<P> A wind controller, sometimes referred to as a "wind synth", or "wind synthesizer", is a wind instrument capable of controlling one or more music synthesizers or other devices . Wind controllers are most commonly played and fingered like a woodwind instrument, usually the saxophone, with the next most common being brass fingering, particularly the trumpet . Models have been produced that play and finger like other acoustic instruments such as the recorder or the tin whistle . One form of wind controller, the hardware - based variety, uses electronic sensors to convert fingering, breath pressure, bite pressure, finger pressure, and other gesture information into control signals . Another form of wind controller uses software to convert the acoustic sound of an unmodified wind instrument directly into MIDI messages . In either case, the control signals or MIDI messages generated by the wind controller are used to control internal or external devices such as analog synthesizers or MIDI - compatible synthesizers, softsynths, sequencers, or even lighting systems . </P> <P> Since a wind controller usually does not make a sound on its own, it must be connected to a sound generating device such as a MIDI or analog synthesizer which is connected to an amplifier . For this reason, a wind controller can sound like almost anything depending on the capabilities of the connected sound generator . However, EWI models like the Akai 4000S have a true sound output, as well as a Midi output . The fingering and shape of the controller put no acoustic limitations on how the wind controller sounds . For example, a wind controller can be made to sound like a trumpet, saxophone, violin, piano, pipe organ, choir, or even a barnyard rooster . </P> <P> The first widely played wind controller was the Lyricon from Computone which came about in the 1970s era of analog synthesizers . The Lyricon was based on the fingerings of the saxophone and used a similar mouthpiece . It set the standard for hardware - based wind controllers with a number of features that have been preserved in today's MIDI wind controllers, including the ability to correctly interpret the expressive use of reed articulation, breath - controlled dynamics, and embouchure - controlled pitch variation . The Lyricon also expanded the playing range several octaves beyond the accustomed range for woodwind players . Tone generation on the Lyricon was limited to a dedicated analog synthesizer designed specifically to interpret various wired analog outputs from the instrument . Notable early recording artists on the Lyricon include Roland Kirk and Tom Scott . Third - party adaptations would later bring the Lyricon into the MIDI era . </P> <P> The next analog wind controller of note was the EWI - 1000 from Akai which, like the Lyricon, was paired with a dedicated analog, voltage - controlled tone module, the EWV - 2000 . The EWV - 2000 had no MIDI in, though it did have MIDI out . The EWI - 1000 / EWV - 2000 pair were actually a hybrid digital / analog system . Analog signals were derived from the various sensors (e.g., key, bite, bend, etc .) on the EWI - 1000 controller unit, then converted to digital signals by a front - end microprocessor in the EWV - 2000 . These digital signals were then altered by the microprocessor and D / A converted to internal analog control voltages appropriate for the analog synthesizer IC's within the EWV - 2000 . The D / A used within the EWV - 2000 used a very high resolution and conversion rate, such that the responsiveness to the player felt immediate, i.e. "analog ." The subsequent EWI - 3000 and EWI - 3020 systems also used this A / D / A scheme within their dedicated tone modules, though these later models of the EWI would support MIDI in and out . </P>

Who is credited with designing the first wind controller for synthesizer control in the mid 1970s