you wherever .you go. And you are not limited to just woodwind and brass sounds either. The low frequency response of the EWI3000m in particular is incredible - ideal for the rich vibrance necessary for creating effective bass programs. And you'll find that the analog sounds of the EWI3000m are ideal for numerous other types of sounds as well. It is even possible to use two EWI30OOm's together for the ultimate rich analog sound or as a powerful and unique creative performance tool.
Large Memory Storage for Easy Program Management
There are a total of 100 memory locations available for storing your sound programs. The storage locations are arranged in two banks of 50 memories including 50 extremely musical programs created by a professional artist. These 50 memory locations can also be rewritten for storing your own custom programs. For performing, sounds can be easily arranged and organized in the order you require them to produce easy access on stage and during recording work. Programs may also be selected using a footswitch allowing you to keep both of your hands free for performing.
Incredible Expressive Control Never Possible Before
The EWI3000m features a MIDI IN connector allowing you to control it from an external MIDI controller or sequencer for Maximum flexibility. This lets you use the rich and warm sounds of the EWI3000m with any MIDI controller you are using so your favorite sounds will always be accessible. The EWI3000m also features an EXT IN connector that lets you control the sound from an external MIDI sampler or synthesizer using the EWI3000's expressive breath controller. This powerful capability will let you have expressive control like you've never experienced before. The EWI3000 simply provides you with superior control. And by mixing and editing sampled sounds along with the EWI3000m analog sounds, you can explore entire new sonic territory with full human expressive control - perfect for creating an emotional impact on your audience. Try out the EWI3000 yourself and see what the excitement and fanfares are all about."

SOUND LIST
  • T.STRUT
  • CAT WALK
  • FEEDBACK
  • PRICKLY
  • PASSION
  • FANTASIA
  • BRUTE
  • QUACK
  • SILKY
  • ILLUSION
  • FLUTE
  • OBOE
  • TRUMPET1
  • TRUMPET2
  • HARMONIC
  • STRING
  • MUTE TP
  • SAXES
  • CLARINET
  • BRASSENS
  • GENTRY
  • FOG SET
  • SPARKLE
  • JANGLE
  • FEEDBACK2
  • PANPIPES
  • SMASH
  • AIR WAVE
  • WINDY
  • EXT.IN
  • DUCKY
  • HOT WAVE
  • BIG SHOT
  • COSMOS
  • HIP SKIP
  • SOFT PAD
  • AIR PAD
  • MIST PAD
  • CLOUDY
  • ELFIN
  • KNOCKBAS
  • DISTBASS
  • PLSFMBAS
  • SLAPBASS
  • FAT BASS
  • WOW BASS
  • MAD BASS
  • NET BASS
  • RESOBASS
  • FUNKBASS
  • 01~30 for EWI
    31~50 for MIDI
    51~00 (not shown) are rewritable. The above 50 Patches are duplicated in slots 51~00.

    EWI3000m SPECIFICATIONS
    Type:
    Special sensor controlled, programmable analog synthesizer
    Voice:
    Monophonic/Dual
    Sound Source:
    4VCO (sawtooth/triangle/square wave, FM on/off, sync on/off, EXT)
    Number of Sounds:
    100 (50 user programs are included)
    Display:
    16 Character backlit LCD
    Function Volume:
    Breath (sense/adjust), Glide (time/adjust), Bend (width/adjust), Vibrate, Volume, Tune (x50 cent), EXT Level Transpose (12 step: -D# ~C~ +D#), Auto Tune (VCO/VCF), Utility (memory protect on/off, key priority, bulk dump, verify, 16 chord pattern), MIDI (send/receive channel, program change TX, RX, on/off, MIDI send velocity, breath control), Monitor (monitor following control: breath, glide, bend, vibrate), Write, Sound/Prgm, Glide SW (glide on/off), Edit, Source 1/2, Value (up/down), Select (0~9), Next (up/down)
    Parameter (source 1 & 2):
    VCO-A
    (Frequency, Fine Tune, Wave (sawtooth/triangle/square/off), Pulse Width, Synchronize [on/off], Modulation, Balance)
    VCO-B
    (Frequency, Fine Tune, Wave ( awtooth/triangle/square/off), Pulse Width, Synchronize [on/off], Modulation, Balance)
    VCF
    (Cut Off Frequency, Resonance, Key Follow, Attack Time, Decay Time, Sustain Level, Release Time, Depth, Velocity)
    VCA
    (Output Level, Attack Time, Decay Time, Sustain Level, Release Time, Depth, Velocity),
    LFO
    (Speed, Depth, Delay)
    VIB/BEND
    (Bend Width, Bend Depth, Glide Time- Source 1, 2 are same)
    BREATH INTENSITY
    (Breath VCF, Breath VCA, Breath PWM, Breath Resonance, Breath VCO Balance)
    TRIGGER
    (Single/Multi),
    CHORD
    (Maximum of 4 note chord for MIDI output, 12 key chord assign, 100 program),
    LABEL
    (Maximum of 8 characters: alphabet large letter, number, space, 28 signs)
    Display LED:
    Breath, Glide, Bend, Trans, Sound/Prgm
    Connector:
    Instrument (EWI3000 only multi connector), Program UP (6.3mm standard phone jack), Head Phone (6.3mm monoral/standard stereo phone jack), Line Out (6.3mm standard phone jack), EXT in (6.3mm standard phone jack), MIDI IN/OUT(DIN 5P), DC Input (3.5mm mini plug, tip=positive)
    Power:
    DC 15V 7OOmA (Use AC adaptor)
    Size:
    351(W) x 78(H) x 241(D)mm
    Accessory:
    AC Adaptor
    EWI3000 SPECIFICATIONS
    Fingering:
    Saxophone standard and EWI type
    Size:
    560(L) x 34(W) x 65.5(D)cm
    Weight:
    6OOg
    Accessories:
    Multi Connecting Cable, Slinger, Cleaning Cloth
    OPTIONS:
    EWI-FR Finger Rest
    SC-X3000 Soft Case

    3.5 What are the EWI3020 / EWI3020m / EWI3030m?

    From Akai promotional material.

    WIND SYNTHESIZERS WITH PRECISE CONTROL, LIVELY SOUNDS AND NATURAL EXPRESSIONS

    Even if you've never played a woodwind instrument before, you'll enjoy Akai EWI wind synthesizers.

