Akai Professional is shipping its new EWI USB wind controller (Mac/Win; $499).

Use this wind controller to play music with the expressive capabilities of the wind instrument of your choice, regardless of your wind instrument-playing experience. The EWI USB offers a plug-and-play USB interface for use with Garritan/Plogue Aria software (included) with Garritan and Akai Professional samples as a sound source.

Playable on stage or at home, the EWI USB has a five-octave range, breath modulation with adjustable threshold, pitch bend, adjustable vibrato, transposing and octave shifting, and fingering modes that emulate various electronic and acoustic instruments. Multiple fingering modes help the EWI USB model saxophone, flute, oboe, traditional EWI and EVI trumpet, and more. Aria software lets you perform with up to four instruments selected from the full collection of over 75 orchestral, band, and synthesizer sounds.

For more information, please visit akaipro.com.