*Update* Unfortunately this EWI now appears to be sold out on Amazon, however I've left the link in the description in case any more become available. After I contacted the company about the lack of stock, they said they're currently working on an updated version - hopefully we'll get some more information soon. Thank you all for the overwhelming response to this review! I can't believe there's so much interest in Electronic Wind Instruments... p.s. Did this video inspire you to learn sax? Head over to www.saxtuition.com to learn with the Beginner Series today 🎷
I'm a guitarist/bassist and I was an early adopter of the YouRock Guitar. Essentially a video game controller that used actual guitar technique to generate MIDI data. I love it! It's not about being a precise instrument that reproduces the acoustics of of the real instrument, it's that it gives you the tools to express your technique on sounds that the acoustic instrument can't give you, ever. And yeah, the YouRock has some setup and getting used to. It was fun to learn and gives me sounds my pedal board never could.
Great review, looks like an impressive instrument for the price. Advice on EWIs: don’t think of them as a “digital sax.” Think of them as a synthesizer you can control using some of your saxophone technique. You’ll be way happier with the results when it’s framed that way. 😁
Couldn’t agree more Bodhi! Hopefully I cleared that up in the video.. I decided to use the term “digital sax” in the title as it’s what manufacturers are increasingly referring to them nowadays.
Does it just send a single MIDI CC parameter mapped to breath velocity, or does it measure anything else about the breath too? Is there any reason to use this over a keyboard with aftertouch (or expression pedal or rotary encoder etc.), unless you were really looking for a sax form factor?
@@polycrystallinecandy This cheap one probably just had a single simple breath sensor. In that case, you’re right. Single MIDI CC, not that different than an expression pedal or other MIDI controller. But most EWIs also have a bite sensor, which detects bite pressure on the mouthpiece, allowing the player to pitch bend and vibrato with their embouchure. These sensors are also far more sensitive than most mod wheels or expression pedals. Many EWIs have more sensors and controls than that, as well. So…you’re right. Nothing magical going on here, it’s just MIDI CCs. But the good EWIs are incredibly expressive due to a wider array of more sensitive sensors than most keyboard controllers. And…unlike most other MIDI expression controllers, you can still play with two hands (and have you feet free for other types of control if you want).
@@bodhibeats8257 That's kind of what I'm looking for: adding more parameters that don't occupy my hands. You've given me a great idea with the bite sensor. I think one could be built by using a strain gauge or FSR sensor. Would look funny with wires coming out of my mouth though 😁
I play a Synthophone by Softwind instruments. It is a midi controller built into a real saxophone. Real sax fingerings and a real sax mouthpiece. It has no internal sounds. I use audio-modeling Saxophones. This combination is the best there is but also the most expensive. The saxophone patches (all four saxophones) cost $250 and the Synthophone was $3,600. I submitted a video of me playing to the pro players at SaxSchool online, where I study, and they noticed that each tone was in perfect pitch and the dynamics sounded unusually good. Plus, the silver plate in the bell is a dead give-away, although I have played garden parties, and no one has asked about why the bell is closed off. There was no criticism about if it sounded like a sax or not. The owner of the school said it sounded very good. Interestingly, I have received some criticism from people at another sax site, but only after I revealed what the instrument was. Their ears told them nothing until there bias was unleashed. It was like a double blind auditory study. Some people allow their previous exposure to inform their opinions rather than admit their ears don't support their conclusion. In my experience, the pro player listeners were far more accepting. My fellow students, not so much. I played for a year at another learning site where we submitted recordings for evaluation by the pro staff. Nobody detected I was not playing an acoustic saxophone. In fact, they said my tone and dynamics were very good. This instrument has set the embrasure struggles aside from the beginning, allowing me to focus on improvisation, rhythm, note choices, harmony, etc., without the instrument getting much in the way. Coming from the flute with nearly the same fingerings made my journey a bit easier, although the key spacing and spring resistance are very different and a challenge, especially the little finger low notes just the same as an acoustic sax because the synthophone is an acoustic sax. It took me 2-3 years to gain some level of fluency on those low-tone fingerings, just like an acoustic sax would have. A bonus was that it helped my arthritis in my old, busted-up hands and fingers. It hurt like hell when I first started. Initially, I chose to play the Synthophone because I knew how long it would take to overcome the embrasure challenges after playing flute for decades. Delightfully I learned the air requirement is less air unlike an acoustic sax which requires more air. A lot more air. Yes, it is an expensive setup, but I have never regretted it in the years since making that decision.
I have played sax for over 60 years, some pro work, but mostly just making music albums (CD's and sound cloud) for myself and friends and family. My biggest challenge through the years was backing tracks. If I was still active, this would be perfect. Makes me want to go back and start creating again! LOL. Thanks for the review. Great video!
Been playing wind controllers since the Lyricon in the 80’s. Use an AE05 and SWAM sounds to blend in a big band. Fill in when we are missing instruments. I also play alto, tenor and clarinet. My WARBL2 is much smaller but has less keys but I use a mod sax like fingering. It has shake vibrato and other motion sensors. I did experiment with attaching it with Velcro to my AE to use the shake and motion features. It didn’t add much but I am thinking it would to this one. Yours has more fingering and the WARBL2 has a good shake vibrato. For $70 what do I have to lose. Both have BTLE. I actually like shake vibrato on the SWAM trumpet and trombone better than the AE’s lip sensor. Thanks for bring this to my attention.
