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AKAI Professional EWI5000 - Wireless, Battery-Powered MIDI Controller Electronic Wind Instrument With On-Board Sound Library

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Availability: 14 left in stock
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Arrives Tuesday, May 14
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Style: Stand-alone EWI with Wireless Connectivity


Features

  • Next Generation Performance - Ultra-portable electronic wind instrument with authentic feel, layout and response coupled multiple fingering modes that adapt to your preferred playing style
  • The Freedom to Perform - Seamless 2.4 GHz ultra-low latency wireless connectivity for unrestricted performance capability with support for stereo wireless audio (receiver included)
  • Responsive - Ultra-responsive mouth piece with air-pressure level and bite sensors, plus eight dedicated precision dials for on-the-fly adjustment of instrument or effect parameters
  • Battery Powered - Long-lasting play time using the rechargeable lithium-ion battery (charging adapter included) plus USB port for USB-MIDI connection and battery recharging
  • Pro-Grade Sound Library - 3 GB of onboard, performance-ready world-class acoustic and synth sounds created by leading virtual instrument developer SONiVOX
  • Connectivity Covered - 1/4" audio output connects to virtually all audio receivers, mixers and PA systems and 1/8" headphone output for private practicing

Description

The Next-Generation Wind Instrument EWI5000 Black, the ultimate addition to the EWI series, combines innovative instrument design, wireless connectivity, and a sound library by SONiVOX to create the most expressive and versatile electronic wind instrument available today - all in a sleek, striking all-new black finish Building upon the legacy of the original Electronic Wind Instrument, Akai Professional created EWI5000 Black with the same objective in mind—deliver unprecedented musical expression to wind players everywhere. Experience the next generation in wind-performance technology with an instrument that’s built for the contemporary player. Performance Freedom With 2.4GHz low-latency wireless connectivity, EWI5000 Black empowers you to perform freely with a dynamic performance instrument in hand. It supports stereo wireless audio and includes a receiver for instant mobility on the stage or in the studio. Versatile EWI5000 Black also supports wired audio and MIDI connections for integrating with additional external performance and production hardware. Plus, it’s powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery, so you can take EWI5000 Black with you and play it anywhere. Expressive For precisely controlling volume and pitch dynamics, EWI5000 Black features an ultra-responsive mouth piece with an air-pressure level sensor and bite sensor. In addition, eight dedicated precision dials allow you to adjust instrument or effect parameters on the fly Multiple Finger Modes EWI5000 is a powerful instrument that expands the performance capabilities of woodwind and brass musicians alike. With support for multiple playing styles, its interface can be switched to flute, oboe, and saxophone fingering modes. An EVI Electronic Valve Instrument Mode is also included for brass players Effortless Connectivitynbsp; USB-MIDI connectivity and a 5-pin MIDI output enable you to expand your sonic palette by controlling software synths, virtual samplers, or traditional MIDI modules. EWI5000 Black comes with a built-in 1/4-inch output for connecting it directly to PA systems and a 1/8-inch headphone output for practicing privately. Any Sound for Any Performance EWI5000 Black comes loaded with more than 3GB of built-in high-quality sounds designed by SONiVOX. These instruments span just about every music genre and put both traditional orchestral sounds e.g. horn, brass, and woodwind and non-traditional sounds e.g. progressive synths, basses, and leads at your fingertips. EWI5000 Sound Editor Expand your creative capabilities with the EWI5000 Black Sound Editor software. This custom software editor is a powerful platform for manipulating EWI5000's sound library on your Mac or PC. Connect EWI5000 Black to your computer via USB; call up any instrument from the library; and use the filter, two LFOs, pan knob, tune control, and multiple envelopes to tweak it into something entirely new. Then, store your edits directly on your EWI5000 Black for a customized instrument library that's ready to perform whenever you are.

