Aerophone AE-10

The Aerophone AE-10 is a digital wind instrument whose key layout follows an acoustic saxophone, including a left-hand octave key. A mouthpiece-mounted sensor with a reed-style structure reads breath strength and also detects bite, so dynamics, vibrato and pitch can be shaped by the player. Sounds are generated with SuperNATURAL acoustic modelling and PCM synthesis, covering soprano, alto, tenor and baritone sax, clarinet, flute, oboe, trumpet, violin, ethnic instruments such as shakuhachi and erhu, and synth tones tuned for breath control. A Full Range function switches between sax types by key range, and a Brass Section setting layers several wind sounds.

Playback is possible without extra gear: two built-in speakers, a stereo headphone/output jack and six AA Ni-MH batteries (about 7 hours of continuous use) allow practice and performance away from mains power. A custom LCD is used to choose tones and settings. A stereo mini input accepts a phone or music player for playing along with backing tracks.

For connection, the instrument has a USB computer port that supports USB MIDI, so it can drive soft synths and external MIDI sound modules from a DAW. The free Aerophone Editor app for iOS and Android adjusts tones, playing parameters, controller assignments and effects, and manages tone lists. It is offered in White and Graphite Black.