[LYJ9494]

I once considered an EWI for slient practices at night, to those who have used both, what are the key differences between the two?

 

[mmichel]

I once considered an EWI for slient practices at night, to those who have used both, what are the key differences between the two?

I haven't used both, but the major difference is that the EWI is a completely different instrument. It has different fingerings (e.g., no RH or LH palm keys) and the "keys" are capacitance-based buttons, rather than moving levers (i.e., they don't actually move, but instead operate based only on touch).

If you want to learn a new instrument to explore ways to create electronic music, then the EWI (and similar products) are great. However, they are not suitable for practicing saxophone technique.

 

[randulo]

I once considered an EWI for slient practices at night, to those who have used both, what are the key differences between the two?

Which two? I can't answer about the AE series, but between WX and YDS, there are big differences. In a nutshell, the YDS feels more like a sax and is autonomous, that is needs no cables and can make low volume sounds without disturbing anyone nearby, or use earphones. The sax sounds are very low quality and will not please a player who wants to hear saxophone sound.

EDIT: I thought EWI was electronic wind instrument? Look like it's the name of one?
Also, I don't agree 100% with you @mmichel, I think some good can come from it, but only in memorizing sequences or rhythms. The feel of a mechanical instrument has so many differences in inertia and pressures on keys, etc., as you say, it makes a big part of sax playing irrelevant on an electronic instrument. And then there's embouchure and lip and jaw pressures.

 

[mmichel]

EDIT: I thought EWI was electronic wind instrument? Look like it's the name of one?

People sometimes use it as a sort of genericized name, like Band-Aid, to refer to electronic wind controllers in general, but the EWI name actually refers to the Akai EWI (who own the trademark).

 

[mmichel]

@mmichel, I think some good can come from it, but only in memorizing sequences or rhythms. The feel of a mechanical instrument has so many differences in inertia and pressures on keys, etc., as you say, it makes a big part of sax playing irrelevant on an electronic instrument. And then there's embouchure and lip and jaw pressures.

Note that in my response to @LYJ9494 above, I was referring specifically to the Akai EWI (with its different fingerings and touch-based interface), not to wind controllers in general.

I haven't played the YDS-150, but it seems like it could be useful for building finger technique. If nothing else, the fingerings are the same (including altissimo) and the keys are mechanical levers.

 

[MartinMusicMan]

I have a WX, an AE-10, and an Akai EWI Solo. I don't have a YDS. I use the EWI to work out melodies, scales, soloing over changes for tunes I'm working one. The AE and YDS both have a sax-like mouthpiece but neither one has a mouthpiece and reed that functions like a real mouthpiece and reed on a sax so neither one is useful for developing sax embouchure, breath control and support, tone, articulation, and so forth. The AE and YDS both have palm keys so they can be useful for practicing fingering of tunes and scales. None of these electronic instruments is useful for practicing saxophone technique beyond fingering.

 

[randulo]

@mmichel I wasn't familiar with those rockship looking gadgets Agreed!
@MartinMusicMan I was just now playing the WX5 and it's been so long, I keep trying to hit the palm keys. The YDS doesn't have that problem, at least.

I guess the main question here is whether it's worth the price tags if you're just wanting to practice silently? As the owner of two of them, I'd say no, not if that's the only goal. But as mmichel said, if you want to learn a new instrument, it might be. I like messing with the YDS a lot and its sounds can work if limited to very short sections or cleverly mixed with effects. I bought the gear to make the WX5 wireless, and with the better sounds and a lip sensor, I need to practice that one more. But it does steal time from the real saxes.

 

[MartinMusicMan]

The other wind synth that's popular now is the Roland Aerophone Pro AE-30. There are threads about it on this forum, a Facebook group called iSax, and numerous videos on Youtube. I'd probably own one except for the price - $1500. My Akai EWI Solo was $500, it has 200 sounds in it and a 7-octave range. I use a guitar wireless transmitter/receiver pair to a Samson portable battery powered speaker. It's a lot of fun.

 

[randulo]

I use a guitar wireless transmitter/receiver pair

Same here for the YDS. I have yet to play either in public, but then those occsions are rare these days.

 

[SleepIsWrong]

I've had mine for one day. I agree with most of the downsides mentioned in this thread and have determined it is most def not for me. Not Yamaha's fault I failed to do my due diligence!

Mike

 

[randulo]

I've had mine for one day. I agree with most of the downsides mentioned in this thread and have determined it is most def not for me. Not Yamaha's fault I failed to do my due diligence!

Mike

As they seem to be out of stock in most areas, returning it may make someone's day. Definitely not for everyone.

