GREATEN MUSIC AP300 - Electronic Wind Instrument & MIDI Controller

[@foybert]

Very interesting indeed. I recently started playing a Roland Aerophone AE-30 wind synth myself. It does take a lot of getting used to, but having all those different sounds and effects available really gives me a lot of flexibility!

[@WOFan]

Very brilliant demonstration, very clear and pleasant, also complete. Thanks a lot for the video !

[@mheermance]

The drum sounds coming out of a synthesizer wind instrument was pretty trippy. Other than that it looks kinda neat.

[@chiphap9594]

Great review bought one recently and i am a newbie in learning musical instruments so i will see what i can learn. Hopefully someone can make tutorial videos for newbies like me😊

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

I also made a lot of videos about AP300. Please visit my channel to learn more.

[@bluedragontoybash2463]

use tutorial video for saxophone it will help a lot

[@cleanthe3276]

Another interesting instrument , the more there are the more we have the choice of which one is good for us 😄👍

[@scottmorris4914]

Good review. For the tin whistle player I can see this as an instrument for someone who likes to play around, outside of playing traditional tin whistle. For the beginner tin whistle player, it takes away the learning pice of dealing with breath control. it would be interesting to see what happens if a person uses this to learn to play, and then tries a real tin whistle.

[@rjones1357]

Thanks for reviewing the instrument. It looks like they have very recently released a pro version of this product so expect a little more traffic, I guess.

[@-RONNIE]

It is very interesting & thank you for the review on it 👍🏻

[@AndrewKennedyMusicOfficial]

I have the original model of that . Mine says Akai on the side and it's still working after 20 years of use. Mine doesn't have those naff sounding samples though. Mine sounds like the real thing.

[@ericdano]

It should have a slide bar on the left thumb. It is basically a clone of the Akai 4000/5000, and those have a slide if you move your left thumb along the metal strip.

[@hsitz]

Not sure what you saw, but she pointed out the slide bar alongside the octave rollers, which seems to be same as 4000/5000. Plus there's the joystick under right thumb, which doesn't exist on 4000/5000 and which I would say is an improvement on EWI design.

[@ericdano]

@@hsitz Yes, the joystick is better than the weird think sensor thing in an 4000S. I see two metal strips where the octave rollers are. If it is really a clone of the 4000S, then those should function as a slider. I have my 4000S set up that way, and it works really well.

[@rjones1357]

I was looking at your use of the octave rollers. It appears you are trying to position your thumb on top of the rollers instead of in between the rollers. It is possible I am not correct but this was your first day playing the instrument. The rollers are probably the most unwoodwind type feature on the instrument.

[@rjones1357]

Any chance for a follow-up video? It seems like there was some recent news regarding the Warbl MIDI controller as well.

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

@@rjones1357 I have a WARBL and a video for it, but I don't have any updates on it unfortunately.

[@rjones1357]

@@CutiepieTinWhistle I think Warbl2 has been released. There was also an updated version or release of the Greaten AP300.

[@alenaadler8242]

What about a side by side comparison of these two brands? Love your content! @cutiepietinwhistle

[@PhilGeissler]

Can the Glide Strip be disabled in the settings? Also is there an auto-off delay and can that be disabled? Thanks so much for the review! I'm very seriously thinking about buying one.

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

Glide strip has no setting. To disable it just don't touch the glide plate. For delay setting, you can select the value 0-15.

[@rjones1357]

@@DigitalWindInstrumentIt would be nice if the glide strip/feature has some settings including being disabled.

[@Chris_the_Muso]

Interesting. The design is similar to the Akai EWI and Stef Haynes seems to think it might even be better for a fraction of the price, including as a midi controller. My burning question is, does the dizi fingering setting understand cross fingering?. IOW can you play a flattened 7th same as you would play a C on a D whistle?.

[@Mulberry2000]

Great

[@alexandretreme]

Pads sound quite noisy when you play too. Very nice hairs by the way.

[@3Eternus]

can you please do the karate kid theme on tin whistle in tabs? 🙏🙏🙏

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

Nice review. I also made a demo of AP300 on my channel too.

[@rpc512]

Is there a pdf manual printout?

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

Not that I know of, but Greaten Music may send you one if you ask them 😊

[@rpc512]

thank you. How do you compare ap300 to the i8-Pro Digital Wind Instrument Synthesizer and the Y8 Digital Wind Instrument Synthesizer. Based on authentic sounds? Really liked you review.

[@jantonisito]

Judas! ;-) Seriously interesting offer for someone who wants to jump into EWIs

[@aarphi1984]

Im just way too curious : why 127?!? 😂

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

I have no idea 😂

[@aarphi1984]

@@CutiepieTinWhistle Google search didn't give me any clues as to a possible link between Chinese culture and the # 127. Huh! 🤷‍♂️

[@michaelkaliski7651]

It is 128 settings in total. Binary digital, so 2 to the power of 7 different settings between 0 and 127. Computer geeks always count from zero.

[@FluffyAnvil]

@@michaelkaliski7651Yes, I would expect the engine uses MIDI internally and MIDI has 7 bit values which is 2^7 = 128 different permutations (meaning bit representations for the integers 0-127)

[@rogerredford4010]

Looks like it's built for the price. Kudos to the person that decided to slap such imaginative branding on the side.. worthy of a crate of apples.

