This is a promising start. An electric sax that replicates exact feel of a real sax is needed to suit after hours and quiet practice....as others have said something that responds to or relies on embrochure would be a dream
You should check out the old WX-7 - I've had one for years and as it supports lip bend you can be MUCH MUCH MUCH more expressive with it. Vibrato and pitch bend with your embouchure are both possible and while it doesn't feel like a real horn, specifically pitch bend is a bit tough, but vibrato on the WX-7 is very easy and natural. Very disappointing they wouldn't have included that on such a modern device. Pair the WX-7 with a modern sync, I use the (now older) VL70m and you can get some rather impressive sounds out of it. The sax sounds suck, at least for a sax player, but the other woodwinds - specifically the flutes - are extremely impressive.
Mine turned up today at around 11.30 AM ( 30th October bang on schedule from pre order ) It is awesome. When the Missus was watching TV 4 foot away This evening I had my headphones on practicing and she couldn’t hear a thing. Even the press down on the keys is silent and hardly any blow can be heard in the instrument. I have only been playing and learning my Alto for 14 months so the key positions are vital to me to be able to pick up the real thing and make good use of the silent practice. This is going to be a game changer for anyone that needs to practice at unsociable hours. It sounds great through its own speaker but through the headphones it is brilliant. I’ve done nothing but play with this all day and tonight. I honestly couldn’t be happier with it.
Yes I agree with this. I have had one for a few days and while it may not sound like a real sax, you can practice many techniques any time - so long as you also get time to practice tone etc on a real horn as well.
Thank you for this helpful video. I ordered mine back in Mach and it arrived in UK on Weds and with me Thursday. I’m 66 years old, just a basic self taught player in my late 40s…..and I had a lot of fun and satisfaction from my alto and tenor. But then I got ill;became disabled; and had dentures fitted. Still not in the best of health but retired I tried playing again and just didn’t have the breath or embouchure…….then I read about this and it has solved all my problems.
Probably the most intriguing wind synth on the market right now. Would love to try it out and see how the real sax key layout feels. However, tones still aren't good enough for a professional player imo, and that's going to limit this thing massively
Hopefully it should have midi out so you can put it through any synth box (it will have breath response data) i have a WX5 which I use solely for silent practice.
@@patrickkyle4601 according to the yamaha promo video, it does have a usb midi out and you can see the micro usb port in the photos on the yamaha site.
That you can basically practice all four types of saxophones on the same 700 dollar instrument more than makes it worth the cost. If further iterations include mouthpiece manipulation, this thing will become the gold standard for digital sax.
Appears to be a great practice tool that also happens to be a lot of fun to play. Few people will buy it instead of a saxophone or to replace their saxophone. Play anywhere anytime and easy to travel with. When I travel on a plane, I'm thrilled I'll be able to take this instead of my "real" sax.
What I am still not convinced about is how well they replicated the feel of a real saxophone in terms of fingering. In other words: is it a good tool for practicing without bothering neighbours?
It's the first in-depth intro to this instrument, much appreciated. I am a current Roland AE-10 user, YDS 150's build quality, bluetooth function, new USB interface all looks superior, I'm very anticipate to this one.
Hey Thank you so much for this video. I own a Roland aerophone ae-10. I have to say I like it as long im using a external speaker. After watching and learning about this yamaha I'm taken by it. Is an Elegant instrument and sound beautiful. Let be real. It will never replace our 🎷 by a long shot. But its a fun instrument to play with
I've had one for a few weeks to try. I've played a WX5 for some time so was thinking it was in that area. It is not designed for that market, although it does has several synth sounds. It is a lot of fun to play. when I quit trying to make it a traditional sax, I started getting more fun and understanding of it. This is a good video showing the options. people who wan t to learn sax or have played but not in a long time will really enjoy it. I am going to spend some time with it and see how aI can best use it.
Hi Richard, would you mind sharing your comparison between the fingering action of the wx5 and the YDS. I have the ewi 5000 and prefer it because there are no keys. The wx5 had no spring in it's keys making it hard to play fast passages. How does the YDS compare?
Hi Richard, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
Just got a used one for much less than a 120. I fitted an alto neck and mp and use the alto neck strap. Added and mounted a rechargeable battery. Figured out the controller out setting in the app. Configured SWAM on iOS. It now replaced my EWI, AEROPHONEs and WX controllers. This is my daily driver.
Without the emulation of pitch bend, vibrato, altissimo through embouchure, the only thing that this would help for the purpose of sax practice seems to be the fingering and keys as far as I can tell.
Oh man, I am so tempted. My wallet is itching.... must.... wait.... Edit: Man, just read some of these comments. Very very valid criticisms. Maybe I'll wait!
I've played on a wx11 for over 20 years and the one thing that makes this controller unique is the pitch bend, lip zero control, I think it is the same on the wx7. This is the one feature that gives really nice control over expressive vibrato. With the wx5, it's as though they designed out the sensitivity of the best feature of that controller. Also have played on an Akai 4000 but always go back to my trusty old wx11 that has a soul. Yamaha, If it works don't fix it!
I’m a little surprised about the amount of negative comments, but I’ve no intention of cancelling my order. It’s not perfect some way of doing vibrato and bends with the mouthpiece would have been great. That said though being able to practice anytime anywhere ‘ with the identical key layout is ideal. Also the app allowing to program your own altissimo fingering is a bonus I didn’t expect. Does anyone know if the app is avail either yer
I think the 3rd/4th generation of this instrument will be amazing. For me the sound is akin to a child's toy, key response slow and you can't vary tone through your embouchure. Sure in 5-6 years all those issues will be resolved.
Just got one. Played half an hour. They have done a great job with the key work. It feels like a sax in your hands. It is very lite. It is a shame the bell does not seem to come off. Seems cosmetic and it would be easier for travel without this. It is not a strong instrument either. Keys feel they could snap with a knock. It does not feel like blowing a sax. But in a hotel, or at night, or wherever you can practice licks, scales, changes, melodies all you want and this will transfer to your horn. I will now take it with me as I travel. I will miss my horn, but really glad I have this to take with me so in the evenings I can still sit and work on music I am presently looking at. I could not get it to sound exactly like a real sax, but with the earphones on it was certainly good enough to use to practice. Not sure how long batteries will last but you can also connect to computer with USB/5V which you have to buy yourself. I think it is great. For people who find it hard to practice due to noise, this is something special. I would be very interested to try some of the others coming onto the market that also hav sex keywork. I am less bothered by the sound and more with how practice transfers to the real horn.