Color: Black


Brand: Akai Professional


Material: Horn


Model Name: EWI 5000


Item Dimensions LxWxH: 26.64 x 2.4 x 1.68 inches


Item Weight: 1.98 pounds


Product Dimensions: 26.64 x 2.4 x 1.68 inches


Country of Origin: China


Item model number: EWI 5000


Batteries: 1 D batteries required. (included)


Is Discontinued By Manufacturer: No


Date First Available: April 14, 2014


Color Name: Black


Connector Type: usb,wireless


Material Type: Horn


Instrument Key: A


Number of Keyboard Keys: 12


Proficiency Level: Professional


Battery type: Lithium Ion


Power Source: Battery Powered


Standing screen display size: 1


Frequently asked questions

If you place your order now, the estimated arrival date for this product is: Tuesday, May 14

Yes, absolutely! You may return this product for a full refund within 30 days of receiving it.

To initiate a return, please visit our Returns Center.

View our full returns policy here.

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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Wow
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
Plays beautifully. I was really impressed with the range and how many different sounds and styles you can come up with.. Great instrument.
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2023 by Carl D

  • Well, it's different!
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
I use to play the tenor sax and decided to go back to it after many years, and I'm on the senior side of life. I bought a new Jean Paul Tenor. Then I saw the Yamaha 120 EWI and bought it to practice with. Not a good idea. It simply didn't work for me. Then I came across the Akai EWI PRO Solo a month later and thought this might be something to try, per the reviews. It is much easier to play than the Yamaha. it's not a real sax, but it's lightweight, and the fingering is similar. The best part is I can put on earphones and practice without anyone yelling at me or disturbing the neighborhood. I've only had it for a few days, and the programming is not easy to learn, but it works, and I can, with a little effort play a tune. It is an instrument one has to learn how to play, don't expect it to be like a standard instrument, which in my case is a Tenor Sax. Oh yeah, it has like 200 different instruments one can play on it. So, I shouldn't get bored. I'm going to keep it, For the money it seems like a good investment. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2023 by Trapshooter

  • Sounds great, well built, good price
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Wireless Connectivity
At some point you need to upgrade to newer versions of these types of devices for compatibility, new sound options, etc. Advise - get a good case. These types of instruments are not very road worthy, so I would not consider a gig bag/soft case, especially given the price point for this instrument. Do it right. Plenty of tutorials on YouTube. Built-in sounds are pretty good. Overall, I am happy with my purchase. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2022 by MW

  • Exactly as described and as I expected.
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
Item arrived on time well packed new and un-opened. I received my ewi solo faster than I would have through any other places estimated delivery time. I found this appealing. I would order from this seller again! Everything works perfectly. I won't review the item as there are 100s from people who's opinions are important. I am a flautist and whistle player. After changing the sensitivity and velocity to something more realistic to my accustomed play style, both needing to be considerably more sensitive, I am quite happy with my purchase! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2022 by M. Piotrowski

  • Not A Professional Grade Instrument
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
My Akai EWI 4000s stopped working and with an estimated repair cost of $300, I thought I would try the Solo. I loved the idea of the settings being in a menu instead of dials. But the Solo falls short in size, sound, wireless capability, and playability. The girth of the Solo is substantially more than the 4000s (insert jokes here). It is uncomfortably larger after playing the 4000s for years. The length is not much of an issue. The sounds are worthless other than to practice on your own. I am accustomed to Sax Brothers samples triggered through the 4000s. None of the Solo internal sounds excited me at all. To not include wireless is a major shortcoming. My workaround was to get an extension battery backup to power a CME Bud/Uhost and attach it with Velcro on the backside mostly out of sight. This added noticeable weight, but I was ok with it since it gave me wireless. The rollers are not as responsive as the 4000s. I tried lotion for the first time for better conduction with little improvement. I honestly wonder if the unit I received is defective. But as a gigging musician I can't afford to keep investigating if it's me or the Solo. I will send this back and get the 4000s repaired. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2024 by Sexy Santa

  • Great digital instrument, learning curve but worth it.
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
Absolutely loving this instrument. I played alto saxophone over 20 years ago in grade school but I remember the fingerings and most of the notes. The instrument can be set for alto, soprano or tenor sax but there is still a learning curve with the ewi style fingerings on it. There are websites and YouTube videos that can help you learn. Loving it and the various sounds its capable of creating. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2021 by Robert M

