The EWI 5000 brings smooth expressiveness to Electronic instruments. As the sounds are sample based, very realistic timbres can be created. (My wife thought I had pulled my old alto sax out of the closet). Downsides are the very minimal 2 digit LED display and the inability to add new samples/sounds to the instrument.
As I've gotten older, I no longer can do the breath control needed for the acoustic instruments. The EWI allows me to work around that limit by adjusting the sensors to suit my playing style.
If you can play sax, flute or clarinet, one of these will open up an entire world of music for you.
I really like the EWI as a wind synth/controller. If you’re using this as a MIDI controller, it’s excellent. As a synth, it’s not as good as the EWI 4000s, but if you like the built in sounds, then this unit is gold. The wireless receiver is especially handy, and I find myself playing it every night.
Unlike the EWI 4000s, this unit uses wavetable synthesis. That can be good or bad, depending on your take. Personally, I could ask for more control over the sounds, and I’m disappointed there’s no “sound font” support and no way to even do actual synthesis using the internal sounds. You can only control the LFOs and envelopes - no dual-oscillator modulation, like an analog or hybrid synthesizer.
Having said that - the internal sounds are pretty good, easily good enough for most people to learn with and play in a band. The only shortcoming I see is the lack of good bass samples (that’s something the EWI Solo fixes).
In all, if I was looking for a new wind synth, I’d pick either this or the EWI Solo. The Solo has more sounds (200), but doesn’t have the cool integrated wireless.