*Correction* I completely missed the fact that the box also included 2 silicone mouthpiece covers! What would you guys use a MIDI wind controller for? For those interested, here is the product link: amzn.to/4byDqqN (Use code 05SaxTuition for 5% discount at checkout)
I really would have liked to have seen you use this as a midi controller with a Sax virtual instrument. There are quite a few decent ones out there, and I am really curious how using a wind specific controller like that would compare to just using a keyboard controller.
I bought the S56 model about 8 months ago. The keywork is different and the body shape is slightly different, which makes it feel like an anorexic, minaturised Akai. Essentially though - it's the same instrument - but upmarket! It's absolutely brilliant - from the point of playing flute for almost 50 years - and I love it. However - I made a plastic 'octave-rocker' and glued it over the + and - octave switches - which makes the switching more natural and far easier. I also carved a simple wooden finger rest and fitted it with a hook for a lanyard - and glued it in the appropriate position. It's now a very much better instrument to play. I love using it as a midi controller - but it appears to be sending the breath control as cc11 - so I midi-map that to the master volume on my softsynths; I'll have to use a host program instead of the standalones to try and map to multiple controls. As far as the synths go - I play DiscoDSP's OB-Xd, Dexed... and Fluidsynth (soundfonts) - and have a lot of fun! I also find that some of the internal sounds 'beef-up' if you play them through an external amp - I use a little 10W JVC. Treat it as it is - it ain't a sax - but it's an instrument in it's own right - and too much fun not to take everywhere! PS - don't forget to use the supplied mouthpieces - and breath sensitivity level S3 seems to be the best!
As a producer that plays the saxophone this is great! I was searching a long time for something that transfers the feel that you can have with a real instrument and this seems to be the most affordable option
i've been slowly learning the Aerophone on and off now for the past year. I have been loving the journey and somehow it showed me your video today which I'm thankful for. Iwi looks like a fun instrument.
That is one cool instrument. Sax and flute fingerings plus all of the different sound settings. I can see this being great for people who want to learn to play, but aren't sure if they want to commit to buying a sax or flute. Alright, it's not a substitute for the real instruments, but it would be great for young learners as a step up from the recorder, for bands who want to have a sax or flute sound on a demo and for aspiring snake charmers (perhaps not that last one). Are you able to change the battery?
My old Yamaha WX-7 is still remarkably good. My #1 complaint about midi wind instruments is the difficulty in finding a sound that doesn't feel "cheesy". I don't need an exact real sax sound, but there must be some sound somewhere which doesn't sound cringy.
I'm a wannabe composer and just looking into ways to make my compositions come to life a bit more. This was a fantastic introduction to this instrument and the instrument family as a whole from a digital composer's perspective. Thank you so much for making this!
I have had a Roland AE20 for about 5yrs now and, as a former semi-pro sax/clarinettist, it took me quite a while to learn NOT to treat it like an instrument but as a 'musical' computer. However, the point I would like to make is this: even at approx:12X the price of this little gadget the ergonomics of the Roland are abysmal! There are so many things that need improving it is incredible that it ever got past the design stage (I am also a former product design manager so know what I am talking about!) let alone the prototype stage. IMHO it was designed by people who don't play sax so simply made it so that the electronics fitted inside and the outside looked 'space-age'. I still love it by the way and it is worth the price but, my oh my, it could have been sooooooooooooo much easier to use.
Apropos shutter speed messing with the display - if you adjust your shutter speed to be divisible by 50 (matching the 50hz cycle in Australia) and your fps to 25 (or 50) you'll get rid of those fuzzy black horizontal stripes on your video because your lights and shutter are out of sync.
I don't play wind instruments but, in the late 80's I bought a Casio DH-100 just because it had MIDI. I thought it was cool to be able to trigger the wind instruments (or any other instrument) in my Korg M1 at the time and it really made the sax sound more realistic for sure. I still have the DH-100 and found one brand new never opened recently so I couldn't help myself not to buy it. The reason I really like the DH-100 is that it has a full size 5 pin MIDI port which I use on my old vintage synths. Everything is USB now and I'd need to get a converter to use a new EWI on old analog synths. Then again, if I really was a real wind instrument player, I'm sure I'd have all of it.
Being able to play an instrument at full force while being quiet to everyone else is exactly what I want, which is why I was interested in this. However I was hesitant, due to the fact that it wouldn't be the same as playing the analog instrument the digital instrument is trying to emulate... Also being quiet to others isn't what I need. I want it just because I don't want to bother other people, especially when I'm just practicing and making mistakes. But shouldn't people around me be happy when hearing real music being played? Why should it only be played during concerts... So yea that's how I stayed away from the digital instruments thus far.
Saw a midi demonstration back in the 1980s. They used an electric guitar with a midi controller and an Amiga computer. Turns out the Amiga was more powerful than many computers today. I was so impressed by the use of the midi with a professional musician, who was the demonstrator.
The Amiga is less powerful than the average smartwatch of today. Getting the cheapest crappiest laptop gives you still a pretty good audio workstation (and you can emulate Amiga and old audio software, if you need that)
In the 80's it was Casio that made a MIDI sax that was pretty killer and pretty affordable. Wish they'd make another just like it but modernized. I hited someone to do the score for a Broadway play and it sounded fantastic. He used his sax prowess to do many other instruments.
I have 2 expensive 'real' sax's, and an Akai EWI5000(€700). But, tried to find this on Amazon UK, just to try it out. But, it's not there under that name. There are others around the same price though, could be the same instrument in disguise.
