Saxophones, undoubtedly the hottest instrument to ever exist, are getting a 21st century makeover from Roland with their new Aerophone.

Today Roland announced the Aerophone AE-10, a digital wind instrument that revolutionises saxophone playing. With traditional saxophone fingering the instrument opens up loads of new opportunities with a bunch of in-built sounds that let you play baritone, soprano, other instruments like the trumpet, even synths.

The Aerophone AE-10 is an incredible feat of design with a realistic breath sensor that allows you to play with all the versatility and cadence of a real wind instrument. Roland assure that seasoned saxophone players will feel right at home playing the Aerophone with a traditional button layout, reactive pads, and “responsive SuperNATURAL sounds”.

The digital woodwind instrument features built-in speakers to output your playing, the ability to run from battery power, and something pretty revolutionary for this kind of instrument – DAW connectivity. Using breath control with MIDI recording creates a whole new dimension to music production. It also features a mini-jack stereo input so you can plug your devices in and play along to your favourite tunes.

Roland have created a companion app named the Aerophone Editor which allows you to completely customise your sound. You can set the instrument, its octave, create tone lists from four layers, and alter the parameters of the instrument to suit your environment no matter where you may be.

Watch Spanish sax player Llibert Fortuny show just some of the potential to be unlocked within the Aerophone:

Find out more from Roland’s website: www.roland.com/global/products/aerophone_ae-10/features