Synth Gear

Although the EWI 5000 and 4000s can be played with nothing more than a pair of headphones for private listening, they're also versatile MIDI controllers which can work with any number of external synthesizers.

Here's what I have in my kit:

• an Akai EWI 4000s (I used to have an EWI 5000, but it was a disappointment and I've since given it away.)

• a Protec soprano sax case and a smaller, custom-sized case purchased on eBay (since Akai doesn't provide or sell EWI cases themselves)

• a MIDIJet Pro wireless MIDI interface

• a Lenovo Thinkpad X201T laptop with
  • Brainspawn Forte (a now-discontinued VST host program)
  • software synthesizers from Sample Modeling, Audio Modeling and Wallander Instruments
  • a Native Instruments Komplete Audio 6 audio interface (the ca. 2011 original, not the newer MK2 model)

• an SKB 4U shallow rack case (mine is an older model; the one linked here is newer and better), containing:
  • a Yamaha VL70-m synthesizer with the Patchman "Turbo" upgrade chip
  • a Roland JV-1010 synthesizer with volume 2 of the Patchman sound bank
  • a Behringer Eurorack Pro RX1602 mixer
  • an ART PS 4x4 power distribution system

• a second Yamaha VL70-m synthesizer with the Patchman chip

• a Peavey KB 2 keyboard amplifier

• a Behringer Eurolive B205D powered speaker and K&M microphone stand

• a RocknRoller "Micro" R2RT cart with deck and optional shelf, for use with the rack case and Peavey amplifier

• a Roland UM-1G USB MIDI interface (not needed for the EWI 5000; for the EWI 4000s, this is one way to connect to a computer in order to edit, save or load sounds produced by the built-in synthesizer)

• cables (instrument cables, power cables, MIDI cables, USB cables, adapter cables, ...well, you get the idea :-)

If you're just starting out, please don't despair – you can get by with a lot less than this, and you don't need to buy all the components simultaneously anyway. In my own case I've been buying pieces one at a time for several years, and probably won't stop any time soon. :-)

For details, here are the gear combinations I actually use in real-life situations, as well as a look back at how this collection evolved over time. The latter may be especially helpful to people who would prefer to avoid the mistakes I made as I learned what actually was and wasn't useful. :-)

[ SMW, October 2020 ]