  • Arguably the best of the current electronic wind instruments
Style: Stand-alone EWI with Built-in Speaker
09.21.22—After 2 years, this EWI SOLO failed erratically. The SOLO might play for hours or it might fail immediately. Generally: The failure occurs after a few minutes of playing—there’s a pop followed by a sustained tone which cannot be stopped except by turning the SOLO off. Most often the power switch does not work, and the battery has to be removed. I Notified Akai technical support on 08.22. I sent them videos, with audio, showing the failure described above, with close ups of the power switch, fingering and blowing into the SOLO, removing and replacing the battery, etc. Akai got back to me on 11.02: "Thank you for your email and please accept our sincerest apologies for the delay in correspondence. We are currently experiencing a delay with turnaround times due to an increase in support traffic." Despite this problem, here is my original, positive, review: NOTE: The EWI SOLO was introduced August 25, 2020. Most of the reviews here, as of when I posted this note, are for instruments sold well before that date, and are not EWI SOLOs. There is a difference between early impressions and observations made after much time. However, in the month I have had the EWI SOLO, I’ve practiced over 100+ hours, had four rehearsals and played one gig, and so far I am impressed. If I could apportion stars: 4 for it as a controller (given my style of playing, the mouthpiece is not as responsive as others); 3+ for onboard programs/tones/patches (some are good some are bad; but learning to play some patches takes time, easily more than a month); and 5 for the ability to edit the programs (not as in depth as the VL70-m, better than Roland’s Aerophone Editor). With regard to the EWI SOLO, my early impressions require some context. I have been playing Yamaha’s WX5 and WX11 (wind controllers) since they were introduced in the 1990s. Unfortunately due to age, wear and tear, they are dying, and Yamaha stopped making them some years ago. As a backup, I tried Akai’s EWI 5000 in late 2014. It failed within hours: detuning, distorted notes, random programs changing by themselves, notes sustaining when not being played, etc. I had purchased it from Patchman, who had set it up. I assumed it was set up correctly, so, because it uses capacitance switching, I thought it was either me (dry or wet hands, body capacitance, etc.), something environmental (grounding—flooring: concrete, natural/synthetic carpeting, wood, etc.—humidity, temperature, etc.), what I was playing (disjunct vs. conjunct motion, fast vs slow, etc.), or the specific patch. I assumed there was something I could do that would fix the problems. But nothing recommended by Akai or suggestions on forums—Patchman had no suggestions-- i.e. nothing I did, fixed it. Patchman simply referred me to Akai. Akai replaced it, and the replacement failed in the same way. This time, I had to set it up, so that introduced a new variable. I tried everything I could think of and everything Akai suggested. I kept a journal of what I did, and what might effect things. I tried to work with Akai technical support. In the end, half a year later, Akai had sent me 5 replacement units, and all failed. They said the returned EWIs were fine. Examples of the problems were witnessed, recorded, and in several cases, videod. Despite documented problems both Akai and Patchman maintained the problem was me, “he doesn’t know what he was doing.” Akai claimed the EWI 5000s played perfectly. In 2019, after quite a few firmware updates and a Bernie Kenerson video which talked about a setting that eliminated random program changes, I bought a new EWI 5000. This was number 7. It failed within hours. Akai was no help. Bernie Kenerson and Ingo Scherzinger of Dynasample.com, tried to help, but nothing eliminated the problems—although, I must commend them for their time, assistance, and expertise. Three Roland Aerophone AE-10s all failed (detuning, dropped notes, etc.