Roland has released a new firmware for these two instruments. LOTS of amazing new features, and new sounds.
Category Archives: Roland Aerophone
New Electrowinds Presets for FREE iOS Synthesizers
Stef does some wild things on his YouTube channel. And now he’s come out some free patches for some free iOS synth apps. Very cool stuff. Check him out.
Roland Aerophone Pro V2.0
Roland is not sitting on it’s butt. It is really moving forward with making the Aerophone Pro THE new standard in Wind Controller.
They just released firmware 2.0 for it, and it takes things to another level. We now can finally get new sounds, patches, and even draw from a bunch of things from the Roland Cloud.
I mean, this is really what it should be. It Akai…..WTF……you’ve had DECADES of EWI under your belt, but you NEVER did anything with it. You created a crap ass editor (that no longer works on Mac), but never tied it into your ecosystem. BRAVO Roland for this. It’s is great.
HOWEVER……..why do we have to transfer these files with a F-ing USB drive??? I mean…..what is this…..1990? There is USB C on this thing. Why don’t you have a program that runs (say, I dunno, Roland Cloud), that can transfer the files over a USB C cable from a computer. Why do we have this archaic boot holding down the menu key, and having a USB C drive connected. It’s stupid.
I’m HOPING this gets addressed in the next update. But seriously though, this is great stuff. I banked on Roland and it’s sound engine, and was hoping for something like this. They delivered with a Librarian function in the last update, but this takes it to another level.
Akai……seriously…….you need to fire your current team on the EWI. You need to put a synthesis engine BACK into the EWI (not a F-ing sample player), and get back in the game. There is NO REASON anyone should be buying the current offerings from Akai. If you can get a 4000S, get it, but……the 5000s and the Solo are dead ends. Roland is the new leader in this space.
For the Very Best Virtual Instrument (not synth) Sounds Go External
I have played EWI’s from way back when you still needed a rackmounted processor for your EWI, to EWI USB, and EWI-4000s, but unsatisfied with the built in sounds I searched and was disappointed until I found samplemodeling.com They had not only the best woodwind and brass sounds, but their software had specific settings for Windcontrollers. More recently one part of this incredibly creative group split off to form audiomodeling (using their own SWAM engine). Go to their web sites and check it out with your own ears.
You can also check out my soundcloud page here:
https://soundcloud.com/dstong
I’ve recently bought a Roland Aerophone AE-10 and the built trumpet, violin, harmonica, clarinet, bassoon etc. are far superior to anything I have ever heard built in to any other wind controller. However, I have major problems with the octave key. I thought it was only because I am so used to the octave rollers on the EWI instruments, but some reviews I read recently written by people who have never played an EWI have the same complaints. I have gotten better with some practdice, but it is very frustrating to put it mildly. The pricey Aerophone AE-30 is supposed to have improved the octave keys as well as all of the other keys as well and the synth sounds, which don’t interest me that much, are also said to be improved.
Review – Koldot Digital Wind Instrument Holder
Having a stand for your EWI is a good thing. For a while, I had a modified guitar stand for my EWI4000s I was using. I even had a little basket thing I 3D printed for it affixed to the stand. It was hacky, and not very portable.
Fast forward to post COVID in California, and me having a Aerophone Pro AE-30 now as my primary controller. I need a stand for it if I’m going on a gig, or just playing it. So, I found this one on Amazon. Koldot Digital Wind Instrument Holder.
This stand works great. It’s small, folds out easily, and more importantly, FITS INSIDE THE AEROPHONE PRO CASE.
Win, win, and win. Oh, and it’s cheap. $30 on Amazon.
It also works with Akai EWIs and probably other Aerophones as well.
If you are looking for a stand, check this one out.
Aerophone Pro AE-30 First Impressions
Ok, so I bought a late Christmas present for myself. An Aerophone AE-30. Finally received it this week.
So, first impressions. Good things first.