 

[111518]

OK, so I've decided to get one. Saxophone fingering is not intuitive to me, in fact, that it is not linear is maddeningly counter-intuitive, and I just need more time with a horn in my hands running scale and arpeggio fingerings. I spent some time yesterday checking for availability and making offers. It's pretty clear that Yamaha is enforcing MAP, so, the best price is $799.00 with free shipping. (Alto Music advertised the YDS150 on Reverb as part of a 10% off sale, so more like $720, but, by the time I decided to pull the trigger, the ad was gone, and they wouldn't accept even a paid pre-order at that price.

So ... here's my question. The few used ones that I've seen are priced around $750.00, sometimes plus shipping. This seems high to me, since I assume any warranty is not transferable. I wonder too that if there are upgrades they might be limited to original owners. (Although Serafino is probably right that Yamaha will eventually offer a new model rather than upgrade this one.) Seems to me that even when buyers quickly decided ... nah... and the instrument is mint but open box, the price should be at least 10% off the price at which new ones are readily available and have a warranty.

I guess the answer to this will be determined by whether those listed at $750 sell, but, what do you think? I'm mainly waiting to find one in stock with a dealer I've worked with that is not a big box; I don't think $50 off the price for a new one delivered is enough for me to consider a used one. What do you think?

 

[Serafino]

Given the potential for things to go wrong with these I agree that absent encouraging information from Yamaha about honoring warranties for 2nd owners, you are better off waiting for a new one. The pricing for used ones is reflecting scarcity. There will be high priced used ones like that even after they start showing up for $650 every three months on Ebay. The top end of the used market always seems to be a game of waiting for the "right" buyer, the lower prices come in when there's a trickle of people wanting a quick sale.

 

[bugeyes]

Help with Yamaha YDS-150. When I connect a cable to the 1/8" headphone output and then to my sound system (1/4" input), I get extremely low volume. If I slightly pull out the 1/8" cable from the sax he volume is much louder, closer to normal. Am I using the wrong cable? The balanced / unbalanced stuff confuses me. Thanks in advance.

 

[randulo]

My guess is you're using a mono cable? I believe the audio out jack is stereo.

 

[bugeyes]

My guess is you're using a mono cable? I believe the audio out jack is stereo.

Thanks. I checked and it is a stereo cable. Wondering if it has something to do with the sound system input being "hi-Z". Got a 1/8" stereo to XLR today, will try tonight. Thanks for the reply.

 

[randulo]

Thanks. I checked and it is a stereo cable. Wondering if it has something to do with the sound system input being "hi-Z". Got a 1/8" stereo to XLR today, will try tonight. Thanks for the reply.

I've experienced what you're talking about on other audio 1/8" jacks, especially with phones. When that happened, it was because someting got in the way of the male being completely inserted (or being too far in) so the alignment wasn't touching the connectors. Although I haven't ever used the audio out, I did test it with various cables and it worked fine. I used this to be able to go into an amp, for example.

 

[mariomarcelo]

Hi good morning and thanks to be part of this group , I have the YAMAHA YDS-150 and Im tryng to configure more fingering or extra fingering ( I dont know if somebody plya the WX5 ) this allows to play the D5 to Ab5 whit ansd extra fingering wich was very usefull , at list the new yamaha allows you to create this fingerings but when i write the D5 is ok then I create the Eb5 also but when i Try to create the E5 the others fingerings when out and the E fingering replace the others , to me I think something is wrong becuase if the app allows you to do this is imposible you only can add 2 extra notes fingering and no more , I beg if somebody did this or know the correct way to tell me please , I have the AE-30 too and I did this fingering without any problem and pepople in Yamaha Spain seem to dont know nothing about this , which is incredible really
Thanks to all

 

[mjvictor]

Just to be clear, I'm talking about making it feel more free-blowing by bleeding off air. It's already way more restricted than any sax. I've also decided to stick with modding the existing 'reed'. Cheap to replace, extra included with the instrument, wood would get nasty over time, and sourcing a suitable plastic is unnecessary trouble.

I'm going to try a recorder mouthpiece wrapped in something to silence the "whistle."What I'm doing now is wrapping an alto mouthpiece to reduce the air input to a small opening. Then I can articulate much more easily.

 

[Serafino]

I'm going to try a recorder mouthpiece wrapped in something to silence the "whistle."What I'm doing now is wrapping an alto mouthpiece to reduce the air input to a small opening. Then I can articulate much more easily.

You're getting a whistling sound when you use the plastic reed and the regular mouthpiece? That does not happen for me. I do get a bit of whistle with a hole drilled in the reed, but the benefit of a more sax-like blowing experience outweighs that to the point I haven't bothered to find a way to silence it.