Vangoa EWI-100 Portable Mini Digital Electronic Wind Instrument Synthesizer Rechargeable with Removable Mouthpiece for Kids Adults Beginners

There are several versions of this instrument available. I decided on the Vangoa because it was the one that seemed to be the original. I'd seen a few YouTube videos featuring it and they were very positive. It plays straight out of the box as it comes charged. I was immediately pleased with it. The sounds are good and it's very responsive. I then attached a small speaker to the headphone output ... and it sounded excellent. When played through my Sony XR-41, the sound is incredible. Like any instrument, you have to be accurate with your fingers and articulation. I play mainly jazz standards which require a lot of accidentals; they are easy to play. Swapping octaves is easy using the buttons on the back. (If I had any complaint it would be that it's sometimes easy to swap octaves when you don't want to. There is no "home button" to tell you when your thumb is is the middle octave position. That comes through experience.) One point is very important: the sounds are consistent throughout the 3 octaves. As an example, the clarinet setting sounds like a clarinet throughout the entire 3-octave range. (I also have a CarryOn electronic recorder which is similar and the sounds are very inconsistent.) It is incredibly well made and very feels good in your hands. The plastic mouldings are perfect and the plastic of very good quality. I highly recommend this as a fun instrument that sounds good, is well made and is straightforward to play. So why did I say that it's perfect for buskers? First off, the charge lasts for ages. Secondly, you can play it through a small battery amplifier. You could fit everything you need in a small backpack and be out wowing the crowds after 2 or 3 days' practice. If I were still busking, this would be my go-to instrument.

A fun product

This is really a lot of fun to play. I play saxophone and the fingering is similar although some notes are fingered differently. It is not a replacement for a sax, but since I know the fingerings it is pretty easy to play and very portable. When playing through the built-in speaker, the flutes, clarinet, and trumpet sound the best. It is in concert pitch and can transpose so that you can play music for Bb,Eb or any other transposing instrument. The Bluetooth feature has a noticeable delay, the midi via USB is mostly OK although it can skip notes sometimes. This really shines when you just pick it up and play it. If you are not familiar with woodwind fingering it might take a bit of work to get the fingering. It does sense how hard you blow, so you can play with dynamics. It has a little over a three-octave range. The high, middle, and low octaves are controlled via the thumb, and you can go from C-C on each key with the upper C in one octave overlapping with low C in the next. At this price point, it is a great thing to have around and just pick up and play. The negative is sometimes you just don't want to put it down!

Not happy with this. The octaves in some of the voices are not in tune. There doesn’t seem to be any way to complain about it.

Fortunately, I was within the return window. I opted to get it again, because otherwise I liked it. The breath response is good, though it does take skill to fade notes smoothly. Connecting via cable to Garageband on my iPad is a bit tricky and often requires plugging and unplugging to get it to respond. Wind and voice sound the best. So, for the price I was satisfied until it stopped working. Giving it a three star review for now. If the new one has the same problem, I'll shift that to one star.