Full Disassembly Of A Nasty AKAI EWI 4000s

Got it from Ebay - Wanted to refurbish and clean it before use.
Complete disassembly of the instrument. Reassembly will be in the next episode of this micro series.
I tried to cut it down as much as possible but it still got quite long.
More AKAI 5000s Content:
1) Fixing latching sounds
• AKAI EWI 5000s latchin...
2) Improvements for the device
• 7+1 Improvements to th...

[@MemoxWasHere]

You don't know how many gigs and wallets you saved with this single video. Thank you.

[@jimmeusey7110]

I purchased a new 4000, strictly an amateur player, for my own pleasure and to annoy the cat. I clean my mouth piece fairly regularly, and I found early on that there was a lot of moisture build up in the plenum. I added 2 "O" rings to the nipples in the EWI body that provide a better seal between the mouth piece and the body. I found them at a small engine repair shop. A couple of dollars bought enough for spares. That eliminated the sound of air leak around the mouth piece and the amount of moisture in mouth piece. It should reduce the risk of hardware corrosion as well. But absolutely clean the mouth piece and the tubes regularly. They're both just small tubular petri dishes.

[@DrDaab]

Fantastic ! Thanks so much for showing us how the EWI-4000s can be disassembled. Very useful for any repairs ! ! ! ! PS I think you said the bend plate works via Infrafred, but I believe it is also capacitive just like all of the keys.

[@chriszyweck9969]

Thanks so much for this disassembly. I had the same problem where a screw came loose inside my EWI and this vid was sooo helpful for fixing it.

[@chancellorcamel1144]

Thanks for making this video. I couldn't find any good guides for taking apart an ewi and this video was very helpful. Thank you very much.

[@peterommes4360]

Thanks a lot. I had the same problem so I did it step for us all to have a guide in the future - even me if I have to take it apart in the future ;)

[@bob-rogers]

Thank you!! I didn't really think I'd find a step by step video for how to take apart my EWI, but I figured it was worth a shot. My MIDI in wasn't working so I figured it was probably a bad solder joint but when I got it apart they looked fine. When I put it back together it worked again. Maybe it was that connector on the board or something.

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?

[@waltergeorge2719]

Excellent, daring video. Any suggestions on where one might be able to find a ewi 4000s internal battery pack cover ( not outside cover) that Akai lists as out of stock ? Thank you.

[@peterommes4360]

Sorry. I do nothave stock parts my own. I suggest to have the parts simply printed..

[@olivierherment1188]

condensation and sweat are the enemy of EWI, even cold. I had to play in very cold rooms, surprisingly like other wind instruments it had to be warm to be effective.

[@waltergeorge2719]

Peter, thanks again for these great videos. Is there a way a person could contact you directly other than posting here, as there is a specific question I wanted to ask you about this project ? Thank you. Hope you are having an enjoyable Holiday season.

[@camelCased]

I'm currently building my own wireless EWI MIDI controller using Arduino and Teensy. This video is useful to have in-depth view how Akai does it. Although I'd like to have a Roland-style mouthpiece with an optical sensor. The electronics part will be pretty easy to do, there are many tutorials. However, the mechanical part is tricky, will need some tricky design and 3D printing. So, I really would like to find a broken Akai or Roland EWI for cheap just to replace its internals with my own. But these things are difficult to find on ebay as cheap used and "for parts". The cheapest options are from Japan, and with shipping they still cost more than a custom 3D printed case would be. So I guess I'll have to do everything from scratch.

[@peterommes4360]

Sounds great! Good luck! Please let us know what you came up with.

[@camelCased]

@@peterommes4360 For inspiration on what can be done, I suggest taking a look at this guy's demo: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3S7m3R6n66AZ9U He's really innovative, I haven't seen such kind of pitch bend and MIDI controls on any other EWI.

[@loghead2437]

Will you add an EWI solo to your list of disassembly videos please? I cannot figure out how to disassemble mine to fix an issue I have with my octave roller. I’m scared of breaking the screen.

[@peterommes4360]

I would love to. But I do not have one :(

[@loghead2437]

@@peterommes4360 shoot. Well I look forward to the day you do get your hands on one.

[@AdrianCrutchfieldMusic]

Hello Peter, thanks for this video. have you ever done repairs for other players?

[@peterommes4360]

Hi Adrian, nope I just worked on the two EWI

[@jimihendrix4376]

Did you ever make the Re Assembly video? I cant seem to find it.

[@peterommes4360]

No I did not. Since it is basically just the reverse of what I have shown, I thougth it is not interesting enough. Maybe I was wrong

[@uweseyfert4302]

Hi Peter, mein 4000 verändert plötzlich die Sounds, wenn ich die Bank neu lade klingt sie wieder gut aber verändert sich nach 1-2 Minuten wieder. Ich frage mich ob es eine Batterie auf der Platine gibt, die ich tauschen müsste. Gibt es eine? Wo ist sie in deinem Video zu sehen? Vielen Dank, Uwe

[@peterommes4360]

Hi Uwe, den Fehler kenne ich noch nicht. Ich kann mich nicht erinnern auf der Platine eine Batterie gesehen zu haben, die dieses Verhalten erklären würde. Beste Grüße

[@uweseyfert4302]

@@peterommes4360 Schade, dann hab ich keine Hoffnung mehr, aber dir vielen Dank für die nette schnelle Hilfe!

[@uweseyfert4302]

Kennst du jemanden der EWIs repariert?

[@peterommes4360]

@@uweseyfert4302 Leider nicht. Darum habe ich ja die Videos gemacht, damit andere zumindest eine Ausgangsbasis haben.

[@MiljanBojovic]

3:44 That sounded like a ship horn!

[@peterommes4360]

You have a range of 7? octaves. If the thumb is not connected it assumes you want to play in the lowest octave.

[@alphabeets]

Clearly not a good idea to try to do this! I will hire a professional to repair my EWI!

[@DanHillman]

I cannot find a pro who will touch it. I have 2 4000s and a 5 and ALL have issues. Why did they make them so hard to dismantle!!!!

[@DanHillman]

I actually did it last night and managed to strip it very easily. It’s back together and working perfectly! Thanks again OP!

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?

[@Peter-q8r]

Hi i have an ewi 4000s and i have oo error on display and dont work anything cam you help me ?