I've really been wanting to get into sax but when I found out the reed alone was 20 dollars or so my heart broke I'm a big fan of lowering the floor of entry for anything because that's how I roll as a high breadth low depth hobbyist very excited
It sounds like the Vangoa S55 has the same issue that the Vangoa EWI-100 has, always putting a short gap between each note. That means it's impossible to play anything legato - with connected notes - which is a really important feature of a MIDI wind controller. Listening to your examples, it sounds like it's putting an attack on each new note, instead of gliding from one note to the next. Can you verify if this is the case?
That may be a problem with the synth itself. You need a synth that supports legato. But i dunno because i don’t own this EWI so it might be a problem with that.
@@sub-jec-tiv I think every synth I've ever encountered has a legato mode. Some are of course better than others. It does sound like he's using a mono patch with envelope retriggering though. Not the best choice for this sort of midi controller.
@@sub-jec-tiv This is a problem with the Vangoa EWI-100, not the synth. When you move from note to note, it will *always* place a short time gap between the prior note and the next note, even if the note is played by instantaneously moving to the next note. Because of this artificially created gap, it won't see the note as connected, so it won't play it as legato.
Hard to say as I haven’t tried any other EWI’s at this price point - the Vangoa is just about the cheapest of all on Amazon though. The only thing worth paying more for in this range (in my opinion) would be for some more comfortable sax-style keywork. Feature wise this EWI has most features that even the top end instruments have (Bluetooth, rechargeable battery, adjustable breath resistance etc). Hope that helps!
1:50 I got SUPER into midi music in the mid 90s. I grew up in a small town that was 60 miles from the nearest music store and we only went into the city once a month or so; we did have internet though. So if I got really into a band or song I would just download the midi files and listen to that until my family took a trip to the city and I had the money to spend on a CD. I listened to the midi rendition of Weezer's Blue album for the better part of 6 months before I could get the actual album.
Thanks for your review. I will use a digital sax (like the Vangoa S55' you reviewed) because I am a very lousy Keyboard player...to compose and arrange in my DAW (Studio One).
Hmm, it just occurred to me how difficult it would be to find a right angle cable that's appropriate for this due to the orientation of the port. Dangit.
In fact there are several very natural sounding virtual instruments to use on a Computer (I very happily use them with a Breath controller plus Midi Keyboard) . IMHO internal sound for Wind controllers is just a wast of resources. Regarding actual Midi Wind Controllers I once used a Yamaha WX7 (now broken, unfortunately) same had very appropriate "real" (Boeme mechanics) finger action . AFAIK, the sensors of my BBv2 (blow, bite, nod, tilt) are superior to the sensors of any Wind controllers available.
Sounds like you're choking a flamingo....in the beginning of the video. I agree completely-I play soprano, also have 2 Yamaha WX's. for fun and when practicing privately. the difference in embouchure-playing the digitals actually weakens my embouchure, throws it off. as far as these with the recorder style mouthpiece, no thanks. Glad you posted some honest info. Retired music educator-thanks!
USA here. Great presentation. I like your upbeat attitude. I am a guitarist who dabbles with keyboard in the studio who can use this to play things I can't do with my hands on a keyboard. I took recorder in school years ago and I even owned a sax to dabble but couldn't practice it, it was too loud for my living situation at the time, I can play guitar through headphones and guitar software, b but I can jam the hell out of the recorder! LOL I am sorry, I'm sure there are gifted recorder players out there, but I personally never thought of it as a challenge. Now sax, clarinet, flute etc, now we are taking some serious dedication which you know better than I. These midi breath controllers always seemed expensive for what I would use them for. This device is just the right price. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I just might buy this thing.
No, it's like a flute, you cannot play multiple notes at once on a flute. But if you connect it to a computer and a DAW or VST instrument, you can generate also chord accompaniment, but it will be basic, following every note.
" You can make it sound like anything using a DAW" , then you didn't even use a sax sound on your DAW. What good is a synth strings sound when we just want to hear it sound like sax. : /
It's useful because you have continuous expression from breath and wind players are adept at working with this, so we get extra expressivity in a way that is fairly intuitive to use.
Professional EWI players frown upon the idea to even try to emulate real sax with a MIDI controller. The best sax emulation is SWAM and it costs a lot and is still not perfect, especially with instruments that do not have pitch bend and legato.
How would you know whst “we” want ? For me, and for most people playing EWIs the _last_ thimg that I would want to do is play saxophone sounds ! The interesting thing is using breath control to shape other sounds. If you want to play sax … play sax.
The various sounds do not really impress me, and it seems to me, portamento is not possible. No comparison to for example the Yamaha YDS-120, which costs about 10 times more, but for my ears does not really sound like a saxophone either.
If you go to the bottom of the video screen a red circle shows you where the video is at. You can click and drag it to where you want it to. RUclips can be confusing to some. I hope this helps soothe your impatience. Psa
Even if we ignore the "Sax" side of this, $69 for a MIDI wind controller is a stupid deal. Vangoa have really stepped up on a number of instrument fronts.
I dunno, if you have a EWI, it's sorta one of those things that you SHOULD NOT DO is try to emulate most real instruments. I've used my EWIs basically for synth sounds or as a String patch sorta trying to do what a keyboard player does (cause the keyboard player is perhaps playing something else)
Thank you so so much! It seems really cool! I can’t believe the full thing is way cheaper than a simple breath controller to use together with a keyboard via MIDI.
Not a musician - I wonder whether the inbuilt sounds might work as their own thing, rather than as simulations of real instruments. Weren't a lot of those great, piercing Minimoog sounds meant to be brass simulations? They didn't sound like trumpets, but they were good in their own right. Same with this instrument but for saxophone and kin?
