Hi all...first post!

I'm a newbie whistle player, still working on fingering, learning a few easy tunes through OAIM and driving my partner and kids crazy!!

I was considering a "whistle" type midi-controller (for silent practice) but picked up the Aerophone Mini from my local music shop instead.

I've reconfigured the fingering slightly (through the app) to match typical whistle fingering and it works really well. There is an "octave" button that does not exist on a whistle (might take a little bit of getting used to) but with my set up, I can play the two full octaves that are found on the whistle including the high D and can play the octave below as a bonus.

The lower C# and C nat are easy to get to plus the F nat and Bb , so I can play in the typical trad keys and get to the accidentals pretty easily. And I can use headphones, so my family have rescinded my eviction notice!!

**I am not a believer that this is a replacement for the real thing (especially at a Session!!) but for practice and fun with midi stuff, Im really enjoying it.**

***Would love to know if any more experienced players have had a go at it especially as I get more into ornaments which I have a feeling might be limited on this??***


cheers

Hi
Any update - do you still like the Roland?
Regards
Tiposx

Wow... if the Roland was suddenly out of favor, that would have been within less than nine hours from that initial post! Talk about short honeymoons!

Er - yes I can see my mistake now. I mistook the joining date for the posting date.

Only had it a couple of weeks so jury is still out on whether it can make me a better whistle player. Its great for finger/silent practice and fun if your into to app/midi stuff...but I dont think its too helpful for wind/breath control as its very different from a whistle. The Warbl might be a better option as it is closer to the whistle in this sense??

Its shipped with a plastic reed style mouth piece which is silly for this instrument...the reed does nothing on the mini but works for the larger Aerophone models. I have ordered a replacement mouth piece that is more like a whistle head...but adding up the costs, I probably could have an awesome set of D/C/Eb whistles for around the same price!!

That said, I am playing it a lot (every day) and still liking it

cheers

I'm an acoustic snob who came to appreciate electronic substitutes.

Playing drums with my last band we were on some very small stages. One place, Nextdoor Gastropub, where we played at least once a month had a stage six feet deep and twelve feet high, sort of a balcony without a railing. Any drum set would have risked other players falling off the stage trying to get past. I got a Roland Handsonic. The last model, the HPD-20, uses the Supernatural sound engine which actually does a beautiful job on cymbals.

What I discovered is that while there were a number of things I could do on acoustic drums which I couldn't do on the Handsonic there were also things I could do on the Handsonic that I couldn't do on acoustic drums. Treating as a different instrument opened up possibilities I would have passed by if I was only intent on emulation.

I came to appreciate having an infinite number of drum kits to match to particular songs and started using a reverb pedal which was especially welcome outdoors.

I also came to appreciate that the audience was getting better sound quality with me plugged directly into the board as opposed to miking acoustic drums. Listeners lose most of the nuance anyway, especially in some venues.

I can see some limited potential to the Mini as a learning device. I see much more potential as a performing device.

I talked myself into it. Made an offer on a Roland Mini on Reverb and it was accepted. So I'll want to compare notes in the future. I'll post observations and questions on this thread.

Traceyatsea, you wrote, "I've reconfigured the fingering slightly (through the app) to match typical whistle fingering"

I got into the app thinking that under key of C I would simply change F to F# and C to C# in order to keep the root in the proper D whistle position but could not find any instructions on using the app. What did you do and how did you do it? Did you find any editing instructions?

I think I'm going to seal the open reed edges with tape or glue.

It's not too complicated but I might have a hard time explaining it. There are no instructions ...I just fooled around with it till I figured it out. I will try to explain

1.Open the app and connect the mini

2. Go to the "settings" section in the app (looks like organ draw bars) and select fingering mode

3. Each change to fingering requires a separate edit...
-edit fingering 01 to change the fingering from F to F# as per a whistle,
-select the note you want to change to (i.e. F#4) and configure the fingering to what matches the whistle,
-write (i.e. save) the change and select the "off" button to change to "on" and that will save and enable the change

4. Do the same for further changes by selecting fingering 02, 03 etc. You can make up to 9 changes but I only did 2...changed the F to F# and the high D (D5) to the whistle fingering where you lift your left index finger. That way I get the very highest D (D6) by using the octave button. All other notes stay the same and the fingering is exactly like a whistle!!

5. You can still access the F nat by using cross fingering...play the D but lift the middle finger on your right hand and you get an F. I didnt have to configure this...it just worked!! I can get the Bb by playing the B and adding my ring finger on my left hand. Also no configuring required for this.

6. I left the fingering for C the same which is more useful for the music I'm practicing...If i need a lower C#, I use the flat or sharp keys. The higher C/C# is the same fingering as the whistle...though just use one finger to get the C instead of the standard two fingers on most whistles.

7. I have not yet received the replacement head but ordered it on Ebay (Sweetwater Music)...I will let you know if it works better than the silly reed style head.

Hope that helps

cheers

Thanks. Just got back from a few days away with my wife for our 44th anniversary. Your explanation was very clear and it made sense when I got into the app.

Received the replacement mouth piece today...big improvement and much closer to a whistle head. Highly recommended

Have you considered the WARBL? Quite an amazing device and considerably less expensive than pretty much any other MIDI wind controller:

https://warbl.xyz