- I LOVE that they included a case. As a Akai EWI 4000 owner, it was a PAIN IN THE ASS to find a case for it. I did find a case made by Ritter-bags (soprano bag) that I love. But the AE-30 comes with a bag. Points scored.
- Mouthpiece. It actually sort is like a saxophone. A reed, and you can lip things up and down. Very nice.
- The sounds are great. The synth sounds really are top notch. Even the “trumpet” and other sampled/emulated sounds are very good.
- Playing response is great. Articulation, etc. Top notch.
- iOS app is nice. They don’t have a computer editor key as far as I can see. And no apparent way to share your patches or save them for backups or future reference. Not sure if it does a SysEx dump.
- Bluetooth Midi.
Now the things so far I do not like.
- It feels cheap. For a $1500 instrument, it feels cheap and plastic. Like, it feels like a toy. I know the Akai 4000 has plastic, but it feels WAY more solid and “PRO” than the AE-30. I’d fear taking the AE-30 out on a gig…..it might break.
- The keys are terrible. I complained on a couple of YouTube videos about the key noise. It is real. They keys are also rather….meh. I mean, they seem to be sluggish. I think the noise and the sluggishness are tied together. With some use perhaps it will go away? Or maybe some like silicone lube perhaps? Not sure. Not a fan at all of the keys.
- Speakers are lame. Still not sure why they have them on it. Perhaps if they got rid of it they could have slimed it down some.
Those are the impressions so far. A little disappointed by the build quality. More to come…..
Roland AE-30
Roland has released another in their line of Aerophone Digital Wind Instruments. You have the Aerophone AE-10, the Aerophone GO, the Aerophone mini, and now the Aerophone Pro (AE-30).
Retailing for a whopping $1500, it does have a lot of things going for it. It seems to really embrace the synth part more than it’s previous models, or anything Yamaha or Akai is offering up. Sure, there is a lot of cheezy “sax sounds”, and other sampled sounds, but their is also a “zen core synthesis system” which Roland uses in the Phantom and Jupiter X synth lines. This is very cool. And easily puts it way past other EWIs on the market. You’d have to somehow obtain an Akai EWI4000s (which Akai discontinued) to get a synth engine, and it’s not even in the league of the Roland’s. Plus it has Bluetooth MIDI on it. And can be configured from an editor app on your tablet.
Basically, THIS IS THE WIND CONTROLLER you should get. It has the best of everything on it. Sampled sounds, and a synth engine so you can do………pretty much anything.
The ONLY….complaints are the price $1499 is really steep (and it’s mostly plastic…..and at least one reviewer didn’t like the plastic mouthpiece), the insistence of having a built in speaker (why?……I can see this for the “non pro” ones….but the pro? How about losing that and adding a better mouthpiece (ebonite maybe?) or maybe wireless audio from it?) and that these seems to be a lot of key noise. Like cheap sounding key noise.
Would I get this? YES. This is the direction wind controllers/Electronic Wind Instruments should be going. A powerful engine where you can do sampled sounds, but you can also create new sounds. And it’s not looking like some sort of franken-sax. It’s worth the investment. Get something good. Get this.
Mainstage Effects for EWI
I like how he’s using Mainstage, and another controller taped(?) to his EWI. Wild stuff!
Using an EWI as a “Practice” For Woodwinds
Bret Pimentel has a great article about using an EWI as “silent” practice tool for saxophone, clarinet, or other woodwinds.
I agree with his view point.
Roland Aerophone AE-10
Roland has introduced a new Digital Wind Instrument. Awesome!
All the saxophone sounds you need in one instrument
Nothing beats the sound of your favorite acoustic sax, but sometimes its tone might not be quite right for the job at hand. Whatever scenario you’re playing in, the Roland Aerophone AE-10 has the onboard digital sax sounds you need. Choose from alto, tenor, soprano, and baritone sax types that all respond just like their acoustic counterparts to your playing dynamics and articulation, thanks to Roland’s advanced SuperNATURAL modeling technology. Alongside individual sounds, you can pull off a seamless performance with the Full Range feature, automatically switching between sax types by key range.