Thanks Rick. Gonna read it now.

If you will direct me to those page 3 & 4 complaints I will take a look at them.  I looked at Amazon and there are a number of EWI-USB pages.

However two things do come to mind:
1-on other sites a lot of people are having problems with the ASIO4ALL drivers when using other software and/or hardware.  I am using my Roland Octa-Capture's native ASIO drivers and like I said I have had no problems what so ever.

2-I am using the latest Aria player and EWI software.  Maybe those with problems were using the original software and they are not compatible with Win 7 or 8.  I don’t know as I had the upgrades prior to getting Win 7.

I will help in any way that I can.

Good luck.
 
{EDIT}-FYI Patchmanmusic.com forums have a lot of info on the EWI-USB.  You might want to check it out.

Hi MarioD,
 
Yes there were several having problems that were related to audio and latency. I just wrote those off as people not using proper sound cards and ASIO drivers. That should not be an issue here.
 
My concerns were people that complained about the Aria software not working properly on Win 7. I probably will never use the Aria player as a sound source/player but I believe that you have to use it to set the EWI USB midi configurations up for the controller.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like:
 
- The EWI USB controller uses class-compliant USB drivers and really does not require any Akai drivers be loaded for it to send default midi control to other vsti's?
 
- You have to use the Aria player to re-configure the EWI USB controller midi parameters or to customize it. You can then send that configuration to the controller and it will be saved unless you change the configuration in the Aria player. After this you would no longer have to use the Aria player if you are using the EWI USB as a midi controller within Sonar to control other VSTi's?
 
I really appreciate you spending the time to help out here.
 
Kind regards,
Rick
 
 

You are correct in that the EWI-USB uses class-compliant USB drivers, that you need the Aria software to change the EWI-USB settings and you no longer need said software after the change.

The supplied Aria does contain some decent sounds.  When one mixes a tenor sax with a little Alto flute you get a super late 50’s deep sax sound with a little airy breath with it. There are some others as well so I wouldn’t necessary write it off without trying it first.

It’s been quite a while since I installed that software.  Is there any way I can check to see if I installed in the XP compatibility mode?  When I checked the exe’s compatibility tab is shows that compatibility is unchecked but a grayed out XP SP3 is shown in its window.

I hope this helps!

Thank You again for the in depth info on the EWI USB. This info was quite helpful.
 
Kind regards,
Rick
 
p.s. Just want to Thank jimusic for letting me swamp your original thread. Sorry about the off-topic posts.
 

Ha - great thread !
 
Re: samplemodeling saxes;
- these are Great saxes - have become my GO To Saxes for anything I want any kind of realistic sound to.
 
Also thanks to you others regarding the EWI info ... I've been thinking about getting one of these, but also wondered if it would work properly under Win7/64. Unfortunately the authorized dealer here does not have a good support track record with me, or anyone else I know who deals with them.
 
Thanks for the great info guys.
 
 
Cheers - Cliff

Sorry for the delay on these Mario. 
If still interested:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-Instrument-Sythesizer-Controller/product-reviews/B001MTKAD0/ref=cm_cr_pr_btm_link_3?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=3&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending
 
http://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-Instrument-Sythesizer-Controller/product-reviews/B001MTKAD0/ref=cm_cr_pr_top_link_4?ie=UTF8&pageNumber=4&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=byRankDescending
 
 

rtucker55
 
Rick
 
...p.s. Just want to Thank jimusic for letting me swamp your original thread. Sorry about the off-topic posts...
 

No Problem Rick.
 
Meanwhile, I found an alternative, guys. It picks up where the Yamaha BC3A left off, and it seems that some are using it with the SampleModeling Saxes.
 
...We have received numerous requests from musicians and composers to develop a replacement for Yamaha's breath controller BC3A...
 
http://www.tecontrol.se/p...midi-breath-controller
 
 

Jim, those are very bad reviews for sure!  Fortunately I did not have any of those problems. But I have had mine for a few years now and I wonder if they haven’t cheapened the product so much that it is now a toy?  I hope not as it is a good instrument, at least mine is.

The Tecontrol looks like a great replacement for the BC3 and the fact that it is USB is the icing on the cake.
 
I have an EWI USB coming from Sweetwater Thursday so I will let you know what I find out. It should be, well, interesting at least.
 
I also played trumpet back in the stone ages, still remember the fingerings, so I will try to set it up that way to give it a test. Hmmm, that is a Bb instrument isn't it... midi transpose may come in handy here at first.