Beginning wind controllers, with a realistic sound, for the least amount of money

pouzzler

As the title says, I want to try wind controllers, a realistic sound is a requirement, and I want to spend very little money in case it does not please me.
For background, I have a bit of hyperacousia, which always triggered when blowing my clarinet. I hope this would not be the case with a controller as the blowing is maybe not as hard, and the sound is not directly next to my ears.
After a bit of googling, I have arrived at the conclusion that the following configuration would correspond to my needs :

A controller (haven't yet chosen)
An iPad (which I don't yet own)
Audio Modeling Camelot for iPad
Any of the SWAM instruments for Camelot
A speaker (which I own)

Since I personally prefer Android, but there does not seem to be any way to play the SWAM sounds with it, I would rather go with an inexpensive iPad. I found I can buy a reconditionned iPad 9.7 with 32 Go RAM and wi-fi for about 150€ on my local Amazon.
Camelot for iPad is (I can't check, not owning an iPad) 30€, I believe.
Lastly, I believe Camelot users can get one brass, one wood for free ?

Therefore if my calculations are correct, I can test the universe of wind controllers, with a realistic sound, for 180€ plus the price of whatever controller I end up choosing ?

Lastly, I was thinking of either the re.corder, or the greaten ap. I am aware other controllers are more refined, but I ain't even sure it won't trigger my hyperacousia.

I would gratefully welcome any input :)
 
Why iPad instead of an actual sound module? Would you be comfortable with a controller that uses sax fingerings? Have you considered simply getting a more open clarinet mouthpiece or just venting out the corners of your mouth so you exchange more air and get more oxygen? I have to do that myself on soprano sax or the air gets stale.
 
You'll have me rabbit trailing if I think about this topic too much.

* A controller.
It didn't take me very long to find https://github.com/SMerrony/ClariMIDI. That sounds promising, if you're into a bit of DIY.
Also check out this. Note that he's using the built-in sounds ... but it's the flagship controller from Roland and it's $1362 US. That's around 1000€.

The reason I don't like the Akai is because you always have to have your thumb on a wheel/switch thing on the back of the horn. Also, the "keys" aren't really keys. They're capacitive pads that are actuated by forming a circuit.

The discontinued Yamaha WX series of wind controllers has real-ish keys and gives you more keys. Those are a little more clarinet-ish. I'll sell you my WX-5 if you're in the US.

* I have a bit of hyperacousia.
That makes me think of a couple other routes. Can you wear earplugs? Noise cancelling headphones?
 
I was thinking about an ipad and SWAM for SWAM. Their sounds are absolutely incredible. I have no idea what a "sound module" is. Also would it be noticeably less expensive ?

As for the controller, I will really start with a very unexpensive one, like the re.corder or the greaten AP. If I end up enjoying it a lot, I'll probably get a sylphyo.
 
A sound module is a synthesizer and/or sampler that's in a box that you can only play through MIDI or USB. Here's a random one. In other words, hardware, not software. You can argue about whether a sound module or software is cheaper, but you usually get a bunch more sounds in the sound module than with software. The Roland Integra 7 has over 6000 sounds built in. It's also $2,000.

The problem with a lot of VSTs and sound modules is that they don't support breath control or lip pressure (anyone can correct me if those are the only two). SWAM is supposed to ... but I didn't find that info after an admittedly cursory look. Note that the price for the iOS clarinet is $30, but the PC version is 170 Euro. That PC version is probably a lot better than the iOS version. You can buy a pretty decent laptop for under $200 US.
 
Thanks for your commentaries. I believe I will be able to put my hands on a very low priced sylphyo - which I'll be able to resell for the exact same price should I not like it, so I'll go with that, a reconditionned ipad and swam.
 
It may not be the least amount of money, but I recommend

Yamaha WX5 controller. Out of production, but you can usually find used ones. Patchmanmusic.com reconditions them, so if you find one there, it's top-notch.

Yamaha VL70m synth module. Also out of production, but the Yamaha Physical Modeling synthesis is outstanding. It's the only sound module that actually feels to me like I am playing an instrument, instead of triggering samples. If you find one at patchmanmusic with his optional sound chip in it, it's even better.

I have no affiliation with Matt or Patchman Music. I get nothing out of you buying from him.

I've been playing wind synth for at least since 1998, starting with the WX7. I tried an Akai, but a capacitor controls return to zero on lip vibrato, so that made controlling vibrato speed impossible, so I axed that. The new Roland wind synth seems nice, and the tones are good, but I haven't heard anyone coaxing the kind of expression out of it that is possible with the WX/VL. But I haven't tried that one personally so it might be that the players I've heard just don't play like I do.
 
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