I think it’ll be interesting when users start posting their settings that give it some near sax sounds. I have heard a few demos that ain’t bad, and also heard some that worried me as they sounded horrible. But these two demos I think ain’t bad at all if I can get mine to sound this good th-cam.com/video/-vvFHK4rgt4/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/ZREVvVnKxdU/w-d-xo.html
@@abolajiidowu8284 Yes, great point. Also I am sure it will help just when I get used to how to blow it. I am playing it like my real sax, when this is clearly not the way to do it. And I just tried with the earphones again and its not bad at all. But agreed, will be useful when people start sharing.
I returned mine immediately due to an unsatisfactory amount of real time controllable influence over the sounds from the mouthpiece. It is so much more satisfying to play a saxophone quietly.
One advantage of the Roland AE -10 compared to other similar products is that it features a bite sensor to adjust the pitch so that it is possible to play bending notes.
Jim, your professionalism and consequent very good and comprehensive review made me sit through your video to help your statistics in the channel. As soon as I understood that the mouthpiece is purely cosmetic, my initial enthusiasm got completely killed. I guess the people watching your channel are actually looking for a silent sax that is completely realistic in fingering and embouchure. I know there are these silencer cases to put a sax into while playing but these have a very high psychological barrier to purchase.I think a sensor to measure lip pressure would have been easy and a second sensor to register tonguing too.
The demo was done very well. The product was well represented. But like others who commented, I too was hoping for more from Yamaha. Literally decades ago Yamaha made the VL70-m paired with the WX5. Way ahead of it's time. If they updated what they had it would have been amazing. But they didn't. I'm sure this new synth is good. But it could have been fabulous!
Agreed! I love my EWI 4000S for that exact reason! I love expressive synth sounds that I can edit to my liking. Acoustic instrument sounds are useless.
It is worth noting that the title of this video called it a digital sax and not a wind synth. It is an impressive accomplishment, however I don’t understand why any sax player would use this digital sax over a real sax. I guess their target market is people who don’t play the sax but wish they could? I love my Akai EWI, but I use it to supplement my sax use with synth sounds...I don’t try to digitally recreate sax sounds! Regardless, Yamaha has got people talking with this thing, and I’m sure they will sell many of them.
I agree I still like my Roland ae10 better although I do wish it did have that Bluetooth feature which I think is cool and I suggested it a while back that I wish it had Bluetooth
Well done Yamaha! Awesome practice instrument for those living in apartments. Real shame they decided not to add a lip bend option, they should develop more modulation controls into a mouthpiece. The analog control looks much better than the WX5 and Akai. 90% sure I will have to add one to my kit at some point.
Indeed, as a teenager I was used to playing 4 hours a day for years, when I started living in apartments this just wasn't possible anymore if at all. With this out I can practice songs and scales again. 🙌
I have had the sax about 3 weeks now. I am surprised how much I use it. I got it for travel and played it for two weeks while staying in a hotel in quarantine in China, travelling there for work. But now I use it every evening. I play my real horn as well for a few hours each day, but later I sit and practice changes and patterns in the evening for a few hours. I do think it sounds basically like a kid's keyboard. But in the hands the keys feel like a sax. I would suggest you can use it to practice like a real horn in important and useful ways. I cannot see the purpose of the brass bell. It seems simply decoration. Given the general quality of the sound, it does not seem to be doing much at all. It maybe adds to the weight a bit. This a very light object. Good for carrying. I think perhaps the bari is the best sound in it, I would say. There is one softer, breathy, sax sound that I tend to use. The volume from the horn itself is not so loud either. It gets through batteries fast, but I play it with a USB/5v cable to my computer.
Hi David, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
@@d.williams7887 No more than a normal sax really. But I notice that you have to take the mouth piece off every few times and rinse it off. I also then just wipe round with a damp cloth in the closed bit it fits onto. And a few times then cleaned in there with a little alcohol rub. I am using this a lot though later in the evenings and whereas with my actual sax I always remove the mouthpiece after playing I tend to leave this one on, slightly worried the rubber band things might wear out.
Man... I have been waiting for a new Yamaha Wind Synth! This one looks great. I am going to get it just because of the physical layout of the keys! The only thing I wish they would have done was put some expression sensors in the mouthpiece. Well...maybe in the next model! I wish Yamaha would buy the Lyricon patent and bring back that instrument. The original machine used additive synthesis which I have never seen in any other synth. This new synth is going to be THE wind synth to have. I am looking forward to the new models as they improve the instrument.
The video is very useful ... but you can make a video in which you can see and hear the response you have used as a MIDI controller, that is, using the USB MIDI output connected to an external device, for example MAINSTAGE, or a module of external sound. Thank you very much from the Canary Islands!
Hi Jim. I've had my YDS for 6 months. After 4 months the F# key stopped sounding after short sessions and occasionally the G# key as well. Adjusting responses in the instrument made no difference. Also, the Octave key seized up and became a touch sensitive option but I assume that was a precursor to the octave key failing to work at all. I have returned it to the store and have a store credit to purchase another if they ever become freely available here in Australia. I am disappointed that the instrument appears to lack a robustness I would expect in an instrument costing in excess of AUD$1,000. On the other hand, it was a most amazing instrument to play and I preferred to pick it up rather than my tenor. Neighbours and my wife were very appreciative I can tell you. I am hoping a replacement YDS will be able to cope with regular playing and that I just happened to have received a "lemon", in car parlance.
I got an email from Yamaha today. I clicked and was looking at instruments. I have a bunch of guitars, a Yamaha sax, bass guitars, pianos and other stuff. I got the sax so I could learn jazz. But I don't like playing because my stepfather is upstairs and I always hear sighs. haha I get it through. The thing is loud. In the email, first thing I saw was a synth. Man, I want that and it shall be mine. But then I saw this digital sax. I wanted it. I looked and say it for under $800. Which was a lower price then on the Yamaha site. I checked Amazon and they had it for the same low price. Said it ships in 1 - 2 months. So, I got it. While out today, people probably thought I was high. haha I was so pumped full of excitement.
This is a digital sax and not a wind synthesizer as we know them. Undoubtedly it’s usable for silent practicing your sax fingerings through the exact copy of the sax ergonomics. Just another product in Yamaha’s line of silent practicing options, like silent pianos and silent brass devices. But when you compare it to the Akai EWI or Roland Aerophone, you entirely miss the point of MIDI windcontrollers. Even the decades old Yamaha WX-series instruments outperform this instrument when you want to use it as a windcontroller/windsynth. You can only compare it with the EMEO, another digital sax aimed at silent practicing.