    The EWI3020 is a wind controller that lets you play naturally and with emotions. The EWI3020m is an analogue synthesizer module featuring warm, expressive sound. And the EWI3030m is a digital synthesizer module providing high-quality, realistic sound from PCM modules. No keyboard instrument can match the ease and flexibility of our wind synthesizers.

    The Wind Controller: Recreating the playing style of woodwind instruments
    The EWI3020 responds precisely to the feeling of the player through breath, lip and touch sensors. Controls include pitch, volume, pulsewidth, vibrato and glide that infuse life into sound modules. Unlike keyboard-type controllers, the wind controller can provide a subtle, natural wind sound. Together with the EWI3020m or EWI3030m sound module, it puts at your command a versatile instrument with colourful sound and flexible styles.
    The Analogue Sound Module: Flexible expression and rich sound
    The EWI3020m is an analogue synthesizer featuring 2 VCOS, 1 VCF, 1 VCA and 2 EGs. It boasts the ability to realistically express a wide range of sounds, from subtle to powerful. The modulation function lets you combine any of seven modulation sources with any of 10 destinations, to add up to tremendous flexibility, There are also string and bassoon filters that help create natural string and woodwind sounds. What's more, the synthesizer comes with 50 preset banks with select sounds that you can use immediately just by connecting it with the EWI 3020 controller.
    The Digital Sound Module: PCM high sound quality
    The EWI3030m is a digital synthesizer equipped with two PCM sound modules. Seventy-five PCM waves, digitally sampled from live sound sources, are at its unit's heart- sounds that you can modify using filters, LFOs, ENVs, breath controllers and vibrato, to synthesize unlimited variations. You have sounds that you'd normally have to obtain from external sound modules through MIDI. Moreover, 128 selected sounds are preset for instant use with the EWI3020 controller. You can add a final touch using reverb- 24 types in all.
    Extra ease of use, especially on stage
    The EWI3020m and EWI3030m let you assign any preset or user-created sound to up to 100 or 99 programmes, respectively. You can arrange the necessary sounds in order of play, which adds to extra ease of use during live performance or recordings. Of course, there's a foot switch for program up/down, delay settings for key and a breath-sensitive velocity output (1-127).
    Controlling EWI modules and external MIDI equipment
    With the INSTRUMENT OUT/IN jacks and optional EWI-B15, you can use a number of EWI3030m, EWI3020m, and EWI3000m units, together or singly, depending on the song. Moreover, the MIDI OUT lets you control an external MIDI module. Re-route the external module's audio outputs to the EXT IN on the EWI3020m or EWI3030m, and then you can control sound with breath on the EWI 3020. You can import sounds from an external synthesizer or sampler for processing or mixing. When you use external MIDI sound modules through MIDI, you can play chords of up to four notes. You can also control the EWI3020m and EWI3030m as an external sound module from the keyboard through MIDI IN.
    Sound List- EWI3020m
  • Strut2
  • Judd'94
  • Windy!
  • Fluty
  • EWI3020
  • Cindy!
  • Cloudy
  • Judd3020
  • Mighty
  • Delicate
  • Flute
  • Clarinet
  • Oboe
  • Harmonic
  • VI
  • Cello
  • Trumpet
  • String
  • Brass
  • Ocarina
  • Brass-1
  • F.Back!
  • Smoky
  • Stony
  • Smash!
  • Impress
  • Image
  • Limp
  • Sparkle
  • Simple
  • Juggle
  • Gloom
  • Blow
  • Jeff
  • PopHorn
  • Rex!
  • Gently!
  • Norton
  • Boxer
  • Native
  • Fog Set!
  • Depot
  • Silky
  • Axis
  • Orion
  • Prime
  • Stream
  • Lotus
  • SyncWave
  • Ext+Osc
  • Ext!
  • Sound List- EWI3030m
  • Trumpet 1
  • Trumpet 2
  • Mute Tp 1
  • Mute Tp 2
  • Piccolo Tp
  • Plunge Tp
  • Trombone 1
  • Trombone 2
  • Mute Tb
  • Flugelhorn
  • Soft Flugel
  • French Horn
  • Cornet 1
  • Cornet 2
  • Solo Bugle
  • Brass Sect
  • Synth Brass
  • Soprano Sax
  • Alto Sax 1
  • Alto Sax 2
  • Tenor Sax 1
  • Tenor Sax 2
  • Soft Tenor
  • Baritone sax
  • Grr sax
  • Oboe
  • English Horn
  • Bassoon
  • Clarinet
  • Piccolo
  • Flute
  • Pan Flute 1
  • Pan Flute 2
  • Shakuhachi
  • Reed
  • Reed Organ
  • Harmonica
  • Panpipe 1
  • Panpipe 2
  • Chiff Pipe
  • Chiff FI
  • Chiff Str
  • Blow Bottle
  • Arab Oboe
  • Bagpipes
  • Bucket Mute
  • Shanai
  • Flute Vox
  • Fuzz Guitar
  • OD Guitar
  • F.B. Guitar
  • 5th Guitar
  • F.B. Guitar 2
  • Kokyu
  • Fiddle
  • Bowed Glass
  • Bell Attack
  • Attack Flute
  • Breath Vox
  • Breathy Fl
  • Vox Wave
  • Digi Bow
  • Spike Lead
  • Blow Lead
  • Mix Tp
  • Solo Violin
  • Strings
  • Slap Bass
  • Pili
  • Teagum
  • Breath Flute
  • Analog Lead
  • Synth Tp
  • Reso Bass
  • Synth Sax
  • Ocarina
  • Analog Horn
  • Breathy Horn
  • Whistle
  • Horns
  • Stack Mute
  • Stack Sax
  • Soft Guitar
  • Mad Bass
  • Oct Lead
  • Synth Lead
  • Chiff Vox
  • Harmo Lead
  • Sax Section
  • Breathy Lead
  • Crazy Lead
  • Soft Horn
  • Fluty Horn
  • Square Lead
  • Saw Lead
  • Delicate Horn
  • Soft Reed
  • Tb Section
  • Pipe Lead
  • Chameleon Tp
  • Easy Tp
  • Easy Mute Tp
  • Easy T. Sax
  • Easy T. bone
  • Easy Violin
  • Easy Guitar
  • Easy Kokyu
  • Easy Flute
  • Easy Harmoni
  • Easy Voice
  • Oct Horn
  • Spike Pipe
  • Stack Bass
  • Synth Harmon
  • Oct Guitar
  • Vox Strings
  • Attack Lead
  • Oct Reed
  • Shaku Lead
  • 5th Lead
  • TRI
  • SAW
  • LAMP
  • SQUARE
  • Ext+Tp
  • Ext+Pipe
  • Ext+Guitar
  • EXT. IN
  • EWI3020 ELECTRIC WIND INSTRUMENT

