3 replies to this topic

[Spectrum]

I was at the mother-in-laws over Easter just gone and watched Leonard Cohen's recent Live In London DVD.



Great band, but what struck me was the significant use of electronics despite his music's origins stemming back to 1960s folk.



Spotted Roland V-Drums, a Nord Lead (if I recall correctly) and an Akai EWI4000S Wind Controller for all the sax/oboe/clarinet-esque work.



Wow! This thing was sounding great! While my experiences with wind instruments didn't get past the 3rd grade at school playing the obligatory recorder, I want one.

Thinking to have such control of volume envelopes (breathe soft/hard while the note plays) makes for unbeatable expressiveness.

And they seem like great value too, around USD$700 for the controller itself with Built-in Analog Modeling Synth sound module.
http://www.zzounds.c...em--AKAEWI4000S

Anyone have experience with Wind Controllers? Ol' Capt'n Terrific, I'm looking at you! :

[Captain Terrific]

wind controllers i've never bothered with.

i play all the instruments they emulate!!

altho i do have one of these in my cupboard...



Yamaha BC3A Breath Controller

[Captain Terrific]

actually, i used to do a show with a Mr Paul Desmond (awesome sax player) who would rip out a Yammy WX5 and jam along with the dex - i had a go and found it to be a bit of fun, tho i prefer the real thing!



If i couldn't play a keyboard this is probably how i would've gotten midi controlling into my setup

[Spectrum]

Cool. Seemed like a really great thing to check out. But thinking it might be a major headache too as it'd just about be a brand new instrument to learn coming from someone with next to no experience. From what I've read, even for experienced players, it's still like learning a new instrument for them too. Hmmm... will need a whole lot more disposable income then I have now to even give this idea any more thought.