Denis Hermans, yes, it has MIDI USB Out so you could hook it up to a computer and maybe even a MIDI USB capable hardware synth. However, the concept of a wind synth or windcontroller is entirely different. Some history here: The first woodwind style windcontroller, the Computone Lyricon, was designed in the early 70’s to create an electronic instrument that would give woodwind players the ability to play synthesised sounds with the blowing and playing techniques inherited from their woodwind instrument playing. Expressiveness was the key goal. So the instrument responds to the note fingering, breath pressure and lip pressure over a wider range of octaves. A saxophone needs all the keys to close all the individual tone holes, a windcontroller doesn’t have tone holes, so it can simplify the key layout to make playing it easier. It basically has the C scale fingering and adds semitone and whole tone pinky and palm keys to be able to quickly play all chromatic notes with the ability to create shortcuts for easy note transistions. Not having the exact same fingerings as on sax is an asset not a flaw and there has been some good reasoning behind that. This guy sells this digital sax as the next generation windcontroller when it isn’t. Not having a good key layout and lacking a decent octave range and expressiveness through controllers, like lip pressure, actually makes it useless and there are many better and cheaper alternatives for that. It was actually Yamaha that designed the best Lyricon alternative when the Computone went bankrupt when MIDI became the norm. They consulted Sal Galina to design a Lyricon style MIDI windcontroller, the WX7. That has everything a windcontroller in the sense of the Lyricon needs; expression sensors, wide octave range, right key layout, etc. Later they had the somewhat simpler WX11 and, to me, the top of the line WX5 with even more octaves under its belt. During the same time as the Lyricon was invented, Nyle Steiner invented his own EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), a brass type windcontroller. Its breath sensor had much more back pressure than the one on the Lyricon, presumably more catered to brass players. Some time later he developed the Steinerphone a woodwind version with the same electronics as the EVI but with touch sensitive keys in a similar layout as on the Lyricon and with octave thumb roller. The Steinerphone was played by Michael Brecker who didn’t get along with the Lyricon. This would later be named the EWI. After Crumar produced it for a while, production and further development was taken over by Akai Professional and we know these today as Akai EWI’s. The style of the breath sensor remained the same and that’s why many woodwind players find it difficult to adapt to it. Easily fixed with the right blowing technique and practive. They no longer make the EVI for brass players, but Berglund Instruments is selling a modern day EVI complete with MIDI and CV. They also do a NuRad a radial EWI once designed by Nyle Steiner for Michael Brecker. Whatever this guy says in the video, he clearly doesn’t know the market or doesn’t want to know it as it can harm sales. There’s already an alternative to the Yamaha YDS-150 digital sax. The EMEO was released last year. But even apart from that Swiss inventor Martin Hurni of Softwind Instruments converts alto saxes into full blown, feature rich MIDI windcontrollers, the Synthophone. And they do that ever since the 80’s... Normally I don’t care about these video’s, but the concept of the windcontroller is dear to me as I think it’s the best instrument ever made. Started a sax player a very long time ago, I gradually converted to windcontrollers entirely. It’s a great tool to create great music and in the right hands, with the right gear it can do both good emulations and non-emulative sounds. I’ve built a nice collection with windcontrollers from all era’s. Anybody with little or no knowledge about windcontrollers could end up believing this guy and buy the Yamaha Digital Sax as a windcontroller to later find out it’s just a digital sax for silent practicing and with less expressive control as a cheaper real windcontroller could offer.
As a WX7 player I'm really disappointed this doesn't support lip pitch bend, specially for vibrato. Anything that's required me to use a thumb/finger for it never worked for me and the ability to be super expressive with that on my WX7 is one of my favorite features. Otherwise it looks amazingly fun.
The wx11 also had the similar feature of really organic sounding pitch bend for realistic sounding vibrato. After the original wind controllers wx7 and 11, Yamaha seemed to have dropped the ball somewhere.
The sax patch dynamics sound all wrong. That's a shame, but I assume one might still use it with something that actually sounds good, like Audio Modeling's SWAM saxophones, even if that means having to have a computer in the signal chain.
...emulating perfect sax sound is kinda not the point right? If you can play this, you can play a regular saxophone and sound good. I think new sounds is the way to go with something like this. Do what Brecker and Mitzner did in the 80's, but with better sounds. This is like a digital keyboard for woodwind players. Not a sax replacement.
Not true, because the hardest part about a real sax is is manipulating the sounds with the mouth piece.. you could play like a pro on this and have no ability to play a real sax
When I was gigging more on clarinet I only rarely needed to play saxophone, but when I did it seems like they always called for 8 measures on soprano, 24 on alto, and then another 8 on bari (all in the background supporting the real sax players), making three or four extra instruments to bring for just a few minutes of sound. This could've been a device to lighten the gig bag dramatically.
Also wondering if Yamaha will allow other patches to be loaded on this at some point. Again, just wondering. Mine arrives tomorrow so let’s see what I think of this. Unlike most people here, I’m not a professional, I’m just someone that loves music and I have an alto and a soprano. However I love the idea of silent practice, playing along to a song on my headphone and I honestly believe that one day, an electronic sax will be better than accoustic. It’s all a matter of time
Hi Abolaji, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
I’m all for the proof of concept, but my biggest complaint with synthesizers playing saxophone sounds is the legato. There’s still that clicky-clackey separation between notes. I do like the fact that you don’t need a place where your neighbors can’t hear you.
I just use my Helicon Voiceplay harmonizer if I want effects on my sax or to sound like a section. years ago I had the Maestro box which basically had all the sounds that this Yamaha has!
I'm looking to get back into the sax. Should I choose this or a different wind synth? I can't go with any analogue instrument because I'm in an apartment.
hi i liked it , i got my second tenor from u < but off late my jaw gets locked when i play its beacuse of pressure and have been un able to play , its called TMJ disorder am missing my sax play just want to know whether i can blow with less pressure and get the same sound can i begin playing sax again i am excited to know thanks
So...The bari played at the beginning of the video is OK. (I can't play bari cuz of my neck issues, so that's nice.) The processed sounds are good. The others don't matter as much because (1) as he said, it's a good late-night practice tool, (2) it's got some good alternate/processed sounds, and (3) he didn't mention the most interesting possibility. Yes, the MIDI out can go to your studio...but it can go to a sampler or a VL70M, just like my WX does. I really dislike the feel of the WX, and the sensitivity settings on this new puppy (1-20) is cool. Also, the manual says you can set the volume output range, maximum 120 dB. That's pretty good. It's $800US. Good considering the WX I bought about 30 years ago was Somewhere around $550. I dislike the Lyricon if only because the built-in synthesizer changes the balance of the instrument, and I don't like it.