    Special sensor woodwind type controller
    Fingering:
    Saxophone-style/EWI system
    Control range:
    8 octave
    Dimensions/Weight:
    560L x 34W x 65.5D (mm); 6OOg

    EWI3020 SOUND MODULE for EWI

    Voice:
    Monophonic
    Number of sound tones:
    100 maximum (50 user-programmable)
    Sound source:
    2 VCOs
    Main sound parameter:
    VCO-A, VCO-B, VCF, VCA, LFO, ENV1/2, CHORD, LABEL, MOD (Modulation function)
    Display:
    Back-lit LCD with 16-character
    LED Indicators:
    BREATH, GLIDE, BEND
    Function Volumes:
    TUNE (+/- 50 cents), VIBRATO, BREATH (SENSE/ADJUST), GLIDE (TIME/ADJUST), BEND (WIDTH/ADJUST), EXT. IN, VOLUME
    Function Keys:
    AUTOTUNE (VCO/VCF), TRANSPOSE (12 step, E-C-D#), SOUND/PROG, WRITE, MIDI, GLIDE SW, (GLIDE ON/OFF), EDIT, VALUE (+/-), SELECT (O-9), UP/DOWN
    Effects filters:
    OFF1,2
    Chord:
    Maximum 4 notes (for MIDI OUT only), 16 chord patterns, 12-Key chord assign
    100 programs
    Terminals:
    INSTRUMENT IN (for EWI3000, EWI3020), PROGRAM UP/DOWN, HEADPHONE, LINE OUT, EXT IN, MIDI IN/OUT THRU, INSTRUMENT OUT (for EWI3000m, EWI3020m, EWI3030m)
    Dimensions/Weight:
    483W x 88H x 4O8.8D (mm), 5.8kg

    EWI3030M SOUND MODULE for EWI

    Voice:
    Monophonic/Dual
    Number of sound tones:
    128 maximum (user programmable)
    Sound source 2 (75 PCM WAVES) Ext-In
    Main sound parameter:
    WAVE A/B, A-B MIX, FILTER, REVERB SELECT, LFO, ENV, VIBRATO, GLIDE, BEND, SOUND LEVEL, LABEL
    Display:
    Back-lit LCD with 16 character
    LED Indicators:
    BREATH, GLIDE, BEND
    Function Volumes:
    TUNE (+/- 50 cents), VIBRATO, BREATH (SENSE/ADJUST), GLIDE (TIME/ADJUST), BEND (WIDTH/ADJUST), EXT. IN, VOLUME
    Function Keys:
    REVERB, TRANSPOSE (12 step, E-C-D#), SOUND/PROG, SENS, MIDI, EDIT, BREATH, WAVE A, WAVE B, A-B MIX, FILTER, REVERB SELECT, LFO, ENV, VIBRATO, GLIDE, BEND, SOUND LEVEL, LABEL
    Effects filters:
    DIGITAL REVERB (24)
    Chord Maximum:
    4 notes (for MIDI OUT only), 16 chord patterns, 1 user program
    99 programs
    Terminals:
    INSTRUMENT IN (FRONT PANEL for EWI3020, EWI3000), PROGRAM UP/DOWN, HEADPHONE, LINE OUT x 2, EXT IN, MIDI IN / OUT / THRU, INSTRUMENT OUT (for EWI3000m, EWI3020m, EWI3030m), INSTRUMENT IN (BACK PANEL: for EWI3020m, EWI3030m)
    Dimensions / Weight:
    483W x 88H x 4O8.8D (mm), 6.4kg

    3.6 What optional extras are available from Akai?

    3.7 How can I get my EWI converted to an EVI?

    Nyle Steiner, the inventor of the EWI and EVI, and will convert an EWI to an EVI The cost of this service is estimated at $150-$200. You must provide him with an EWI controller (EWI3000 or later) and he will "gut" it and put the innards into a newly redesigned EVI body. The final product will be a controller that is compatible with the newer EWI sound modules.

    The new EVI body is made of plastic, is lighter, easier to manufacture, and is about 3" wide (more room for expansion. He said if you close your eyes it feels the same in your hands as the old EVI.

    Contact:
    Nyle Steiner
    3111 Evelyn St.
    La Crescenta, CA 91214

    3.8 How do I contact Akai?

    USA:
    Akai Professional
    2344
    Fort Worth TX, 76113
    Tel: 817-336-5114

    akai@pan.com
    akai@delphi.com

    UK:
    Akai UK
    12 Silver Jubilee Way
    Haslemere Heathrow Estate
    The Parkway
    Hounslow
    Middx
    TW4 6NF

    Tel: 0181 897-6388
    Fax: 0181 759-8268

    Japan:
    Akai Electric Co. Ltd.
    Electronic Musical Instrument Division
    335 Kariyado
    Nakhara-ku
    Kawasaki-shi
    Kanagawa
    Japan

    Section 4: Others

    4.1 What is the Synthophone?

    Simplisticly, the synthophone is a saxophone body with MIDI output.

    In addition to standard features you would expect on any wind controller the Synthophone also gives you aftertouch control, modulation control, start/continue/stop for sequencers, 5 part harmony in any given key (3 preset styles and 6 user modifiable), chord variations through lip pressure, 3 styles of pitch bend with 5 levels each, 5 part multi channel mode with proper voice leading, freeze harmonies, optional thumb express assignable for pitch bend/number of voices in a chord/lower-upper midi channel/ bII Substitue Chords/ sustain, portamento, as well as many others. The other nice thing is when you find a setting you like, including program change, midi channel, all of the above, you just save it to the Synthophone.

    It also has a very friendly use interface, which means the saxophone players in particular can get immediate results. The instrument can be set to feel and respond so much like a saxophone that you can play it right away. The designer also puts your own custom altissimo fingerings on the instrument so there should be nothing about fingering that will feel odd. After you're comfortable playing it "like a saxophone" the other features will keep you busy for a long time.