I don’t mean to be rude, really, but if you are seriously looking to “upgrade your sax” with a $67 plastic midi controller … then I would suggest that you might be disappointed. On the other hand, those of us who use breath contollers to control all manner of other stuff … given that we _mos def_ aren’t trying to “upgrade our saxes” ,… you should understand that it’s a very different use case.
Man, i can't believe that inbetween, family guy, american dad, the Orville, and lounge singing, seth still finds time to play sax and record reviews of cheap amazons EWIs. What an impressive man.
I had to watch "the moment you've all been waiting for", over and over because I couldn't believe how dreadful it really was. However much you were paid to endorse this, it wasn't worth it. Destroy this video for the sake of your reputation.
I would love to do the beginners course as my 6yo daughter is about to start with sax at her school and I want to learn too as an adult. But unfortunatelly in my country we use Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La ... well you know our Key signature in Spanish is different.
Hey there! You can absolutely start the Beginner Series - it teaches you how to read sheet music as you play. No prior knowledge is necessary 😊 6 years old is actually a little too young to start saxophone unfortunately, as your daughter will have trouble with the size of the instrument and wrapping her fingers around the keys. Most children wait until they're about 9 or 10 years old, although I have taught a student as young as 8. Before that age, the recorder is a great choice to learn the basic fingering system and play simple melodies. Hope that helps!
@@SaxTuition Thaks for your response, yes it's very young we know and we'll not expect her to be any good at it any time soon, but the public school she goes (that it's one of 2 in the whole province that does it) has a music program integrated so when children finish primary school they have a music diploma (they will pass tests made by the conservatory) and from fist grade (age 6) they can choose one instrument from 10 available to learn ( Sax, clarinet, percusion, violin, viola, double bass, trompet, traverse flute, trombone and cello), they've been this year once a week getting to know the instruments one by one and my daughter (without interference from us, because I love sax though) choosed the sax as first option, so I'm so happy that I will love to help her as much as I can as they said to us that 10min practice at home every day is recommended at this stage. It will be an alto sax so as far as I know is relatively small and light. So glad I found your channel, I love the way you explain things and your australian accent is perfect to me to fully understand you as a non native english speaker ☺
*Update* Unfortunately this EWI now appears to be sold out on Amazon, however I've left the link in the description in case any more become available. After I contacted the company about the lack of stock, they said they're currently working on an updated version - hopefully we'll get some more information soon. Thank you all for the overwhelming response to this review! I can't believe there's so much interest in Electronic Wind Instruments... p.s. Did this video inspire you to learn sax? Head over to www.saxtuition.com to learn with the Beginner Series today 🎷
It’s a shame. Feels like they are probably missing out on a lot of sales right now thanks to the algorithm.
“We as sax players”
Me having never touched a saxophone: ah yes
Hahahaha
I'm a guitarist/bassist and I was an early adopter of the YouRock Guitar. Essentially a video game controller that used actual guitar technique to generate MIDI data. I love it! It's not about being a precise instrument that reproduces the acoustics of of the real instrument, it's that it gives you the tools to express your technique on sounds that the acoustic instrument can't give you, ever. And yeah, the YouRock has some setup and getting used to. It was fun to learn and gives me sounds my pedal board never could.
Good for you, keyboardists have been having all the fun for too long! lol
Sax McFarlane
Hahahahaha
nailed it, lmao.
At first glance of the thumbnail I immediately mistook him for Seth.
I was looking to see if a Seth McFarland joke was made in the comments. I am now satisfied.
jim jeffries
cant unsee it now LOL
Great review, looks like an impressive instrument for the price. Advice on EWIs: don’t think of them as a “digital sax.” Think of them as a synthesizer you can control using some of your saxophone technique. You’ll be way happier with the results when it’s framed that way. 😁
Couldn’t agree more Bodhi! Hopefully I cleared that up in the video.. I decided to use the term “digital sax” in the title as it’s what manufacturers are increasingly referring to them nowadays.
@@SaxTuition oh you definitely did make it clear! Didn’t mean to imply otherwise! 😁
Does it just send a single MIDI CC parameter mapped to breath velocity, or does it measure anything else about the breath too? Is there any reason to use this over a keyboard with aftertouch (or expression pedal or rotary encoder etc.), unless you were really looking for a sax form factor?
@@polycrystallinecandy This cheap one probably just had a single simple breath sensor. In that case, you’re right. Single MIDI CC, not that different than an expression pedal or other MIDI controller. But most EWIs also have a bite sensor, which detects bite pressure on the mouthpiece, allowing the player to pitch bend and vibrato with their embouchure. These sensors are also far more sensitive than most mod wheels or expression pedals. Many EWIs have more sensors and controls than that, as well. So…you’re right. Nothing magical going on here, it’s just MIDI CCs. But the good EWIs are incredibly expressive due to a wider array of more sensitive sensors than most keyboard controllers. And…unlike most other MIDI expression controllers, you can still play with two hands (and have you feet free for other types of control if you want).
@@bodhibeats8257 That's kind of what I'm looking for: adding more parameters that don't occupy my hands. You've given me a great idea with the bite sensor. I think one could be built by using a strain gauge or FSR sensor. Would look funny with wires coming out of my mouth though 😁
I play a Synthophone by Softwind instruments. It is a midi controller built into a real saxophone. Real sax fingerings and a real sax mouthpiece. It has no internal sounds. I use audio-modeling Saxophones. This combination is the best there is but also the most expensive. The saxophone patches (all four saxophones) cost $250 and the Synthophone was $3,600.
