I've been playing the Ashun Sound Machines Diosynth for about three weeks now, and I'll be completely upfront with you: this is the first electronic wind instrument I've played that I genuinely haven't wanted to put down.

That's not a throwaway compliment. I've tried a lot of EWIs over the years, and most of them leave me feeling fine - competent, but ultimately disconnected. The Diosynth is different. In this review I want to tell you exactly why - and where it falls short too, because it does have some limitations worth knowing about before you spend your money.

Watch the full video review below, then keep reading for a written breakdown of everything I covered.

The Man Behind the Diosynth

Before we get into the instrument itself, you need to know who built it - because it genuinely matters.

Glen Darcey is the CEO of Ashun Sound Machines and the developer of the Diosynth. But back in 2010, he was head of product design at AKAI Professional, where he developed the EWI 4000s and EWI-USB - the instruments that defined the modern EWI era. He's a trained saxophone player, a friend and colleague of the late great Michael Brecker, and someone who sits at the rare intersection of the sax world and the world of electronic synthesis.

When I first heard another company was entering the EWI space, my gut reaction was mild cynicism. That changed when I found out who was behind it. This is not a tech startup taking a swing at a niche market. This is someone who helped write the history of the instrument, coming back to do it properly.

What's in the Box

The Diosynth ships in a genuinely sturdy flight case - I can confirm this because I took mine on a Delta flight. Inside, you get everything you actually need: a USB power supply with international adapter plugs, a USB Y-cable, a stand, and a cleaning kit. The only thing not included are the 18650 batteries (they look like oversized AAs), which you can grab in a four-pack with a charger for under $20.

It's refreshingly generous compared to some other tech companies I could name. You know who you are.

Tech Specs Worth Knowing

The Diosynth can run fully wirelessly on batteries or via USB-C wall power. When connecting to a computer, standard laptop USB ports don't push enough juice to power the whole instrument, which is why the included Y-cable lets you split data and power separately.

For audio output you've got three options: a built-in 2-watt speaker (useful for quick personal monitoring, though it doesn't do the sounds justice), a 3.5mm headphone jack near your left hand, and a quarter-inch stereo Line Out at the base. There are two separate volume knobs on the back - one for the Line Out and one for the speaker or headphones. Tactile knobs, not clicky buttons. A small detail that makes a real difference when you're playing.

Bluetooth is built in, but it works one way for audio - you can stream backing tracks in from your phone, but you can't send audio out wirelessly. Bluetooth MIDI is available too, though ASM themselves advise against using it live due to range and occasional latency. On the USB side, the Diosynth acts as its own audio interface, sending two channels of stereo audio directly into your DAW. And for the proper audio nerds, there are old-school 5-pin DIN MIDI In and Out ports at the base of the instrument.

This thing is built for professionals who want to perform and record - not just noodle quietly in a practice room.

How It Feels to Play

The primary keys have actual travel in them when you press down - not capacitive touch pads, not clicky buttons, but physical keys that move. It instantly feels more like an acoustic instrument. The overall form factor is similar to the Yamaha YDS-120 or 150, but the Diosynth has been designed with the full capabilities of an EWI in mind rather than trying to replicate an acoustic saxophone one-to-one.

The most obvious example of this is the octave system. On a traditional sax, the palm keys and pinky stack exist because we need them to access notes at the edge of our range. On the Diosynth, you can shift octaves effortlessly using the octave buttons on the back of the instrument - giving you a 7-octave range with minimal fingering adjustments. The instrument still has enough of the familiar key layout that virtually all your regular sax patterns translate across with minimal adjustment, but it's not trying to pretend it's something it isn't.

Breath response feels natural, with a small amount of resistance as you blow in - similar to what you'd expect on a soprano. Articulation is quick and responsive, though as you'd expect, some of the more nuanced articulations that work on an acoustic sax (tongue muting, doodle tonguing, syllabic articulation) don't fully translate to a digital instrument.

One thing I did struggle with early on was the bite sensor. It was a touch too sensitive at the default settings for my liking, which - weirdly - was causing intonation issues on a digital instrument. I've found a much better feel with the dead zone set to 50 and the depth also at 50, which makes it far less likely to drift during normal playing while still responding when you actually want to bend a note or add vibrato.

Beyond breath and bite, you also have two pressure-sensitive pads next to the thumb rest and a dual-axis joystick - all fully assignable to any tonal parameter inside the software. The joystick in particular is expressive and fun, though it's easy to brush accidentally in your first week of playing. Just be aware of that, otherwise you'll spend a lot of time wondering why you're mysteriously playing a quarter-tone sharp.

The Sounds

There are over 200 synth waveforms and 128 instrument samples on board, plus dedicated software for deep editing - envelopes, LFOs, EQ, layering a second voice, and more. The sound library is genuinely extraordinary. Some patches modulate between two different sounds depending on how much air you use, which is one of the most thrilling things I've experienced on any wind instrument. There's a lifetime's worth of sonic exploration in here.

Now - the sax sounds. I know that's what a lot of you are here for, so I'll be straight with you: they're good samples, but they're not a saxophone replacement. The team at ASM painstakingly recorded and sampled saxophones across the entire range of the family, and Glen himself is a trained player. And yet even with all of that care and expertise, the result is still recognisably a digital reproduction. The same is true of Yamaha and Roland's attempts. This isn't a resources problem - it's a physics problem. What gives the saxophone its human quality is the player, and the way the instrument naturally responds to every nuance of breath and embouchure between notes. You can't sample that.

So if you're going to use the Diosynth for practice, my honest advice is this: don't use the sax sounds. Pick a synth patch you love the sound of and use that. You'll have more fun, and you won't be constantly comparing it to the real thing.

Who Is the Diosynth For?

There are three kinds of EWI buyers. Those who want a tool for silent practice. Those who want a creative instrument to write, record, and perform with. And those who want a mix of both.

If you're in either of the latter two camps, this instrument is exceptional - possibly the best option currently on the market. If you're primarily looking for a one-to-one saxophone replacement, it won't fully satisfy that need. But here's the thing: nothing on the market will. And once you accept that, the Diosynth becomes one of the most liberating instruments a sax player can get their hands on.

The years of practice and experience you've built on the saxophone can be plugged into a whole new means of creative expression - and you can feel at home on this instrument almost right away. That's a genuinely rare thing.

Final Verdict

The Diosynth is the real deal. It's well-built, thoughtfully designed, packed with professional-grade connectivity, and home to some of the most inspiring sounds I've ever played through a wind instrument. Its limitations are real but they're the limitations of the format, not the product.

If you're an intermediate or advanced sax player who's curious about electronic wind instruments, this is the one I'd point you toward. Links to pick one up are in the YouTube video description.

And if you want to take your acoustic saxophone playing to the next level in the meantime, check out my courses over at saxtuition.com - there's something there for every level, from complete beginners right through to intermediate players looking to break through to the next level.