    The Synthophone has a 'reed', but it is just to get lip pressure, it does not vibrate. The Synthophone 'range' is the normal sax range with altissimo plus one octave up and one octave down for a total of about 5+ octaves. Of course it is easy to move that up or down an octave across the board.

    The Synthophone accomplishes these and other commands by using 'non-standard' fingerings. In other words there are certain key combinations which get you into a control area, then allow to alter that parameter. These fingerings are largely used in setting up a sound, once a sound is set up,(saved using a non-standard fingering) you mostly will move from one sound to another via one non-standard fingering. So there is very little to remember in a performance situation. The harmonies, breath settings, mod wheel settings, lip settings, patch changes, midi channel, etc. are all saved at once to the instrument when you find a sound you like.

    The Synthophone is priced at $3450.00. This is the same price it has been since 1987. It is also available in a professional Selmer Paris alto body, but I'm not sure what its price is. (At $3450 it is in a Yamaha student alto sax body.)

    Contact:
    Martin Hurni
    Softwind Instruments
    Munstergasse 52
    CH-3011 Bern
    Switzerland

    Tel: (int.+41) 31 311 28 20
    Fax: (int.+41) 31 751 15 48

    U.S. distributor:
    Softwind Instruments
    304 Newbury St. Suite #323
    Boston, MA 02115
    Tel: 617-969-4798
    Fax: 617-969-5698

    4.2 What is the Lyricon?

    There were 3 Lyricons manufactured by Computone, Inc., in the 1970's.

    The original Lyricon was a wind controller which drove a computer that generated overtones. It came with a delux plush lined case, and had a shiny chrome finish and an elongated bottom piece. It used a form of additive synthesis, where you dial in the amount of overtones you want, and you could then blend that with the wind overtoned section. It had a key switch for a fundamental of G, Bb, C, Eb or F and a range switch of low, med or hi. Combined with two octave up keys, you had a functional 6 octave range. It also had glissando, portmento and "timbre attack", which was sort of like chorusing.

    The sounds were very expressive and there was quite a bit of control over the actual sound. The down side was that, like early synths, there was no way to "save" a sound. So the first Lyricon players had to know the way the dials should be set for a sound, and hope they approximated those settings. Other problems included it being incapable of controlling any other sound source than its own computer, and adding more of the top overtones could give it a very "buzzy" sound.

    Later 2 other Lyricons were introduced. One of them had no sounds, and was known as the Wind Synthesizer Driver. This unit had the ability to control pitch through fingering, pitch bend through lip pressure, and through its wind control outputs the performer would generally control VCA and VCF information. The control was fairly elaborate with choices and settings for each control voltage output.

    The third Lyricon had its own built in synth, and was called the Lyricon II. This came with a formed plastic case, and had a brushed aluminium look. The bottom piece was a stubby "plug" that looked quite different from the first Lyricon. The synth module was a 2 oscillator synth with a choice of square or sawtooth waves, VCF and LFO, but no envelope generator, since you controlled this with your wind and embouchure. It had a patch point to connect to external CV/gate synths.

    All of the Lyricons used the same saxophone style fingering system, with two octave keys above the left-hand thumb rest. The Wind Synthesizer Driver also had a transposition footswitch feature, where a foot pedal could be used to transpose the entire range up or down one octave. With the Lyricon II you could do this from the control panel.

    They all used a bass clarinet mouthpiece, with a sensor on the reed to detect pressure. There was a diaphragm which moved and changed the light output from a LED which was in turn sensed by a photocell to give dynamic control.

    There were additionally some models put out just as the mouthpiece unit, and they were used to control keyboard synths, much as a breath control unit works on a Yamaha keyboard currently. This occurred just as the company went out of business. Just before it went out of business in the early 80's, the Selmer band instrument company took over distribution, but was unable to market the instrument successfully.

    A company called Innovations Ltd. later developed from Computone Inc.

    Last known address:
    Innovations Ltd.
    PO Box 564
    Norwell, MA 02061

    Last known contact (around '84):
    Bill Bernardi, one of the co-founders of Computone.

    4.3 What is the Casio DH series?

    Casio made a DH-10, DH-20, DH-100, and DH-200, all of which were about the same, though the later model claimed more sounds. They lack most accidental keys, so you play them more-or-less like a recorder, which can take a true sax player some time to get used to.

    They are shaped like saxophones, have an internal speaker (at the "bell"), audio output and MIDI output. It is not the most expressive way to play a MIDI module, but it does send velocity with its note on messages, and channel after-touch as you change how hard you blow after sounding a note. Fingering is mostly like a sax but there is an alternate fingering method that you can select which allows many octaves of control.

    The Casio is good for fun and basics or as a proof of concept, but one of the Yamaha or Akai wind controllers will be a better choice if it is to be your main controller.

    There are also reports of a whole line of Casio DH horns that were not available outside Japan. There is a DH-500 which apparently looked like the DH-100 and DH-200 but had a cassette-tape capability for play-along. There may be a DH-800 as well.

    4.4 What are the Sting controllers?

    There are two Sting controllers, both of which [I believe] are no longer in production.

    Sting EW1 synthesized, electronic wind instrument fingers basically the same as a saxophone or recorder but can be customized with up to 2000 different fingerings available. Nickel plated instrument appears very much like a clarinet with standard woodwind mouthpiece. Keys - 12 upper, 2 under, E flat and B flat fingerings, transmits a single conductor cable. A pin lock jack for the connector & standard shielded cables can be used. The EW1 includes a synthesis module with Threshold controls for wind and lip, Lip control for vibrato, bend and filter, LFO for vibrato speed, Transpose (E flt, F, D flt and C), Main oscillator with 3 octave range and Sub Oscillator with octave control and detune. There are 64 preset sounds and a MIDI out jack. The back panel includes inputs for foot switch control of Sub Oscillator and CV control of LFO speed, Filter and Bend.

    The Sting EW2 MIDI controller uses the same input unit as the EW1 but does not include the synthesis module. The control unit ( a rack mount box) for the EW2 has Wind threshold, Wind Modulation Wheel, Wind Dynamic, Moving Threshold, Moving bend, Moving Modulation Wheel, Key transpose (E flt, F, B flt and C), and Master volume on the front. The rear panel has 2 MIDI out, 2 Velocity In, 2 Master outs, Program change, Sustain switch, Headphone out and Key transpose jacks.

