How does the Bite / Vibrato Sensor work on the Akai EWI?
On the EWI, pitchbend via the vibrato (bite) sensor always returns to center pitch after a very short time interval- even if you keep biting the mouthpiece. If you bite, the pitch goes in a positive direction. When you release, the bend goes in a negative direction. If at any point along the way you hold the bite at a certain level, the pitchbend data will always return to the zero point. For this reason, I sometimes refer to the EWI bite sensor as a “wiggle sensor”. Think of it as trying to move flexible stick of rubber through honey. Move it, and the other end lags behind a bit. Wherever you stop, the stick will eventually straighten (be at 0 pitchbend). So it is not a linear sensor that tracks your bite directly. Instead it is a sensor that tracks the MOTION (SPEED and DEPTH) of your bite. All in all, it works well and is very musical. It provides that “EWI sound” when you play it, which is quite desirable. Since it is self-centering it also means the player does not have to worry a
