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I pulled this instrument out of the box with some speculations to say the least. However after about 30 mins of getting adjusted to the sensitivity and adjusting it to my preferences, I was amazed with how fluid my ideas where coming out. The fingering pattern is basically that of a saxophone with some slight variations, but with some practice you will be flying through 7 octaves. I am still experimenting with sounds, amps and effects. However the sounds that come with the unit are very nice and you can use the headphone jack to practice. I am still learning all of the possibilities that this instrument can do and am amazed with it everyday.

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AKAI got it right! I have earlier EWIs and this new EWI has features many wind-synth players have wanted and waited years for. Read the specs for yourself. Understand that the sounds on this thing are great. Hear samples on http://www.ewi-evi.com/4000s-samples.htm. Also download the manual so you can see what it is capable of doing http://www.ewi-evi.com/manuals/EWI4000s-manual.pdf. The one minor bug they're fixing. However, all upgrades and newer features can be downloaded . It plays great with an excellent feel and EWI players no longer have to lug around a separate sound module. I can't say enough about it. Listen to the samples and try one then decide for yourself. I know you'll like it.

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I bought my ewi4000s about 8 months ago and have trouble putting it down. The possibilities blow my mind. You could take it into a pit and play through a reed book as long as you have a decent sound module. The range is just awesome. It has brought me into the world of electronic music and my wallet is seeing the effects. To perform with it, you need an amp or a pa. It is also nice to have some external sound modules and synths so you can do some layering. If you aren't wanting to dive into performance with it, you can use it to practice and simply plug in headphones and make no noise doing it. I chose the EWI over Yamahas controller because I didn't want something that felt like a sax. With no moving keywork, you are not going to break anything. The mouthpiece is also different between the two. For me the EWI was the way to go. Thinking of the possibilities, the price is nothing.

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I bought the EWI back in February and I was so excited to get it. (There is) just a lot of equipment to get for it. You either have to get an amp (pocket or real size) adapter if you don?t use batteries, if you don?t like the preset 80 sounds, a controller. It is great to give as different voice in most settings, great practice for sax players. To go an easier route you can buy a midi cord and patch thru most keyboards to use the keyboards sounds that are on there. Good purchase but you have to go into it as an investment.