    Contact:
    SSSound Co Ltd.
    Box No 1
    Kanie, Aichi
    Japan 497

    4.5 Are there any others?

    Yes...but I havn't got any details.

    Section 5: Synths.

    5.1 What should I look for in a synth module?

    You have to worry about synths and programming with wind controllers. Most Synths and synth modules are designed with keyboard players in mind, and some absolutely essential features, from a wind player's viewpoint, are missing on a variety of popular synths. Conversely, hyped features such as number of voices and flexible envelopes aren't of compelling interest. Even velocity sensitivity isn't all that useful except for programming attacks.

    The most prevalent lapse is the lack of a legato, single-trigger, mono mode. On a lot of wind controller voices, you want to be able to play a new note without have the synth envelopes re-trigger. Many of the Roland synths, for example, lack this feature, and you should have suspicions of sample-based instruments in general.

    The synth must offer musically useful control of volume and tone parameters from the Continuous Controller 2 or After-touch. Older and -- alas -- less expensive synths are suspect. You want direct linear control of the appropriate parameters (e.g. filter cutoff, FM modulator output, vector mix.)

    5.2 Is my synth suitable for using with a wind controller?

    The following list is not a complete list of synths that are suitable for using with wind controllers, but have all been reported as usable on wind-l

    The following list *may* be suitable for wind controllers, but are to be confirmed.

    5.2.1 The VL series are brilliant for wind controllers!

    The VL1m (module version of VL1 keyboard) uses Physical Modeling Synthesis - it simulates actual acoustic interactions between a sound generator (reed, bow, trumpet-type mouthpiece) and a resonator (pipe, string). It does the computations for this in what I think is about 10 megs of RAM. It is *not* a sample player. It has 2-voice polyphony, 5-band parametric eq, several amplifier simulators, distortion settings, reverbs, delays, and flanger. The virtual controllers (assignable to physical controllers like breath pressure, foot pedal, pitch bend) include growl, scream, distortion, and a whole bunch of others. It holds 128 voices (patches) in 8 banks, saveable to DOS-compatible 3.5" floppy.

    A VL7 is similar to the VL1 except that it can't do layers, it stores only 64 patches, and costs less...

    5.3 Where can I buy synth patches optimized for wind controllers?

    Patchman Music
    2043 Mars Avenue
    Lakewood, OH 44107
    U.S.A.
    Telephone: 216-221-8887
    Large selection of patches available for nearly all synths listed above.
    Cost: All wind controller volumes are $39.95 each plus $2 shipping & handling within the U.S. Foreign orders add $10 for shipping & handling.
    Contact MatteBlack@aol.com for more information.

    Sound Source Interactive
    2985 E. Hillcrest Dr., Suite A
    Westlake Village, CA 91362
    1-800-877-4778
    (805)494-9996
    FAX: (805)495-0016, 496-4917
    BBS: (805)373-8589
    Patches for TX802 and TX81Z only.

    West Broadway Productions
    PO Box 12218
    Beaumont TX 77726
    wbroadway@aol.com
    Patches for TX81Z only.

    5.4 How do I set up patches for wind control?

    5.4.1 General Principles.

    [Excerpt from a post to wind-l from Ken Beesley.]

    "The MIDI spec is fairly heavily keyboard oriented, and Velocity is very much a keyboard/percussion kind of notion. It's completely appropriate for controlling the volume (loudness) of patches where you bonk something right at the beginning and the overall loudness is dependent on the strength of that bonk. When you control the volume of your patches by envelope generators, and when you in turn make those envelope generators sensitive to velocity, then you have a classic piano/percussion-like patch.

    Straightforward wind control (emulating wind instruments) is quite different and requires a whole different patch programming paradigm. The overall loudness of a wind note is NOT determined by some bonk or other event right at the beginning; it's determined continuously by your changing breath control through the whole duration of the note. You might start a note very softly, crescendo, waver up and down, and cut off the note at full volume. The volume envelope of each note can be different--the player becomes the real-time, flexible envelope generator.

    When programming for straightforward wind control, the basics are

    1. Ignore velocity values. They have to be there, to make valid Note-ON messages. In the WX and EWI, these velocity values are basically fillers (although somewhat less so in the case of the WX, see below)
    2. Set the envelope generators that control the final amplifier(s) to the "square" or neutral shape. Such envelope generators are usually wired in, but setting them to the neutral square shape causes them to tell the amplifier "as far as I'm concerned, play at full volume all the time." If you're converting a piano like patch to wind control, these envelope generators are where you usually have to turn OFF Velocity sensitivity (this causes the patch to ignore velocity values).
    3. Set the amplifiers to be modulated (controlled) by Breath Control values. Sometimes this can be done directly. Other times, such modulation effectively acts as a valve between the envelope generator and the amplifier, letting anywhere from all or none of the value from the envelope generator get through to the amplifiers. The result is that the output of the amplifiers will now be completely controlled, in real-time, by how hard you blow.

    It is possible to keep using the Velocity value in wind patches to control the strength of the initial "chiff" of tonguing (rather than the overall loudness of a note). There is some merit to this; a tonguing chiff occurs only at the beginning of a note. However, this plan works fine for WXs, but not for anything driven by an EWI module. (The Velocity values from a WX seem to be just a snapshot of the current breath control value, and the EWI modules send the same non-zero value every time. You can set what that value will be (64-127), but then it's set until you reprogram the value.)

    To handle them both, program the chiff part of the sound so that its volume is controlled by an envelope that is typically percussive (jumps quickly to maximum, then drops almost immediately to zero--this will cause the chiff (of whatever final strength) to be heard only at the beginning of a note); then make that envelope generator (or its output) sensitive to Breath Control. On the WXs, the Velocity value is just a copy of the current BC value, so the result should be indistinguishable from making the envelope generator sensitive to Velocity."

    5.4.2 For use with the WX11

    In the WX11 documentation, there are basic instructions for programming FM synths for wind control, at least the settings for EG-Bias (via cc#2) and setting AmpModSens on FM operators.

    5.4.3 DXs

    The Sal Gallina book ("Expressive FM Applications") has alleged DX7II (TX802) and TX81z patches.