Thank you for your video. I want to learn the sax, and am leaning towards this digital instrument as it would give me the option of playing both tenor and alto.. rather then needing to choose between buying either a traditional tenor or alto (which is a very hard choice as I can see the beauty in both). Would you recommend this for a complete beginner to practice on? Thank you in advance for any guidance!
Keep in mind I do not own this or any other synth nor am I opposed to them in any way(I find them kinda sexy actually). But my personal opinion would be start on an actual sax. It's such a hard thing to describe but you won't get the real feel of learning with sax with an electronic instrument. Although the sax and guitar are two different instruments, Keith Richards of the rolling stones is a firm believer in learning acoustic before you try an electric guitar. Which also applies here. You can't feel an electric instrument like you can the real deal. Very long winded but I hope this helps!
At $915.00 it's an extremely expensive toy. Like the Roland Aerophone, the internal sounds are not good. Kudos for making the keywork sax friendly. This should cost more like $300.00 if they were being realistic.
Great Video Jim. Can you edit a voice sound by using the App and then download and save it to one of the user setting so that it can be played in the stand-alone mode? Also can you modify the alto sounds to always be in Bb when played?
So what are the non-sax sounds? Are they all synths or are there other instruments? Does the fingering adjust to the instrument you're playing? and can you add more instruments from a database like you can with the Akai 4000s?
I could care less about the sounds; I'm more interested in using something like this to control my analogue synths via MIDI. I owned an Akai EWI-4000 for a while and had fun with it, but I was turned off by the non-mechanical fingering and the inability to allow air to pass through the mouthpiece. It felt weird playing it, and I could never really enjoy it. I grew up playing sax, owned a YAS-62, I love the positioning and action of Yamaha keys and am excited by the prospect of having a wind controller which feels like a real sax, one with real keys and a real mouthpiece. I hope there is the ability to sent MIDI note and CC data to external gear from it.
So, why buy this over an EWI Solo? This one is like $950 (last I saw) and the Solo is $500, but with a standard wind controller mouthpiece, feature, and full library of sounds
I have been playing this for a few days while in hotels. The advantage here is that it feels like a sax in your hands. I like this as I do not want to have to learn anything else and this allows me to practice as I practice on my actual sax, but using headphones. But I am less interested in the sounds.
When I play with just a reed and mouthpiece it makes quite a bit of noise. Does this produce that same noise when using headphones? If not, is it just fully absorbed into the horn? Thanks in advance, really interested in using with headphones while babies are asleep.
EWI Electronc Wind Instrument came out in 80s and was also cool.In all honesty , these tones don't impress me.Sounds half bari half casio.Better as a midi trigger for someone whose primary instrument is sax or flute.
The fact that the mouthpiece is totally worthless (no pitch bend hardware in the mouthpiece?!) makes this such a curious and useless wind controller. This is the #1 most natural way to produce pitch bend (WX series) or vibrato trigger (EWI) that leaving it out just boggles my mind. Also artificially limiting the range to a single octave key.... Such a missed opportunity. Still wishing for a professional WX instrument with flexible fingerings and solid keys with rollers. They got that part mostly right, but what if I don't actually want to be limited to Saxophone keys and fingerings? Again, missed opportunities.
This is a promising start. An electric sax that replicates exact feel of a real sax is needed to suit after hours and quiet practice....as others have said something that responds to or relies on embrochure would be a dream
You should check out the old WX-7 - I've had one for years and as it supports lip bend you can be MUCH MUCH MUCH more expressive with it. Vibrato and pitch bend with your embouchure are both possible and while it doesn't feel like a real horn, specifically pitch bend is a bit tough, but vibrato on the WX-7 is very easy and natural. Very disappointing they wouldn't have included that on such a modern device. Pair the WX-7 with a modern sync, I use the (now older) VL70m and you can get some rather impressive sounds out of it. The sax sounds suck, at least for a sax player, but the other woodwinds - specifically the flutes - are extremely impressive.
Mine turned up today at around 11.30 AM ( 30th October bang on schedule from pre order )
It is awesome. When the Missus was watching TV 4 foot away This evening I had my headphones on practicing and she couldn’t hear a thing. Even the press down on the keys is silent and hardly any blow can be heard in the instrument.
I have only been playing and learning my Alto for 14 months so the key positions are vital to me to be able to pick up the real thing and make good use of the silent practice. This is going to be a game changer for anyone that needs to practice at unsociable hours.
It sounds great through its own speaker but through the headphones it is brilliant.
I’ve done nothing but play with this all day and tonight.
I honestly couldn’t be happier with it.
Yes I agree with this. I have had one for a few days and while it may not sound like a real sax, you can practice many techniques any time - so long as you also get time to practice tone etc on a real horn as well.
This is great for the neighbors of a beginner sax player.
This is exactly why I want to get an electric saxophone… I don’t want to let apartment living get in the way
As a trumpet player who always wanted to learn sax that thing is baller for me.
Thank you for this helpful video. I ordered mine back in Mach and it arrived in UK on Weds and with me Thursday. I’m 66 years old, just a basic self taught player in my late 40s…..and I had a lot of fun and satisfaction from my alto and tenor. But then I got ill;became disabled; and had dentures fitted. Still not in the best of health but retired I tried playing again and just didn’t have the breath or embouchure…….then I read about this and it has solved all my problems.
So what.
Probably the most intriguing wind synth on the market right now. Would love to try it out and see how the real sax key layout feels. However, tones still aren't good enough for a professional player imo, and that's going to limit this thing massively
Hopefully it should have midi out so you can put it through any synth box (it will have breath response data) i have a WX5 which I use solely for silent practice.
@@patrickkyle4601 according to the yamaha promo video, it does have a usb midi out and you can see the micro usb port in the photos on the yamaha site.
Yo what do you think about the slyphyo?
I was just about to @ you on Twitter to see if you knew about it lol
@@patrickkyle4601 It does. You may need a USB to MIDI converter, though.
That you can basically practice all four types of saxophones on the same 700 dollar instrument more than makes it worth the cost. If further iterations include mouthpiece manipulation, this thing will become the gold standard for digital sax.
Appears to be a great practice tool that also happens to be a lot of fun to play. Few people will buy it instead of a saxophone or to replace their saxophone. Play anywhere anytime and easy to travel with. When I travel on a plane, I'm thrilled I'll be able to take this instead of my "real" sax.
I’m actually really suprised at the bari sax sound
Yeah me too
Me too
I agree !