I submitted a video of me playing to the pro players at SaxSchool online, where I study, and they noticed that each tone was in perfect pitch and the dynamics sounded unusually good. Plus, the silver plate in the bell is a dead give-away, although I have played garden parties, and no one has asked about why the bell is closed off. There was no criticism about if it sounded like a sax or not. The owner of the school said it sounded very good. Interestingly, I have received some criticism from people at another sax site, but only after I revealed what the instrument was. Their ears told them nothing until there bias was unleashed. It was like a double blind auditory study. Some people allow their previous exposure to inform their opinions rather than admit their ears don't support their conclusion. In my experience, the pro player listeners were far more accepting. My fellow students, not so much.
I played for a year at another learning site where we submitted recordings for evaluation by the pro staff. Nobody detected I was not playing an acoustic saxophone. In fact, they said my tone and dynamics were very good. This instrument has set the embrasure struggles aside from the beginning, allowing me to focus on improvisation, rhythm, note choices, harmony, etc., without the instrument getting much in the way. Coming from the flute with nearly the same fingerings made my journey a bit easier, although the key spacing and spring resistance are very different and a challenge, especially the little finger low notes just the same as an acoustic sax because the synthophone is an acoustic sax. It took me 2-3 years to gain some level of fluency on those low-tone fingerings, just like an acoustic sax would have. A bonus was that it helped my arthritis in my old, busted-up hands and fingers. It hurt like hell when I first started. Initially, I chose to play the Synthophone because I knew how long it would take to overcome the embrasure challenges after playing flute for decades. Delightfully I learned the air requirement is less air unlike an acoustic sax which requires more air. A lot more air. Yes, it is an expensive setup, but I have never regretted it in the years since making that decision.
How about a link to some of your performances ?
I have played sax for over 60 years, some pro work, but mostly just making music albums (CD's and sound cloud) for myself and friends and family. My biggest challenge through the years was backing tracks. If I was still active, this would be perfect. Makes me want to go back and start creating again! LOL. Thanks for the review. Great video!
I really hope you begin again! You won’t regret it.
Been playing wind controllers since the Lyricon in the 80’s. Use an AE05 and SWAM sounds to blend in a big band. Fill in when we are missing instruments. I also play alto, tenor and clarinet. My WARBL2 is much smaller but has less keys but I use a mod sax like fingering. It has shake vibrato and other motion sensors. I did experiment with attaching it with Velcro to my AE to use the shake and motion features. It didn’t add much but I am thinking it would to this one. Yours has more fingering and the WARBL2 has a good shake vibrato. For $70 what do I have to lose. Both have BTLE. I actually like shake vibrato on the SWAM trumpet and trombone better than the AE’s lip sensor. Thanks for bring this to my attention.
*Correction* I completely missed the fact that the box also included 2 silicone mouthpiece covers! What would you guys use a MIDI wind controller for? For those interested, here is the product link: amzn.to/4byDqqN (Use code 05SaxTuition for 5% discount at checkout)
I'll absolutely try messing with physical modeling modules in vcv rack with one of these. Never tried a woodwind instrument though.
I really would have liked to have seen you use this as a midi controller with a Sax virtual instrument. There are quite a few decent ones out there, and I am really curious how using a wind specific controller like that would compare to just using a keyboard controller.
This‼️💯
Could a non player use one of these to learn on? I don't mean to a pro level, but for basic home use.
I bought the S56 model about 8 months ago. The keywork is different and the body shape is slightly different, which makes it feel like an anorexic, minaturised Akai. Essentially though - it's the same instrument - but upmarket! It's absolutely brilliant - from the point of playing flute for almost 50 years - and I love it. However - I made a plastic 'octave-rocker' and glued it over the + and - octave switches - which makes the switching more natural and far easier. I also carved a simple wooden finger rest and fitted it with a hook for a lanyard - and glued it in the appropriate position. It's now a very much better instrument to play. I love using it as a midi controller - but it appears to be sending the breath control as cc11 - so I midi-map that to the master volume on my softsynths; I'll have to use a host program instead of the standalones to try and map to multiple controls. As far as the synths go - I play DiscoDSP's OB-Xd, Dexed... and Fluidsynth (soundfonts) - and have a lot of fun! I also find that some of the internal sounds 'beef-up' if you play them through an external amp - I use a little 10W JVC. Treat it as it is - it ain't a sax - but it's an instrument in it's own right - and too much fun not to take everywhere! PS - don't forget to use the supplied mouthpieces - and breath sensitivity level S3 seems to be the best!
Woah, amazing feedback and advice Rebecca - thanks for sharing! I'll have to check it out...
Love this comment!
awesome ideas
why the heck did the algorithm show me this and why did we all click? LOL
I'm curious, are you a musician?
I'm also curious about this 😂
@@NonJohns nope! lol i play guitar but that’s it
ayyy guitar player too
Bro same
Thanks for the explanation about midi and the difficulty in emulating the sax.
As a producer that plays the saxophone this is great! I was searching a long time for something that transfers the feel that you can have with a real instrument and this seems to be the most affordable option
i've been slowly learning the Aerophone on and off now for the past year. I have been loving the journey and somehow it showed me your video today which I'm thankful for. Iwi looks like a fun instrument.
That is one cool instrument. Sax and flute fingerings plus all of the different sound settings. I can see this being great for people who want to learn to play, but aren't sure if they want to commit to buying a sax or flute. Alright, it's not a substitute for the real instruments, but it would be great for young learners as a step up from the recorder, for bands who want to have a sax or flute sound on a demo and for aspiring snake charmers (perhaps not that last one).
Are you able to change the battery?
Why does it have to be a digital sax? It's a midi controller, right?
sax fingering patterns is why.