    5.4.4 An example

    [This gives an example of how to go about programming a synth. It is for a uWave.]

    Use breath control (BC) to control the filter frequency and volume of the sound. So, the sound gets louder and brighter as you blow harder.

    Use the *inversion* of BC to control the Q of the uWave's filter. Thus the filter is resonant at low BC values (when it is also almost closed, so the knee is at a lower frequency.) This effect is hard to describe, but it basically makes it timbrally richer at a low BC while still keeping the effect of getting "brighter" at higher BC values. This is not to be overdone!

    Also use BC to control the sweep through the uWave's wave table. So as you blow harder I move through the different waves... this parameter is smoothed inside the uWave.

    Finally, you can assign an LFO to pan the sound a little and then used the BC to modulate the amplitude of the LFO. So as you blow harder the sound shimmers in stereo. Just a little of this one... it can be annoying!

    The result is an expressive sound which is warm and full at low BC values and gets "exciting" at higher BC values.

    Section 6: Pricing

    [Please mail me at the address at the top of the FAQ if you buy/sell a new or second hand wind controller, so I can update the pricings below.]

    6.1 How much do new controllers cost?

    The following table gives approximate prices in both the USA and the UK.
                                    USA              UK 
                                                    (inc VAT)
    
    Yamaha:         WX11/WT11       $750-800        GBP 529
                    WX11/BT7        $400            GBP 275
    
    Akai:           EWI3020         ?               GBP 349
                    EWI3020m        ?               GBP 599
                    EWI3030m        ?               GBP 759
    
    Casio:          DH-100          $100            N/A
    
    Synthophone:                    $3450.00        N/A
    

    6.2 How much do second hand controllers cost?

    The following table gives the approximate price you could expect to pay for a second hand controller in "good condition".
                                    USA              UK 
    
    Yamaha:         WX7/BT7         $300-400        GBP 200 
                    WX11/WT11       ?               ?
                    WT11/BT7        ?               ?
    
    Akai:           EVI1000         ?               N/A
                    EWI1000         ?               N/A
                    EWV2000         ?               N/A
                    EWI3000         ?               N/A
                    EWI3000m        ?               N/A
                    EWI3020         ?               ?
                    EWI3020m        ?               ?
                    EWI3030m        ?               ?
    
    Casio:          Any DH          $50-60          GBP 50
    

    Section 7: Suggested reading.

    [If you are interested in reading further about wind controllers, then you could worse than consult some of the articles in the following list. Please send an email to the address at the top of the FAQ if you come across any further references.]

    Aftertouch Magazine

    June 1987
    "WX7 Sound Sheet" This article discusses the production of the included sound sheet demo recording of Sal Gallina playing the WX7. 1 page
    September 1987
    • "WX7" An introduction to the WX7. (2 pages)
    • Also includes a small a note about using a breath controller with the FB-01.
    July 1988
    Includes a TX81Z Patch called "Lyricon" designed to be played with a wind synth.
    October 1988
    "Breath Controller" Discusses using the Yamaha BC1 or BC2 breath controller with a keyboard. (2 pages)
    January 1989
    New product release notes on the WX11/WT11.
    March 1989
    "WX7 Wind Controller"-Getting aquainted with your WX7. Tips on using the WX7. (2 pages)
    April/May 1989
    "WX7 and TX81Z" Discusses programming the TX81Z for breath control. (3 pages)

    Downbeat Magazine

    November 1989
    "Michael Brecker: Re-Charged Sax". Excellent article. Brecker discussing the EWI1000. (1.5 pages)
    January 1991
    "Now You See Him..." Article about Michael Brecker's new album and talks about the EWI1000. (3 pages)
    October 1992
    "Brecker Brothers Are BACK!" (cover story) "The Brecker Brothers: Boogie Out Of Africa", pp. 16-20. Talks about the EWI, among others things.
    June 1992
    "Groove Ganster", pp. 21-23. Jow Zawinul interview. Shows two photos of Mr. Zawinul with the Korg PePe, a breath controller with wireless MIDI.

    Electronic Musician Magazine

    April 1986
    Review of the JL Cooper MIDI Wind Driver. (2 pages)
    February 1987
    Contains a soundsheet recording of Sal Gallina playing a WX7.
    February 1988
    Akai EVI1000 and EWI1000 review (5 pages)
    May 1988
    Yamaha WX7 review (5 pages) Includes a small article on Sal Gallina.
    October 1988
    Article "The Akai EVI1000 and EWI1000: A Personal Approach". Some great tips and tricks! (5 pages)
    December 1988
    Synthophone review (5 pages)
    January 1989
    • One Chip Project: "Breath Controlled Expressor project." (Pages 82-85)
    • Also a review of the Casio DH-100.
    June 1991
    Press release of the Akai X335i breath controller.
    December 1991
    In depth review of the EWI3000 Wind Controller (6 pages)
    Feburary 1994
    "Model Music" By: Scott Wilkinson Article about Sound Modeling (8 pages; p.42-54)
    June 1994
    Yamaha VL1 review. By: Scott Wilkinson (6 pages; p.99-104)

    EQ Magazine

    February 1995
    "A Breath Of Fresh Air"
    • How you can spice up your sequences by adding an electronic woodwind.
    • Interview with Hollywood session player Fred Seldon. Discusses his use of the EWI. (4 pages)
    • Review of the Yamaha VL1 synthesizer. By Howard Massey (4 pages)

    Expressive FM Applications

    • By Sal Gallina
      Copyright 1987 Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
      ISBN 0-88188-762-5
      $19.95 U.S. 104 pages
    • Published by Yamaha Music Foundation and Hal Leonard Publications.
    • Available through the Mix Bookshelf catalog for $19.95. Yamaha bundled this book with the WX7. It includes an audio cassette of Sal playing the WX7 and TX81Z.