Plastic Bari sax...
Bari sound is the ONLY useful thing about this horn. 🙁
That pitch bend can’t be done with the embouchure is a deal breaker for me.
Yes, unfortunately. If it has a bite sensor in the mouthpiece I think it would be great feature.
As usual, this is a great, honest and in depth review, Jim. I don't purchase anything expensive until I see what you have to say about it.
What I am still not convinced about is how well they replicated the feel of a real saxophone in terms of fingering. In other words: is it a good tool for practicing without bothering neighbours?
We hope you enjoyed the vid! We 💖 RoboSop 🤖 🎷
It's the first in-depth intro to this instrument, much appreciated. I am a current Roland AE-10 user, YDS 150's build quality, bluetooth function, new USB interface all looks superior, I'm very anticipate to this one.
Awesome work Jim Cheek
Hey Thank you so much for this video. I own a Roland aerophone ae-10. I have to say I like it as long im using a external speaker. After watching and learning about this yamaha I'm taken by it. Is an Elegant instrument and sound beautiful. Let be real. It will never replace our 🎷 by a long shot. But its a fun instrument to play with
Im not surprised. Knowing that Yamaha makes good keyboards and acoustic sounds are one of their best sounds
I've had one for a few weeks to try. I've played a WX5 for some time so was thinking it was in that area. It is not designed for that market, although it does has several synth sounds. It is a lot of fun to play. when I quit trying to make it a traditional sax, I started getting more fun and understanding of it. This is a good video showing the options. people who wan t to learn sax or have played but not in a long time will really enjoy it. I am going to spend some time with it and see how aI can best use it.
Hi Richard, would you mind sharing your comparison between the fingering action of the wx5 and the YDS. I have the ewi 5000 and prefer it because there are no keys. The wx5 had no spring in it's keys making it hard to play fast passages. How does the YDS compare?
Hi Richard, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
Just got a used one for much less than a 120. I fitted an alto neck and mp and use the alto neck strap. Added and mounted a rechargeable battery. Figured out the controller out setting in the app. Configured SWAM on iOS. It now replaced my EWI, AEROPHONEs and WX controllers. This is my daily driver.
I just ordered one of these babies! Thanks for the excellent review!
Without the emulation of pitch bend, vibrato, altissimo through embouchure, the only thing that this would help for the purpose of sax practice seems to be the fingering and keys as far as I can tell.
Oh man, I am so tempted. My wallet is itching.... must.... wait....
Edit: Man, just read some of these comments. Very very valid criticisms. Maybe I'll wait!
Just don’t run it over pls
Anthony Giordano :’(
I knew you were going to be here man, I can't wait until you review this thing on your channel.
@@Amedeus1756 🤣🤣🤣
good night, I'm from Brazil and I watch your channel since the beginning, I really like the videos, congratulations on your work!
Tmb sou brkkkkkk
I've played on a wx11 for over 20 years and the one thing that makes this controller unique is the pitch bend, lip zero control, I think it is the same on the wx7. This is the one feature that gives really nice control over expressive vibrato. With the wx5, it's as though they designed out the sensitivity of the best feature of that controller. Also have played on an Akai 4000 but always go back to my trusty old wx11 that has a soul. Yamaha, If it works don't fix it!
I’m a little surprised about the amount of negative comments, but I’ve no intention of cancelling my order. It’s not perfect some way of doing vibrato and bends with the mouthpiece would have been great. That said though being able to practice anytime anywhere ‘ with the identical key layout is ideal. Also the app allowing to program your own altissimo fingering is a bonus I didn’t expect. Does anyone know if the app is avail either yer
Ditto!
I think the 3rd/4th generation of this instrument will be amazing. For me the sound is akin to a child's toy, key response slow and you can't vary tone through your embouchure. Sure in 5-6 years all those issues will be resolved.
Thanks for this great review, a comparison between the EMEO and this one would be very nice and helpfull.
Anyone else drinking a shot every time he says “sort of”?
More "in the sense"
Raising my glass
I'd be dead lol
Such an unexpected start with that bari from a soprano😂😂😂
I’m a Yamaha drummer...(a drummer who loves Yamaha products), and this is yet another reason why Yamaha is the best!
At last!!! From the legacy of the WX5 (I own one and love it!!!) an upgraded up-to-date wind controller!!!
Just got one. Played half an hour. They have done a great job with the key work. It feels like a sax in your hands. It is very lite. It is a shame the bell does not seem to come off. Seems cosmetic and it would be easier for travel without this. It is not a strong instrument either. Keys feel they could snap with a knock.
It does not feel like blowing a sax. But in a hotel, or at night, or wherever you can practice licks, scales, changes, melodies all you want and this will transfer to your horn. I will now take it with me as I travel. I will miss my horn, but really glad I have this to take with me so in the evenings I can still sit and work on music I am presently looking at. I could not get it to sound exactly like a real sax, but with the earphones on it was certainly good enough to use to practice. Not sure how long batteries will last but you can also connect to computer with USB/5V which you have to buy yourself. I think it is great. For people who find it hard to practice due to noise, this is something special. I would be very interested to try some of the others coming onto the market that also hav sex keywork. I am less bothered by the sound and more with how practice transfers to the real horn.
I think it’ll be interesting when users start posting their settings that give it some near sax sounds. I have heard a few demos that ain’t bad, and also heard some that worried me as they sounded horrible. But these two demos I think ain’t bad at all if I can get mine to sound this good
th-cam.com/video/-vvFHK4rgt4/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/ZREVvVnKxdU/w-d-xo.html
@@abolajiidowu8284 Yes, great point. Also I am sure it will help just when I get used to how to blow it. I am playing it like my real sax, when this is clearly not the way to do it. And I just tried with the earphones again and its not bad at all. But agreed, will be useful when people start sharing.
I returned mine immediately due to an unsatisfactory amount of real time controllable influence over the sounds from the mouthpiece. It is so much more satisfying to play a saxophone quietly.
One advantage of the Roland AE -10 compared to other similar products is that it features a bite sensor to adjust the pitch so that it is possible to play bending notes.
Thanks for the review! Would be good if we could hear some of the synth sounds too, and maybe what it sounds like in a mix / with backing tracks!
Jim, your professionalism and consequent very good and comprehensive review made me sit through your video to help your statistics in the channel. As soon as I understood that the mouthpiece is purely cosmetic, my initial enthusiasm got completely killed.
I guess the people watching your channel are actually looking for a silent sax that is completely realistic in fingering and embouchure. I know there are these silencer cases to put a sax into while playing but these have a very high psychological barrier to purchase.I think a sensor to measure lip pressure would have been easy and a second sensor to register tonguing too.