My old Yamaha WX-7 is still remarkably good. My #1 complaint about midi wind instruments is the difficulty in finding a sound that doesn't feel "cheesy". I don't need an exact real sax sound, but there must be some sound somewhere which doesn't sound cringy.
Have you looked into Audio Modeling SWAM Saxophones? I’ve been extremely happy with the results I’m getting.
Where's the spit valve; how do you clean it? If you play it for awhile wouldn't saliva build up?
I'm a wannabe composer and just looking into ways to make my compositions come to life a bit more. This was a fantastic introduction to this instrument and the instrument family as a whole from a digital composer's perspective. Thank you so much for making this!
I think a digital composer would be a prime candidate for this instrument 😊
I have had a Roland AE20 for about 5yrs now and, as a former semi-pro sax/clarinettist, it took me quite a while to learn NOT to treat it like an instrument but as a 'musical' computer. However, the point I would like to make is this: even at approx:12X the price of this little gadget the ergonomics of the Roland are abysmal! There are so many things that need improving it is incredible that it ever got past the design stage (I am also a former product design manager so know what I am talking about!) let alone the prototype stage. IMHO it was designed by people who don't play sax so simply made it so that the electronics fitted inside and the outside looked 'space-age'. I still love it by the way and it is worth the price but, my oh my, it could have been sooooooooooooo much easier to use.
Apropos shutter speed messing with the display - if you adjust your shutter speed to be divisible by 50 (matching the 50hz cycle in Australia) and your fps to 25 (or 50) you'll get rid of those fuzzy black horizontal stripes on your video because your lights and shutter are out of sync.
The Yamaha YDS-150 is nice! You can hook it up to your computer and play bass, drums, and anything else in your music programs.
Roland is the way in digital woodwinds. I am a professional saxophone and clarinet player and I tested almost everything on the market
I don't play wind instruments but, in the late 80's I bought a Casio DH-100 just because it had MIDI. I thought it was cool to be able to trigger the wind instruments (or any other instrument) in my Korg M1 at the time and it really made the sax sound more realistic for sure. I still have the DH-100 and found one brand new never opened recently so I couldn't help myself not to buy it. The reason I really like the DH-100 is that it has a full size 5 pin MIDI port which I use on my old vintage synths. Everything is USB now and I'd need to get a converter to use a new EWI on old analog synths. Then again, if I really was a real wind instrument player, I'm sure I'd have all of it.
Only wish there was a pitch bender that could slightly bend the tones like on a real saxophone.
Good point, you could insert the pitch bends later in your DAW as those are standard MIDI commands.
Being able to play an instrument at full force while being quiet to everyone else is exactly what I want, which is why I was interested in this. However I was hesitant, due to the fact that it wouldn't be the same as playing the analog instrument the digital instrument is trying to emulate... Also being quiet to others isn't what I need. I want it just because I don't want to bother other people, especially when I'm just practicing and making mistakes. But shouldn't people around me be happy when hearing real music being played? Why should it only be played during concerts...
So yea that's how I stayed away from the digital instruments thus far.
That's very impressive for this price! Thanks for bringing it to our attention! Is it possible to pair it with Bluetooth headphones?
your sound source (pc, laptop, iPad, etc.) would be where the headphones attach.
Saw a midi demonstration back in the 1980s. They used an electric guitar with a midi controller and an Amiga computer. Turns out the Amiga was more powerful than many computers today. I was so impressed by the use of the midi with a professional musician, who was the demonstrator.
Amigas were used to produce the CG graphics for TV show Babylon 5.
The Amiga is less powerful than the average smartwatch of today. Getting the cheapest crappiest laptop gives you still a pretty good audio workstation (and you can emulate Amiga and old audio software, if you need that)
Get two foot pedals to change octave?
...might get an EWI to play sax again.
I can't afford the actual instrument, but if it's as good an alternative as I hope...
In the 80's it was Casio that made a MIDI sax that was pretty killer and pretty affordable. Wish they'd make another just like it but modernized. I hited someone to do the score for a Broadway play and it sounded fantastic. He used his sax prowess to do many other instruments.
I have 2 expensive 'real' sax's, and an Akai EWI5000(€700). But, tried to find this on Amazon UK, just to try it out. But, it's not there under that name. There are others around the same price though, could be the same instrument in disguise.
Look, I don’t care if it's dogvomit quality, an affordable entry level ewi is sn exciting prospect!
I've really been wanting to get into sax but when I found out the reed alone was 20 dollars or so my heart broke
I'm a big fan of lowering the floor of entry for anything because that's how I roll as a high breadth low depth hobbyist
very excited
It sounds like the Vangoa S55 has the same issue that the Vangoa EWI-100 has, always putting a short gap between each note. That means it's impossible to play anything legato - with connected notes - which is a really important feature of a MIDI wind controller. Listening to your examples, it sounds like it's putting an attack on each new note, instead of gliding from one note to the next. Can you verify if this is the case?
That may be a problem with the synth itself. You need a synth that supports legato. But i dunno because i don’t own this EWI so it might be a problem with that.
@@sub-jec-tiv I think every synth I've ever encountered has a legato mode. Some are of course better than others. It does sound like he's using a mono patch with envelope retriggering though. Not the best choice for this sort of midi controller.
@@sub-jec-tiv This is a problem with the Vangoa EWI-100, not the synth. When you move from note to note, it will *always* place a short time gap between the prior note and the next note, even if the note is played by instantaneously moving to the next note. Because of this artificially created gap, it won't see the note as connected, so it won't play it as legato.
Does it have a reed? I can’t play a reed.
Interested until I heard the demo- which seemed to choose the worst possible sound, played too low, then didn't end the video with a decent sound.
