Hi, this is Steve Scheinberg from the Baltimore, MD area. Found this site, and am newly registered. Looking forward to the discussions and sharing of hints/tips/problems/solutions, etc.
I’m a long time jazz sax player, playing pro gigs in this area. I started with a Yamaha WX-11 and Yamaha VL70m with the Patchman chip a little more than a year ago. Just “moved up” to the EWI 5000.
Finding the adjustment to the new horn not too terrible at all. The WX-11 already acclimated me to the concept of multiple octave keys. Just getting used to the rollers.
Couple quick observations:
As expected, I can play “faster” on the EWI than the WX. I currently have the DL (delay) set to 5 to get the best balance of speed and cleanliness. That may change.
I’m more comfortable transposing up and down octaves on the EWI. Since there’s no thumb rest, it’s less awkward to “re-home” my thumb on the fly.
Gotta stop hitting the left hand bis key when playing a C!!!!
In general, have to learn to not touch keys I don’t mean to touch.
Vibrato still more difficult to get right on the EWI than the WX. With the WX, it’s more natural for a sax player.
I’m really not wild about the built in sounds on the EWI at the moment. I’ll have to see if I can come up with maybe 2 or 3 “go-to” voices in the event I don’t want to take my VL70m on a particular gig. Hoping Patchman comes up with a set. The VL70m is still in play! May upgrade that to a Motif Rack XS at some point, but the internal EWI sounds are no match for the VL70m.
I saw an article suggesting the removal of the middle right-pinky key. I’d favor that. I took out the screw, and the key did not just pop out. Did not want to force it! Should it come off without it breaking if I pull a little harder??
I do miss the WX’s alternate fingerings that let you jump to several notes in the next octave without changing the octave key. It’s true what many people say — The WX is more sax-like. But as I mentioned, the EWI can be adjusted to with practice.
Looking forward to trying the computer-based editor to maybe tweak some of the internal voices. Might like them better once I doctor them. Seems kind of stupid the way some are voiced in the “wrong” octave, and you have to “home” your octage key thumb up an octave from the default home rollers. I think I can fix that with the editor… right? The VL70m voices are MOSTLY set in the right “home” octave.
Thanks for letting me post, and I look forward to joining the discussions.
— Steve