The demo was done very well. The product was well represented. But like others who commented, I too was hoping for more from Yamaha. Literally decades ago Yamaha made the VL70-m paired with the WX5. Way ahead of it's time. If they updated what they had it would have been amazing. But they didn't. I'm sure this new synth is good. But it could have been fabulous!
vl70-m and WX5, with Patchman ROM is still my combo of choice.
@@haroldtoups same here. However none of the patches on the Patchman ROM matched the Jazz sax patch on the plg-150-VL card, at least not to my ear.
Always a great explanational video - thank you.
Any EWI beats this by a long shot. Like insaneintherain said, wind controllers sound best when they’re NOT trying to emulate real instruments.
I'm just a fan of music, I believe this for any synth category instrument.
Nice review tho 👍
never liked the electrostatic touch (no movement) of EWI
Patrick Kyle It just takes some getting used to
Agreed! I love my EWI 4000S for that exact reason! I love expressive synth sounds that I can edit to my liking. Acoustic instrument sounds are useless.
Best demo so far, thanks for posting!
Sticking with my Roland AE-10 and SWAM modeled sounds. Can't be beat.
It looks nicer than my AE 10 but I think I would rather buy another real saxophone 🎷😊 Thanks for an excellent demo.
That is one fantastic review of an instrument. Thanks man. This is how it should be done.
I wish they had put a bite sensor in the mouthpiece, like all of their competitors have. It looks really cool though.
It is worth noting that the title of this video called it a digital sax and not a wind synth. It is an impressive accomplishment, however I don’t understand why any sax player would use this digital sax over a real sax. I guess their target market is people who don’t play the sax but wish they could?
I love my Akai EWI, but I use it to supplement my sax use with synth sounds...I don’t try to digitally recreate sax sounds!
Regardless, Yamaha has got people talking with this thing, and I’m sure they will sell many of them.
Salivating. Waiting for it to come out
I’m digging this. Not sure if I would pay the asking price, but I wouldn’t try talking someone else out of it.
For a moment I was afraid I was going to be dissapointed in my Aerophone AE-10. But the Yamaha has no bite sensor, so the Aerophone still rules :)
I also have an AE-10 and you have forgotten to mention the other 120+ tones that it has over this poor relation.
I agree I still like my Roland ae10 better although I do wish it did have that Bluetooth feature which I think is cool and I suggested it a while back that I wish it had Bluetooth
Very Good
4:14 "Swallow the mouthpiece" 😂 That was funny
Well done Yamaha! Awesome practice instrument for those living in apartments. Real shame they decided not to add a lip bend option, they should develop more modulation controls into a mouthpiece. The analog control looks much better than the WX5 and Akai. 90% sure I will have to add one to my kit at some point.
Also, nice review Jim! Enjoyed the demo of the app.
Indeed, as a teenager I was used to playing 4 hours a day for years, when I started living in apartments this just wasn't possible anymore if at all.
With this out I can practice songs and scales again. 🙌
Thanks for the preview. I'd have preferred if you showed us what the speakers can do, instead of using an amp.
I have had the sax about 3 weeks now. I am surprised how much I use it. I got it for travel and played it for two weeks while staying in a hotel in quarantine in China, travelling there for work. But now I use it every evening. I play my real horn as well for a few hours each day, but later I sit and practice changes and patterns in the evening for a few hours. I do think it sounds basically like a kid's keyboard. But in the hands the keys feel like a sax. I would suggest you can use it to practice like a real horn in important and useful ways.
I cannot see the purpose of the brass bell. It seems simply decoration. Given the general quality of the sound, it does not seem to be doing much at all. It maybe adds to the weight a bit. This a very light object. Good for carrying.
I think perhaps the bari is the best sound in it, I would say. There is one softer, breathy, sax sound that I tend to use. The volume from the horn itself is not so loud either. It gets through batteries fast, but I play it with a USB/5v cable to my computer.
Hi David, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
@@d.williams7887 No more than a normal sax really. But I notice that you have to take the mouth piece off every few times and rinse it off. I also then just wipe round with a damp cloth in the closed bit it fits onto. And a few times then cleaned in there with a little alcohol rub. I am using this a lot though later in the evenings and whereas with my actual sax I always remove the mouthpiece after playing I tend to leave this one on, slightly worried the rubber band things might wear out.
@@TheDavidmachin Thanks for the prompt reply, David. I appreciate the feedback.
@@TheDavidmachin Thanks for the feedback, David.
Great Presentation!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
やっぱり、ありとあらゆる分野で韓国より日本の方が世界に先かけていちはやく名品を生み出してますね。普通の頭からはYDS-150のアイデア何かは出ません。もっぱら、天才のみの発想でござる。
以上、ソウルに住んでる親日派韓国人でした。私が提言しましたタンギングとベンドアップとベンドダウンを感知できるスマートリードも天才の発想で御座る。
Man... I have been waiting for a new Yamaha Wind Synth!
This one looks great.
I am going to get it just because of the physical layout of the keys!
The only thing I wish they would have done was put some expression sensors in the mouthpiece.
Well...maybe in the next model!
I wish Yamaha would buy the Lyricon patent and bring back that instrument.
The original machine used additive synthesis which I have never seen in any other synth.
This new synth is going to be THE wind synth to have.
I am looking forward to the new models as they improve the instrument.
The video is very useful ... but you can make a video in which you can see and hear the response you have used as a MIDI controller, that is, using the USB MIDI output connected to an external device, for example MAINSTAGE, or a module of external sound. Thank you very much from the Canary Islands!
Can you practice with the ear phones on .to practice in silence no matter where or what time of night ?
Yes
I'm only a simple guitar player but I can appreciate a well crafted instrument.
Hi Jim. I've had my YDS for 6 months. After 4 months the F# key stopped sounding after short sessions and occasionally the G# key as well. Adjusting responses in the instrument made no difference. Also, the Octave key seized up and became a touch sensitive option but I assume that was a precursor to the octave key failing to work at all. I have returned it to the store and have a store credit to purchase another if they ever become freely available here in Australia. I am disappointed that the instrument appears to lack a robustness I would expect in an instrument costing in excess of AUD$1,000. On the other hand, it was a most amazing instrument to play and I preferred to pick it up rather than my tenor. Neighbours and my wife were very appreciative I can tell you. I am hoping a replacement YDS will be able to cope with regular playing and that I just happened to have received a "lemon", in car parlance.