Do you have a teaching program for clarinet?
isn't that backing track extremely similar to "Girlfriend" by Christine And The Queens?
Yes! Thank you, I was going crazy trying to find it!
I came to the comments to either find someone saying this or mention it myself 😅
Yes it is! I only realized this when I looked it up and played it myself. How bizarre, these were actually free loops included with Garageband...
How does this compare to similar instruments around the same price point. What made you pick this one over the other ones?
Hard to say as I haven’t tried any other EWI’s at this price point - the Vangoa is just about the cheapest of all on Amazon though. The only thing worth paying more for in this range (in my opinion) would be for some more comfortable sax-style keywork. Feature wise this EWI has most features that even the top end instruments have (Bluetooth, rechargeable battery, adjustable breath resistance etc). Hope that helps!
1:50 I got SUPER into midi music in the mid 90s. I grew up in a small town that was 60 miles from the nearest music store and we only went into the city once a month or so; we did have internet though. So if I got really into a band or song I would just download the midi files and listen to that until my family took a trip to the city and I had the money to spend on a CD. I listened to the midi rendition of Weezer's Blue album for the better part of 6 months before I could get the actual album.
Very cool Demo by a Pro. I‘m no Sax-player, but I use MIDI a lot and my MIDI-controller is a keyboard!
The Hulusi caould almost pass as an Oboe?
Thanks for your review. I will use a digital sax (like the Vangoa S55' you reviewed) because I am a very lousy Keyboard player...to compose and arrange in my DAW (Studio One).
Not sure why they didn’t design it with the USBC output at the bottom instead of the side. Bottom would have given such a more natural motion.
You can use a right angle cable and some tape, and it will actually be better than what you suggest, but still, I agree.
@@awesomeferret never heard of that. Thanks.
@@awesomeferret never mind. You meant right angle. That makes sense.
@@PLANETWATERMELON yes, I definately did. Thanks for the tip. ☺️
Hmm, it just occurred to me how difficult it would be to find a right angle cable that's appropriate for this due to the orientation of the port. Dangit.
In fact there are several very natural sounding virtual instruments to use on a Computer (I very happily use them with a Breath controller plus Midi Keyboard) .
IMHO internal sound for Wind controllers is just a wast of resources.
Regarding actual Midi Wind Controllers I once used a Yamaha WX7 (now broken, unfortunately) same had very appropriate "real" (Boeme mechanics) finger action . AFAIK, the sensors of my BBv2 (blow, bite, nod, tilt) are superior to the sensors of any Wind controllers available.
Sounds like you're choking a flamingo....in the beginning of the video. I agree completely-I play soprano, also have 2 Yamaha WX's. for fun and when practicing privately. the difference in embouchure-playing the digitals actually weakens my embouchure, throws it off. as far as these with the recorder style mouthpiece, no thanks. Glad you posted some honest info. Retired music educator-thanks!
Well.... What do i say? Except good to see you again and nice review. Would i buy one? Dunno.
How different is a Sax to playing a recorder?
fingering
Nearly identical. You can QUICKLY finger a sax as well as you finger recorder....it's the TONE that's the forever challenge.
Fingers are easy.
:^)
USA here. Great presentation. I like your upbeat attitude. I am a guitarist who dabbles with keyboard in the studio who can use this to play things I can't do with my hands on a keyboard. I took recorder in school years ago and I even owned a sax to dabble but couldn't practice it, it was too loud for my living situation at the time, I can play guitar through headphones and guitar software, b but I can jam the hell out of the recorder! LOL I am sorry, I'm sure there are gifted recorder players out there, but I personally never thought of it as a challenge. Now sax, clarinet, flute etc, now we are taking some serious dedication which you know better than I. These midi breath controllers always seemed expensive for what I would use them for. This device is just the right price. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I just might buy this thing.
Bro if i play this instrument in all chords or not?? Pls reply
No, it's like a flute, you cannot play multiple notes at once on a flute. But if you connect it to a computer and a DAW or VST instrument, you can generate also chord accompaniment, but it will be basic, following every note.
What a friendly and informative review.
Glad you liked it!
You are so pleasant to watch. You gave a thorough and pleasant review of this instrument. And you’re so handsome too.
Can a 15 minute amazon ad convince me to do business with them...not in a million years.
" You can make it sound like anything using a DAW" , then you didn't even use a sax sound on your DAW. What good is a synth strings sound when we just want to hear it sound like sax. : /
A good Sax VST perhaps still it would be nice if you could trigger the pitch bending.
It's useful because you have continuous expression from breath and wind players are adept at working with this, so we get extra expressivity in a way that is fairly intuitive to use.
Professional EWI players frown upon the idea to even try to emulate real sax with a MIDI controller. The best sax emulation is SWAM and it costs a lot and is still not perfect, especially with instruments that do not have pitch bend and legato.
Because the best sax sound comes from playing a sax. The point of an EWI is to do other things.
How would you know whst “we” want ? For me, and for most people playing EWIs the _last_ thimg that I would want to do is play saxophone sounds ! The interesting thing is using breath control to shape other sounds. If you want to play sax … play sax.
A company called SWAM makes a brilliant digital sax product. Runs on IOS and Apple. Very good range or products.
The various sounds do not really impress me, and it seems to me, portamento is not possible. No comparison to for example the Yamaha YDS-120, which costs about 10 times more, but for my ears does not really sound like a saxophone either.
Just play the thing,geeeez!!!
Just scrobble. He gets to talk and you get to hear the sounds.
