
What's your sound? Do we have our own sound on the EWI, just as we have our own sound on the horn? I've been thinking about this lately as I design EWI patches for Reason, which seem to fall into two categories.
The second category of sounds are more interesting to me because they are more free form. They are abstract, in that they don't try to be anything in the natural world, and I can drop them in whenever I want. Basically, I design sounds that sound a certain way because I am naturally attracted to those sounds. Over time, I feel that I'll have a set of sounds that are unique to me, just as my sax sound is unique to me.
Look at Pat Metheny, for example. Any time you hear his sound on the GR-300 you know it is him and it has not changed much over the years. Yes, you also know it is him because of his way of phrasing, time, the notes he chooses and such, but you could only hear one note of that sound and think 'that's Pat or someone trying to sound like Pat.' Same thing with Lyle Mays, he has a particular set of sounds that are unique to him.
If the EWI is an avenue of self-expression, maybe the sounds we choose (or are just attracted to) are part of that. Maybe we should be thinking about the sounds we choose in way that defines our uniqueness as artists and musicians.
What do you think? Is your sound unique? Is it even worth it to think about? Is this something that happens organically anyway?
Let us know in the comments.