    Keyboard Magazine

    December 1986
    • "MIDI Interfacing for the Rest of the Universe". Article discusses MIDI-ing various acoustic instruments. Talks about the Perkiphone design. (2 pages)
    • Also EVI1000/EWI1000 ad on page 13
    July 1987
    • "Programming and Technique With or Without the Keyboard" Article on Wind Synthesis.
    • Also has article on Fred Selden, a prominent L.A. studio wind synthesist who uses the Akai EWI. (7 pages)
    October 1987
    Akai EVI1000/EWI1000 full page ad
    March 1988
    Yamaha WX7 review (3 pages)
    October 1988
    • Article "Keyboards are for Wimps". About some of the limitations of keyboard-controlled synthesis and advantages of wind controlled synthesis. (1 page)
    • This issue also contains an article and picture of Mark Isham holding a Perkiphone MIDI acoustic trumpet.
    March 1989
    A full Akai EWI1000 review - 6 pages
    December 1989
    Article "Programming Synths for Wind Control" (2 pages)
    January 1990
    Article "Exploring Dynamic Harmony with the Synthophone". (2 pages)
    August 1991
    New EWI3000 ad on page 120
    September 1991
    • Breath controller interface project for the Korg M1. (Page 16)
    • Also EWI3000 ad on page 49
    December 1991
    Ad for the "Windbox"- a hardware box giving keyboardists breath control over their Patches. (Page 187)
    Febuary 1994
    "The Next Big Thing" An article about Sound Modeling. By: Michael Marans (16 pages; p.99-118)
    June 1994
    Yamaha VL1 review. By: Ernie Rideout 8 pages. (p.104-118)

    Insight Magazine

    February 5, 1990
    "Musicians Plug Into a New Sound (A New Crop of Electronic Instruments)". (2 pages)

    MIDI Magazine

    March/April 1994
    Yamaha WX11 and WT11 review. By Paul Butler (3 pages)

    MIT Journal

    [possibly Computer Music Journal? - jm]
    article on VL1 ?

    Business Week

    11/15/93, Science/Tech section
    Julius Smith Inventor (Article on VL1)

    American Recorder

    (published by The American Recorder Society)
    June 1991
    "Wired for Sound" By Matt and Tony Marvuglio A review of the Suzuki MIDI Recorder SRW-100 and the Yamaha WindJamm'r-EW20.

    Music Technology Magazine

    October 1987
    Akai EWI1000 and EVI1000 preview (1 page)
    December 1987
    • Akai EVI1000 and EWI1000 review (4 pages)
    • Also an excellent interview with Sal Gallina and Nyle Steiner- the designers of the WX7, EVI1000, and EWI1000 (4 pages).

    Music Technology (British Version)

    April 1988
    Akai EVI1000 and EWI1000 review (3 pages)
    March 1988
    • Yamaha WX7 review (4 pages)
    • This issue also has a photo of the hardshell case available from Akai for the EVI1000 or EWI1000.
    July 1989
    Yamaha WX11/WT11 review (3 pages)
    November 1988
    • Tom Scott interview, an avid WX7 user.
    • Also a review of the Synthophone- a MIDI saxophone. (5 pages)
    Premier Issue (Peter Gabriel on cover)
    Half page article and picture on Perkiphone Trumpet to MIDI synthesizer.
    April 1988
    Review of the Sting EW2 MIDI Wind Controller. (3 pages)
    February 1988
    Review of the Artisyn SX01 MIDI Sax (2 pages)
    May 1989
    "Rehumanize Your Sequences, Part 4: Wind Instruments. Discusses how to emulate various acoustic wind instruments using a breath controller. (4 pages)
    December 1986
    "Stepping Out". Discusses Steps Ahead and Micheal Breckers' use of the Steinerphone in this group. Includes a picture of Brecker playing the Steinerphone with his 1986 set-up. (4 pages)
    April 1987
    • News release of the Artsyn MIDI Sax. (Page 7)
    • Review of the Frankfurt Musikmesse. Discusses the release of the EVI1000 and EWI1000. Includes picture of Nyle Steiner playing the Steinerphone. (Pages 50, 51, and 54)
    February 1988
    Akai EVI1000/EWI1000 video tape ad.

    Recording Magazine

    January 1995
    • This features a VL1 and an Akai EWI-3020 on the cover.
    • Yamaha VL1 review by Nick Batzdorf (4 pages)
    • "The Controllers- Keyboards and Unkeyboards" by Nick Batzdorf and Trevor Gilchrist. Discusses the currently available wind controllers and percussion controllers. Also reviews the Akai EWI3020. (5 pages)
    • "Airto Moreira" by Lorenz Rychner. Interview with Airto. He mention his horn player, Gary Meeks, who plays an Akai EWI.
    • There is also an article called "The Controllers" that talks about the currently available alternate controllers such as the Akai EWI3020.

    Saxophone Journal

    March/April 1991
    "Creative Jazz Improvisation" - an article about the Yamaha WindJammer. (2 pages; p.52-53)
    May/June 1991
    "The Future Is Now" About the Prism saxophone quartet which uses wind controllers and the first California Saxophone and MIDI wind controller festival. (6 pages; p.51-56)

    The Mix (available in UK only)

    (no date)
    A 4 page review of the Akai 3020/3020m/3030m. It has ex-Tangerine Dream player Steve Jolliffe doing the reviewing, and also playing a demo track on the cover CD.