I got an email from Yamaha today. I clicked and was looking at instruments. I have a bunch of guitars, a Yamaha sax, bass guitars, pianos and other stuff. I got the sax so I could learn jazz. But I don't like playing because my stepfather is upstairs and I always hear sighs. haha I get it through. The thing is loud. In the email, first thing I saw was a synth. Man, I want that and it shall be mine. But then I saw this digital sax. I wanted it. I looked and say it for under $800. Which was a lower price then on the Yamaha site. I checked Amazon and they had it for the same low price. Said it ships in 1 - 2 months. So, I got it. While out today, people probably thought I was high. haha I was so pumped full of excitement.
Great demo Jim, I can’t wait to have a go on this myself. I wonder how it compares to the new EWI Solo?
This is a digital sax and not a wind synthesizer as we know them. Undoubtedly it’s usable for silent practicing your sax fingerings through the exact copy of the sax ergonomics. Just another product in Yamaha’s line of silent practicing options, like silent pianos and silent brass devices. But when you compare it to the Akai EWI or Roland Aerophone, you entirely miss the point of MIDI windcontrollers. Even the decades old Yamaha WX-series instruments outperform this instrument when you want to use it as a windcontroller/windsynth. You can only compare it with the EMEO, another digital sax aimed at silent practicing.
There is usb midi out. But maybe I do not understand the piint you want to make ?
Denis Hermans, yes, it has MIDI USB Out so you could hook it up to a computer and maybe even a MIDI USB capable hardware synth. However, the concept of a wind synth or windcontroller is entirely different.
Some history here:
The first woodwind style windcontroller, the Computone Lyricon, was designed in the early 70’s to create an electronic instrument that would give woodwind players the ability to play synthesised sounds with the blowing and playing techniques inherited from their woodwind instrument playing. Expressiveness was the key goal. So the instrument responds to the note fingering, breath pressure and lip pressure over a wider range of octaves. A saxophone needs all the keys to close all the individual tone holes, a windcontroller doesn’t have tone holes, so it can simplify the key layout to make playing it easier. It basically has the C scale fingering and adds semitone and whole tone pinky and palm keys to be able to quickly play all chromatic notes with the ability to create shortcuts for easy note transistions. Not having the exact same fingerings as on sax is an asset not a flaw and there has been some good reasoning behind that. This guy sells this digital sax as the next generation windcontroller when it isn’t. Not having a good key layout and lacking a decent octave range and expressiveness through controllers, like lip pressure, actually makes it useless and there are many better and cheaper alternatives for that. It was actually Yamaha that designed the best Lyricon alternative when the Computone went bankrupt when MIDI became the norm. They consulted Sal Galina to design a Lyricon style MIDI windcontroller, the WX7. That has everything a windcontroller in the sense of the Lyricon needs; expression sensors, wide octave range, right key layout, etc. Later they had the somewhat simpler WX11 and, to me, the top of the line WX5 with even more octaves under its belt.
During the same time as the Lyricon was invented, Nyle Steiner invented his own EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument), a brass type windcontroller. Its breath sensor had much more back pressure than the one on the Lyricon, presumably more catered to brass players. Some time later he developed the Steinerphone a woodwind version with the same electronics as the EVI but with touch sensitive keys in a similar layout as on the Lyricon and with octave thumb roller. The Steinerphone was played by Michael Brecker who didn’t get along with the Lyricon. This would later be named the EWI. After Crumar produced it for a while, production and further development was taken over by Akai Professional and we know these today as Akai EWI’s. The style of the breath sensor remained the same and that’s why many woodwind players find it difficult to adapt to it. Easily fixed with the right blowing technique and practive. They no longer make the EVI for brass players, but Berglund Instruments is selling a modern day EVI complete with MIDI and CV. They also do a NuRad a radial EWI once designed by Nyle Steiner for Michael Brecker.
Whatever this guy says in the video, he clearly doesn’t know the market or doesn’t want to know it as it can harm sales. There’s already an alternative to the Yamaha YDS-150 digital sax. The EMEO was released last year. But even apart from that Swiss inventor Martin Hurni of Softwind Instruments converts alto saxes into full blown, feature rich MIDI windcontrollers, the Synthophone. And they do that ever since the 80’s...
Normally I don’t care about these video’s, but the concept of the windcontroller is dear to me as I think it’s the best instrument ever made. Started a sax player a very long time ago, I gradually converted to windcontrollers entirely. It’s a great tool to create great music and in the right hands, with the right gear it can do both good emulations and non-emulative sounds. I’ve built a nice collection with windcontrollers from all era’s. Anybody with little or no knowledge about windcontrollers could end up believing this guy and buy the Yamaha Digital Sax as a windcontroller to later find out it’s just a digital sax for silent practicing and with less expressive control as a cheaper real windcontroller could offer.
As a WX7 player I'm really disappointed this doesn't support lip pitch bend, specially for vibrato. Anything that's required me to use a thumb/finger for it never worked for me and the ability to be super expressive with that on my WX7 is one of my favorite features. Otherwise it looks amazingly fun.
The wx11 also had the similar feature of really organic sounding pitch bend for realistic sounding vibrato. After the original wind controllers wx7 and 11, Yamaha seemed to have dropped the ball somewhere.
The sax patch dynamics sound all wrong. That's a shame, but I assume one might still use it with something that actually sounds good, like Audio Modeling's SWAM saxophones, even if that means having to have a computer in the signal chain.
...emulating perfect sax sound is kinda not the point right? If you can play this, you can play a regular saxophone and sound good. I think new sounds is the way to go with something like this. Do what Brecker and Mitzner did in the 80's, but with better sounds. This is like a digital keyboard for woodwind players. Not a sax replacement.
Not true, because the hardest part about a real sax is is manipulating the sounds with the mouth piece.. you could play like a pro on this and have no ability to play a real sax
When I was gigging more on clarinet I only rarely needed to play saxophone, but when I did it seems like they always called for 8 measures on soprano, 24 on alto, and then another 8 on bari (all in the background supporting the real sax players), making three or four extra instruments to bring for just a few minutes of sound. This could've been a device to lighten the gig bag dramatically.
Best thing since the keytar 👍
Also wondering if Yamaha will allow other patches to be loaded on this at some point. Again, just wondering.
Mine arrives tomorrow so let’s see what I think of this. Unlike most people here, I’m not a professional, I’m just someone that loves music and I have an alto and a soprano. However I love the idea of silent practice, playing along to a song on my headphone and I honestly believe that one day, an electronic sax will be better than accoustic. It’s all a matter of time
Hi Abolaji, I see that you've had the YDS-150 for some time now so I thought perhaps you can answer a vital question for me regarding it. Since it is not designed for a swab, how do you clean the residual condensation (saliva) from this instrument? I would imagine that over time, if it's not cleaned fairly regularly, it can become a breeding ground for bacteria.