If you go to the bottom of the video screen a red circle shows you where the video is at. You can click and drag it to where you want it to. RUclips can be confusing to some. I hope this helps soothe your impatience. Psa
I agree, at the very least he could work the shaft for a few seconds, give us a taste! 5:21 for first penetration
The skip ability is a blessing here
Its a midi controller where the advantage is you can control dynamics and the disadvantage is you can only play one note at a time
Even if we ignore the "Sax" side of this, $69 for a MIDI wind controller is a stupid deal. Vangoa have really stepped up on a number of instrument fronts.
I dunno, if you have a EWI, it's sorta one of those things that you SHOULD NOT DO is try to emulate most real instruments. I've used my EWIs basically for synth sounds or as a String patch sorta trying to do what a keyboard player does (cause the keyboard player is perhaps playing something else)
Why is the reverb so high? A bit annoying 😅
What is the fingering for Bb flute fingerings?
google
Thank you so so much!
It seems really cool!
I can’t believe the full thing is way cheaper than a simple breath controller to use together with a keyboard via MIDI.
The Garageband loop sounds like Christine and the Queens 'Girlfriend'
Great Review!!!
Not a musician - I wonder whether the inbuilt sounds might work as their own thing, rather than as simulations of real instruments.
Weren't a lot of those great, piercing Minimoog sounds meant to be brass simulations? They didn't sound like trumpets, but they were good in their own right. Same with this instrument but for saxophone and kin?
These typically don't have "built in" sounds. It outputs digital instructions (midi) for an external software instrument.
What about CHROMATIC notes?
Of course, it works, the same way as any other MIDI controller. Just have to learn the fingering.
"Let's push this to it's limit" then makes an awful sound, out of time 😂
Nice review, thanks
Christine & the Queens groove for the backing track?!
It sounds a lot worse than I expected. And it doesn't look like a sax otherwise it might have value on stage cuz it would look cool.
It's a MIDI controller - you can make it sound like anything you want. No one really buys MIDI controllers for the built-in sounds
You mean for $69 …… You too can sound like Kenny G
Go to 10:25 for the heat!
Sounds like something from Star wars mixed with a Crumhorn.
I don’t mean to be rude, really, but if you are seriously looking to “upgrade your sax” with a $67 plastic midi controller … then I would suggest that you might be disappointed.
On the other hand, those of us who use breath contollers to control all manner of other stuff … given that we _mos def_ aren’t trying to “upgrade our saxes” ,… you should understand that it’s a very different use case.
I'm getting this just so I can use it with Massive X.
Um....how do you get MIDI out of the unit? How do you connect it to any MIDI sound generator? Ahh..ya can't! Gotta use a computer.
Even I want one now Jez....:)
Notably, it comes with a lot of native Chinese wind instruments.
I liked the hulusi and the bamboo flute (more or less)
Haizz, I scroll scroll to hear its sounds, but... it seems there is only a few seconds for it, the rest 15 min is talk talk talk? Skip then!?
check out mike brecker with ewi.....
I'm no expert but the demonstration piece played sounded rubbish to me. But maybe the device suits some applications.
Very cool, but the alto sax sounds more like an oboe and the soprano sax oddly enough sounds like an english horn.
The bamboo flute sounded more like a string instrument than it did a flute.
Man, i can't believe that inbetween, family guy, american dad, the Orville, and lounge singing, seth still finds time to play sax and record reviews of cheap amazons EWIs. What an impressive man.
I had to watch "the moment you've all been waiting for", over and over because I couldn't believe how dreadful it really was. However much you were paid to endorse this, it wasn't worth it. Destroy this video for the sake of your reputation.
I would love to do the beginners course as my 6yo daughter is about to start with sax at her school and I want to learn too as an adult. But unfortunatelly in my country we use Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La ... well you know our Key signature in Spanish is different.
Hey there! You can absolutely start the Beginner Series - it teaches you how to read sheet music as you play. No prior knowledge is necessary 😊
6 years old is actually a little too young to start saxophone unfortunately, as your daughter will have trouble with the size of the instrument and wrapping her fingers around the keys. Most children wait until they're about 9 or 10 years old, although I have taught a student as young as 8. Before that age, the recorder is a great choice to learn the basic fingering system and play simple melodies. Hope that helps!
@@SaxTuition Thaks for your response, yes it's very young we know and we'll not expect her to be any good at it any time soon, but the public school she goes (that it's one of 2 in the whole province that does it) has a music program integrated so when children finish primary school they have a music diploma (they will pass tests made by the conservatory) and from fist grade (age 6) they can choose one instrument from 10 available to learn ( Sax, clarinet, percusion, violin, viola, double bass, trompet, traverse flute, trombone and cello), they've been this year once a week getting to know the instruments one by one and my daughter (without interference from us, because I love sax though) choosed the sax as first option, so I'm so happy that I will love to help her as much as I can as they said to us that 10min practice at home every day is recommended at this stage. It will be an alto sax so as far as I know is relatively small and light.
So glad I found your channel, I love the way you explain things and your australian accent is perfect to me to fully understand you as a non native english speaker ☺
This product is much, but we haven't heard a sax of it😢
Baker Street!!!
Coincidentally, the sound on this video is weird, makes it sound like a voice over 😂
Folks who don't read manuals rarely master their tech, instead often remaining frustrated by their failures and confusion.
I knew Seth McFarlane could sing but never knew he was a sax player
Autocorrect wrote sax and I ended up here
On a side note, are you Ricky Gervais' love child? 😀😉
I'm definitely putting this on the list of things I don't want for Christmas.
Totally read that title wrong💀
Your blowing with the wrong end.
...shout out to the Half In The Bag theme...