    Section 8: Discography

    [If you are interested in listening to some professionals playing wind controllers, check out the following list.]
    WITNESS (film soundtrack).
    Maurice Jarre, composer. Lots of EVI solos by Nyle Steiner. 1985. Varese Sarabande STV 81237 (record), CTV 81237 (cassette),and VCD 47227 (CD).
    KALEIDOSCOPE.
    Mike Metheny. EVI solo on one or two cuts. 1988. MCA Impulse MCA 42023 (record, CD and cassette).
    ONE VOICE.
    Barbra Streisand. Live concert. Eight piece band recreated many Streisand mega hits. EVI solos by Nyle Steiner. 1987. Columbia OC 40788. Also available on video from CBS/Fox Home Video. Nyle demonstrated the EVI to Streisand and the audience at the end.
    ON THE CORNER.
    John Patitucci. Judd Miller plays EVI on three cuts. 1989. GRP GRD-9583
    THE STILL POINT.
    Susan Mazer (Electro-acoustic harp) & Dallas Smith (woodwinds and EWI). 1990. (CD insert lists Mazer & Smith, PO Box 6391, Stateline, NV 89449.) ProJazz CDJ 728.
    MAGNETIC.
    Steps Ahead. Michael Brecker plays "Steiner EWI" on 6 cuts. Oberheim Xpander listed with EWI on 4 cuts. (From the way it is listed, perhaps two cuts use the Steiner module as the sound source and four cuts use the Xpander controlled by the EWI). 1986. Elektra Asylum 60441-1.
    MICHAEL BRECKER.
    Michael Brecker. Brecker plays EWI on several cuts. Judd Miller and Nyle Steiner are included in the "thank yous". 1987 MCA/Impulse. MCA-5980.
    DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.
    Michael Brecker. Brecker plays "Akai EWI" on 3 cuts. Judd Miller is credited as synth programmer in the liner notes. Jack Sugino and Koh Suzuki from Akai are in the "thank yous" 1988. MCA Records MCA 42229.
    NOW YOU SEE IT...(NOW YOU DON'T).
    Michael Brecker. Brecker plays "Akai EWI" on 5 cuts. Judd Miller and Sam Zambito are in the "thank yous". I remember Sam assisting Brecker with programming and system design around this time. 1990. GRP GRD-9622.
    STEPS AHEAD-LIVE IN TOKYO 1986.
    Michael Brecker. In my opinion, its some of the best stuff Brecker has ever recorded on the EWI, as well as killer performances from all members of the group
    RETURN OF THE BRECKER BROTHERS - LIVE IN BARCELONA.
    Brecker Brothers. Michael Brecker playing the EWI on tracks 5 and 6. GRP-96843.
    OUT OF THE LOOP.
    Brecker Brothers. Michael Brecker playing "Akai EWI" on tracks 4,5,7, and 8. 1994. GRP 97842.
    KENNY G.
    Kenny G. Kenny G playing "Lyricon Mini-Moog wind synthesizer solo on 'Stop and Go'". (track 3) 1982. Arista 259337.
    DUOTONES
    Kenny G. Sal Gallina credited for playing "Digital wind controller". Also, "Violins, French horns and string sounds on 'Don't Make me Wait' played by Sal Gallina and violins on 'Esther' played by Kenny G on the Digital Wind Controller." 1986. Arista 257792.
    A CHANGE OF HEART
    David Sanborn. Track 6, A Change of Heart: "Michael Brecker: Steinerphone EWI." 1987. Warner Bros. 925479-2.
    THE RHYTHM OF THE SAINTS
    Paul Simon. "Akai EWI SYNTHESIZER Michael Brecker" on tracks 1,3,5,8,9. 1990. Warner Bros. 7599-26098-2.
    RUN FOR YOUR LIFE
    Yellowjackets. Bob Mintzer playing "EWI" on a few tracks. 1994. GRP 97542.
    SKETCHBOOK
    John Patitucci. Judd Miller credited for "EVI & Synthesizer Programming" on track 12. 1990. GRP 96172.
    REED MY LIPS
    Tom Scott. CD insert lists Scott playing "horn synth" on one cut, "synth horn, strings and vibes" on another. 1994 GRP GRD 9752.
    RETURN OF THE BRECKER BROTHERS
    Brecker Brothers (1992) GRP #GRD-9684 Michael makes good use of his EWI throughout the album
    BLACK MARKET
    Weather Report (1976) Columbia Records #PC 34099 The only WP album I know of that Wayne Shorter uses the Lyricon.
    AJA
    Steely Dan (1977) ABC Records #AA-1006 Tom Scott overdubs several Lyricons at the beginning of "Peg".
    MILE ONE
    Random Walk (1991) #RW-521-CD (Posting from Dave Matsen )
    "Produced by Daryl Stuermer (guitarist and writer with Phil Collins and Genesis). On this fusion album I play my trusty WX7 driving a Korg M1, Korg M3R, ESQ-1 and a Kurzweil (1000 series?) that was at the studio; as well as my analog Selmer saxes. The CD is currently out of print but we do have a few copies left. If anyone is interested, please E-mail me and I see if I could ship some out. I may be jumping the gun on this since I don't know how many copies the group leader has."
    LIKE A RIVER
    Yellowjackets. Bob Mintzer playing "EWI". "Guest musicians: ... Judd Miller - EWI programming". 1993. GRP-96892
    DON'T SAY IT'S OVER
    Randy Crawford, vocals. Steve Tavaglioni plays and EWI "harmonica" solo on the title cut. Warner Bros. 45381-2
    WHAT'S INSIDE
    New York Voices (five vocalists and a back-up band). On "The Sultan Fainted", one of the vocalists, Darmon Meader, plays an "Akai EWI" solo. John Tendy is credited with "EWI sound programming". GRP GRD-9700

    Section 9: Acknowledgments

    I hope you have found all this interesting and informative. Please send any suggestions, comments, critisism and especially corrections and additions that you may have to the email address at the top.

    The information in this FAQ came from many sources, most of them from within wind-l. The contributions from the following people in particular are gratefully acknowledged.

    Mr. Abbott..................MrAbbott@aol.com
    Ken Barry...................barryk@lhl.lib.mo.us
    Ken Beesley.................Ken.Beesley@xerox.fr
    Matte Black.................MatteBlack@aol.com
    Michael V. Briggs...........mbriggs@nexrad.osf.uoknor.edu
    Mike W Burger...............mike@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu
    Don Cagen...................DCagen@aol.com
    Scott A. Dart...............sdart@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu
    Kelly J.Dean...............st43b@jetson.uh.edu
    Richard George..............reg94@ecs.southampton.ac.uk
    Brian Good..................bgood@sundagger.lerc.nasa.gov
    Craig Hara..................Harable@aol.com
    Ian Herman..................iherman@msmail4.hac.com
    Ewan Macpherson.............macpherson@earvax.waisman.wisc.edu
    Dave.Matsen.................dmatsen@execpc.com
    Gavin A. McLintock..........gavin@mclintock.com
    Robert Hill.................NineBanded@aol.com
    Phil Sallee.................psallee@irvine.com
    Jan Steinman................jan.bytesmiths@acm.org
    Tom Ritchford...............tom@mvision.com
    Richard Rogers..............cstrmr@staffordshire.ac.uk
    Matti J. Saavalainen........matti@hut.fi
    Doug Smith..................doasmith@indyvax.iupui.edu
    George Shernit..............g.shernit@genie.geis.com
    Paul Tammes.................Paul_Tammes@mbh.wlink.nl
    Neal Tollisen...............njt@plaza.ds.adp.com
    Henk Van Wulpen.............Henk.VanWulpen@cs.kuleuven.ac.be
    

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