[@nikedosneha3877]

I loved the instrument but can't buy it as in India the imprt duty and tax will exceed 40 dollar

[@claireika]

Well reviewed but this looks like a Chinese rip off Akai's EWI 4000 and 5000.

[@bluedragontoybash2463]

better and cheaper.. the patent probably expired last year.

[@BB-pn2qv]

Interesting but just…Wut??

[@papanero2334]

È un clone dell':AKAI

[@michaelkaliski7651]

The people who are skilled enough to get the best out of this instrument will already be capable of playing the real alternatives and won’t like the sounds this produces. A fine example of just because you can do something, that doesn’t mean it is a good idea. I will be surprised if they sell more than a couple of hundred of these just for curiosity value because it doesn’t sound that great.

[@timgehman4029]

I hate the clicking of the buttons.

[@camelCased]

@@timgehman4029 This one almost has no buttons, it has touch sensors like Akai devices. Roland Aerophones have clicky buttons.

[@timgehman4029]

Maybe it was the clinking of the straps I heard@@camelCased

[@Tremendouz]

Third party sounds such as Audio Modeling SWAM instruments are what people use when they want to get realistic instrument sounds out of EWI. The built-in sounds are rarely great for realism, although if you prefer more synthesizer-like sounds, they can be fine.

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

I made many demo songs using AP300. Please visit my channel.

[@brechany]

Buttons make too much of a clicking sound. They need damping

[@camelCased]

This one almost has no buttons, it has touch sensors like Akai devices. Roland Aerophones have clicky buttons.

[@brechany]

@@camelCased Seriously? You can hear the buttons clicking loudly when she's playing it!!

[@camelCased]

@@brechany This is weird, this device should not have buttons. Maybe the Chinese did not create a total knockoff of Akai and replaced sensors with buttons.

[@hsitz]

@@brechany I hear the noise, too, but it's not the keys themselves, which are immobile metal discs. It's the sound of her finger slapping the keys, which I assure you is not an issue, maybe it has something to do with her being an recorder player and not having adjusted the way she moves her fingers.

[@brechany]

@@hsitz We'll have to agree to disagree on that I'm afraid. She plays many wind instruments and if you watch closely, it's the pad of her fingers not her nails that are hitting the keys. You can hit as hard as you like with the pads of your fingers and they'll never make a noise like that. Try it yourself.

[@martinrivera4493]

It's a AKAI COPY!!!!!

[@Marinoboe]

It's not really worth it... The only real Pro is its price so if one really can't afford anything else, then there's not much of a choice. But otherwise, why sacrifice your music for just a couple hundred euros/dollars? The EWIs from AKAI and Roland are really the only ones that feel good playing them, if you don't want to use external modules (which also cost money!)

[@hsitz]

"External modules" are synths that you run on your Mac/PC/iPhone/iPad. Some, including many very good ones, are free. Others cost a few bucks. Moreover, these external synths have much better sounds than what's built in to the Akai 5000, and while Roland on-board sounds can be pretty good, you can get better from inexpensive software on an iPhone/iPad.

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

It's affordable and it's my first step into the EWI world. I don't want to invest in AKAI or Roland EWI because I'm not sure that I really like this kind of instrument. So I test it with something not too cheap and not too expensive. You can visit my channel for a demo.

[@MichaelWidjaja-z6b]

bad clicky button

[@maldunbar778]

²rt

[@Michajeru]

I don't like it. Far better to concentrate on learning to play well an actual musical instrument.

[@ivanrossi2051]

Looks like an EWI

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

It...is...🤔😊

[@foybert]

Yes, bears a very strong resemblance to the Akai EWI 5000. @@CutiepieTinWhistle

[@PotatoTroll]

I don't get why would anyone use this? And I don't see much difference from a simple midi keyboard and you don't have to blow into that...

[@CutiepieTinWhistle]

Well, you can play silently with multiple different fingering options. So if you live in a flat you could play a saxophone, flute, clarinet and tin whistle (with the correct fingering) at any time of day or night. Great way to practice and learn to play those instruments without disturbing others 😊

[@camelCased]

You cannot reproduce the expressivity of breath on a simple midi keyboard, unless you pair it with a breath sensor. Also, midi keyboard is not that portable (although this particular instrument is not either). If you take something smaller, such as WARBL or re.corder and make it wireless using CME WIDI, you have a portable midi controller that you can play while walking around or take to family and friend parties and keep close to you on the table and pick it up and play whenever. I play mine while walking around the room because I have sat for all day long at work and want to blow out all of my tension.

[@4rch1tect0n1c4]

I don't get it either. It's like nobody has ever played saxophone fingerings on a midi keyboard...

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

I use it because I like to blow. I also have a midi keyboard but it can not express the way you blow unless you have to buy a breath controller and plug into your midi keyboard. Please visit my channel if you want to learn more how I love this instrument.

[@DigitalWindInstrument]

​@@4rch1tect0n1c4 I used to play the real sax but it's so loud and my neighbours didn't like it when I play in the night time. I can use this instrument with a headphone for practicing. My neighbours are happy and me to.