—also recorded). So that’s 10 failures out of 10 instruments. Whereas, I have had 2 WX5s and 4 WX11s, and all have worked for years! (3 died of old age, and 3 I bought used, and they are what I have been performing on for the last few years). What did these 10 malfunctioning electronic wind instruments have in common? Me and where I live. I do not believe 10 instruments bought over a span of 5 years were coincidentally defective in their manufacture. I do not believe it was me—e.g. I forgot to hit button A or turn off B. If it were something I was doing or not doing, someone should have said what: no one did. My theory is that altitude (I’m at 5200+ feet) causes or exacerbates design or manufacturing flaws in the EWI 5000 and AE10. The transducer (the device that converts air pressure changes from the mouthpiece to electrical signals) is probably vented (although, I don’t know because I have not seen it, in either instrument, nor has anyone commented about this). The nuances that it responds to (pressure, air speed, embouchure, throat and tongue positions) are remarkable and subtle. I hypothesize that there is a difference between venting at sea level (101kPa) and venting at a mile in altitude (83 kPa), which causes problems with the output signal—perhaps this could be called aliasing. I still need a either a new backup, or a new instrument to perform with. The EWI SOLO is a redesigned and retooled instrument, which also has new firmware. And that is why I purchased it. KEYWORK: The key sensitivity is somewhat erratic compared to the EWI 5000. This may be a setting issue (key delay and sensitivity), this particular instrument, or it may be me—120 hours is not much time to develop muscle memory. The capacitance switching keys and the octave rollers will take time to adjust to. There are key settings that help. Note: Key Delay helps clean up unwanted notes (sloppy fingering) but it can also work against even moderately fast tonguing. The rollers take some practice. I, for one, cannot play accurately without first applying hand cream. Goldbond works well for me; whereas Eucerin, for example, stays slippery too long (it's okay if I put it on an hour before I need to play). It is fast and easy to be sloppy. You have to be attentive to not accidentally touch keys (mostly the accidental keys--a fitting name!), which will raise or lower the pitch. MOUTHPIECE: Like all Akai EWIs, the mouthpiece is not as responsive as the WX5 or WX11 (the Roland Aerophone mouthpiece is poorly designed, it pinches the lips, and is not as responsive as the Yamahas—nor does it have pitch up). You can’t lip up/bend a note (some people can use the pitchbend plate effectively this way), but you can give the beginning pitch a little (momentary and small) bend. Keeping the mouthpiece secure between your teeth stabilizes the instrument, assisting in more accurate fingering. PITCHBEND PLATE: It does not have a pitchbend up plate, as the EWI 5000 does. PATCHES/SOUNDS: The onboard acoustic instrument patches are, to my ear, not as good as the comparable patches on the Yamaha VL70-m and the DynaSample Xpresso, and are the same as the EWI 5000, but with 100 more synth sounds. However, the other members of one group I play with thought the sounds are “richer.” Bernie Kenerson’s adjustments (for the EWI 5000), available through his website, in conjunction with the EWI SOLO editor are good tweaks, and may be better once/if he has revised them for the EWI SOLO. I’ve been using it both as a controller with both the VL70m and the Xpresso, and as a stand-alone system. CONTROLS: As for the onboard controls: The various buttons (FX, Global, Programs, etc.) are directly accessible without removing a cover; and the display window with the “encoder” (a dial that also pushes in to confirm settings) is great and, it uses whole words not abbreviations! Breaking the saved programs into 4 banks of 25 makes accessing them much easier. MIDI CONTROLLER: The EWI SOLO is set up for a USB MIDI connection. It functions well with MIDI 5-pin DIN using a USB MIDI Host (not to be confused with an inexpensive USB MIDI to 5-pin DIN adapter). DEFAULT: You can reset either the entire instrument to the factory defaults or everything but the favorite banks! This can be done on the instrument or inside the EWI SOLO Editor. SPEAKER: The speaker is not good; but for some practicing or rehearsals where you can’t be loud, it’s great feature. CASE: The EWI SOLO will not fit a soprano (or similar) case. An expandable document/drafting/drawing tube, approx. 4 1/4 " X 30-45 (this is the general size listed), makes a good case. Cut up an old yoga mat to line the tube for extra protection. If there is a strap, move the upper connection to the body of the tube, not the lid—if the lid is not secure, it won’t inadvertently come off, flipping the EWI to the ground. Update: 02.04.21, the instrument is playing as well as it did the first day I got it, no problems. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2020 by Walton Mendelson

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