Roland Aerophone (AE-10) vs. Yamaha WX-5

5839 Views 14 Replies 5 Participants Last post by notes_norton, Nov 14, 2019

SaxOnTheBeach94

Discussion Starter · Nov 11, 2019

So, I just got a minty Yamaha WX-5 with a Patchman Turbo VL70m and I am digging the flexibility of sound that the module offers.

I'm not completely sold on the overall feel of the instrument, though. I've owned an AKAI EWI 5000s in the past, and the WX-5 is definitely way more intuitive to me than the EWI ever was, but I'm having trouble getting octaves under control due to the tiny octave buttons, as well as the awkward octaves that require several buttons to be pushed down. I'm also not a huge fan of the key action; I mostly play tenor these days, so I've gotten used to a fair amount of resistance when pressing down keys.

Have any of you owned/tried both the WX-5 and the AE-10, and can you speak to the ergonomic differences between the two of them? I am a multi-instrumentalist, so I barely have time to practice sax, let alone get used to a modified fingering system.

How do the palm and table keys feel on the AE-10? How is the key action on the pearls? Is there resistance? Does the mouthpiece respond as well?

Also, have any of you used the AE-10 with the VL70m? I know you can get a USB to MIDI converter cable, but are there any connectivity issues when going into an external MIDI module rather than a DAW?

DAW users, are there any particular patch banks or programs that you like designing your sounds in? I am much more interested in modern synth sounds than in recreating acoustic instrument sounds.

I apologize if any of these subjects have been touched upon in the gigantic EWI vs. Aerophone or EWI vs. WX5 threads, but I have specifically ruled EWI out of my shoot-out here, and I have some more specific questions, as you can see.

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motteatoj

· #6 · Nov 12, 2019

I have the AE-05 and I just can’t get used to the ergos.
Bought it for traveling for work so i could do something that was akin to sax practice in hotels.
I don’t think the AE-10, although a bit bigger, would be any better, my main issue is the response of the buttons, I have not gotten the hang of it and close to simply giving up.
Even bought the SWAM sax engines to make it sound more realistic but its just not cutting it.

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motteatoj

· #10 · Nov 12, 2019

SaxOnTheBeach94 said:
So, is it specifically the button response that bothers you? How about the ergonomics of switching octaves, palm and table keys, etc? What did you like and not like about its response?

There are 2 'octave keys', one above the thumbrest, as normal, and really no issues there, it is more of a soft less slippery material than the key 'pearls/plastics'.
The second 'octave key' is programmable, which i have programmed to behave like a low A key for bari.
No issues there for me.
The regular key pearls/plastics are very cheap feeling, not weighted and have VERY limited travel.
A little heavier, or further travel would have made them easier to transition to/from a sax.
I can't compare to another EWI, as I haven't used any.
My main reason to by the AE-05 was to practice scales and fingering speed accuracy while travelling, but the ergos make that hard to do.
If you are more used to playing EWIs in general, this may not be a big deal.
If you are near a Sam Ash, go try one out, most have a demo.

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motteatoj

· #12 · Nov 13, 2019

SaxOnTheBeach94 said:
Ah, I see; thanks for your input!

I really wish I could just go to a store and try one, but there are no stores locally that carry them, and none of my friends or colleagues have one for me to try.

The limited travel and light keys is definitely a complaint I have of the Yamaha WX5, though it's leagues better than the static sensor style of the Akai EWIs.

I do wonder if the AE-05 and AE-10 have the same ergos, or if you can make adjustments to action on the AE-10.

Same ergos. Some buttons just a little further apart

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motteatoj

· #14 · Nov 13, 2019

motteatoj said:
Same ergos. Some buttons just a little further apart

BTW, the main difference between the -05. And the -10 are the sounds and quality of sounds that come with it.
That and the -05 has Bluetooth connectivity.
The sounds of the 10 are incorporated in the app for the -05, but the app is garbage and sounds are about the same.
I went with the -05 and the SWAM sax engine (which is same cost as -10 or cheaper, and sounds better with more control) and because the -05 is smaller for travel (i am a very efficient traveler).
With the -05 and the SWAM engine you have a better set up than the -10 alone.
Bluetooth is nice, but fairly useless unless you follow Chris' thread here on how to set that all up without latency, etc.

Your others option is to order one from Sam Ash or amazon and return via the return policy if no cost to you.

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