The absence of MIDI OUT is a deal breaker for me.
Muito top esse sax.
Como sempre a Yamaha surprendendo.
Hmmm. I’m wondering if someone will create an electronic mouthpiece in the future as an aftermarket add on that will allow vibrato etc. Just wondering
Awesome review
I’m all for the proof of concept, but my biggest complaint with synthesizers playing saxophone sounds is the legato. There’s still that clicky-clackey separation between notes. I do like the fact that you don’t need a place where your neighbors can’t hear you.
I just use my Helicon Voiceplay harmonizer if I want effects on my sax or to sound like a section. years ago I had the Maestro box which basically had all the sounds that this Yamaha has!
I'm looking to get back into the sax. Should I choose this or a different wind synth? I can't go with any analogue instrument because I'm in an apartment.
Woooooow!!! Just what i was waiting for!!!👍
Great demo but I’ll stick with my Aerophone ae-10.
Is it possible to remove the brass bell? It would make it easier to travel with it.
Thank you! Is it true that the app is only available on Apple?
Does it have a bite sensor inside the mouthpiece? Just like Roland AE-10 has.
I love it!!!!
Thanks mate, just wonder if you can do a continuous glissando on this? Like the intro bit of Rhapsody in Blue?
Can you demo with the audiomodeling SWAM Saxophones?
hi i liked it , i got my second tenor from u < but off late my jaw gets locked when i play its beacuse of pressure and have been un able to play , its called TMJ disorder am missing my sax play just want to know whether i can blow with less pressure and get the same sound can i begin playing sax again i am excited to know thanks
So...The bari played at the beginning of the video is OK. (I can't play bari cuz of my neck issues, so that's nice.) The processed sounds are good. The others don't matter as much because (1) as he said, it's a good late-night practice tool, (2) it's got some good alternate/processed sounds, and (3) he didn't mention the most interesting possibility. Yes, the MIDI out can go to your studio...but it can go to a sampler or a VL70M, just like my WX does. I really dislike the feel of the WX, and the sensitivity settings on this new puppy (1-20) is cool. Also, the manual says you can set the volume output range, maximum 120 dB. That's pretty good. It's $800US. Good considering the WX I bought about 30 years ago was Somewhere around $550. I dislike the Lyricon if only because the built-in synthesizer changes the balance of the instrument, and I don't like it.
Thank you for your video. I want to learn the sax, and am leaning towards this digital instrument as it would give me the option of playing both tenor and alto.. rather then needing to choose between buying either a traditional tenor or alto (which is a very hard choice as I can see the beauty in both). Would you recommend this for a complete beginner to practice on? Thank you in advance for any guidance!
Keep in mind I do not own this or any other synth nor am I opposed to them in any way(I find them kinda sexy actually). But my personal opinion would be start on an actual sax. It's such a hard thing to describe but you won't get the real feel of learning with sax with an electronic instrument. Although the sax and guitar are two different instruments, Keith Richards of the rolling stones is a firm believer in learning acoustic before you try an electric guitar. Which also applies here. You can't feel an electric instrument like you can the real deal. Very long winded but I hope this helps!
@@Stridor826 thank you, it does
At $915.00 it's an extremely expensive toy. Like the Roland Aerophone, the internal sounds are not good. Kudos for making the keywork sax friendly. This should cost more like $300.00 if they were being realistic.
No
Great Video Jim. Can you edit a voice sound by using the App and then download and save it to one of the user setting so that it can be played in the stand-alone mode? Also can you modify the alto sounds to always be in Bb when played?
So what are the non-sax sounds? Are they all synths or are there other instruments? Does the fingering adjust to the instrument you're playing? and can you add more instruments from a database like you can with the Akai 4000s?
Would this be a good invest to relearn the tenor/soprano saxophone? Haven't touched a saxophone in over 11yrs and been wanting to relearn it
how come it plays in fifths in the beginning? sorry if it is explained later in the video
I could care less about the sounds; I'm more interested in using something like this to control my analogue synths via MIDI. I owned an Akai EWI-4000 for a while and had fun with it, but I was turned off by the non-mechanical fingering and the inability to allow air to pass through the mouthpiece. It felt weird playing it, and I could never really enjoy it.
I grew up playing sax, owned a YAS-62, I love the positioning and action of Yamaha keys and am excited by the prospect of having a wind controller which feels like a real sax, one with real keys and a real mouthpiece.
I hope there is the ability to sent MIDI note and CC data to external gear from it.
This, indeed.
I find the bari is the best Sax sound.
There ain't nothing like the real thing baby. That's no saxophone at all
I dont think its supposed to be
오~~ 신기하네요!!!!
모양이 소프라노 색소폰인데
다양한 소리가 나네요
So, why buy this over an EWI Solo?
This one is like $950 (last I saw) and the Solo is $500, but with a standard wind controller mouthpiece, feature, and full library of sounds
I have been playing this for a few days while in hotels. The advantage here is that it feels like a sax in your hands. I like this as I do not want to have to learn anything else and this allows me to practice as I practice on my actual sax, but using headphones. But I am less interested in the sounds.
When I play with just a reed and mouthpiece it makes quite a bit of noise. Does this produce that same noise when using headphones? If not, is it just fully absorbed into the horn? Thanks in advance, really interested in using with headphones while babies are asleep.
Came here to ask the same question
EWI Electronc Wind Instrument came out in 80s and was also cool.In all honesty , these tones don't impress me.Sounds half bari half casio.Better as a midi trigger for someone whose primary instrument is sax or flute.
That's awesome.
the intro phrase at the beginning of each video should’ve been redone on this thing for this video
The fact that the mouthpiece is totally worthless (no pitch bend hardware in the mouthpiece?!) makes this such a curious and useless wind controller. This is the #1 most natural way to produce pitch bend (WX series) or vibrato trigger (EWI) that leaving it out just boggles my mind. Also artificially limiting the range to a single octave key.... Such a missed opportunity. Still wishing for a professional WX instrument with flexible fingerings and solid keys with rollers. They got that part mostly right, but what if I don't actually want to be limited to Saxophone keys and fingerings? Again, missed opportunities.
No vibrato via lip pressure? this is just a toy
Is it possible to play with headphones on and avoid the sound coming out of the horn?
does it make acoustic noise when you play with headphones? can I play it at night without disturbing my family?