Is the Travel Sax 2 the best practice aid for sax players?
We’re going to take a look at the Travel Sax 2 from Odisei Music.
Could this be the smallest and lightest electronic wind instrument there is?
Hey, Fred here from Sax School. You know, I’ve been wanting to check out the Travel Sax for a while so that I can practice when I’m on the road with Average White Band.
Our members at Sax School are always asking about ways that they can do silent practice or an easier way to practice when they’re on their holidays.
So if you’re looking for a silent way to practice or, like me, need a way to keep up your saxophone skills while you’re out on the road touring or traveling for work or just on holidays, then stick around. I think you’ll find this interesting.
So in this review, we’re going to talk about:
- What the Travel Sax 2 is and what it is not
- Does it do the job for me, and will it work for you?
- How to use the Travel Sax app
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Other options
Now, just before we dig into all the features of the Travel Sax and my likes and dislikes, I just wanted to say that over the years, I’ve tried several different options, like the Akai Ewi and the Roland Aerophone. And while both of these are cool instruments for performance, practicing on them doesn’t translate into saxophone playing. That’s because those instruments have buttons, not keys, and the key layout is not quite the same as the conventional saxophone.
There are also a couple of instruments out there that do use the same key layout and feel like a saxophone. But they’re also about the size of an actual saxophone. I’m already traveling with a tenor sax, a computer backpack, and a suitcase. So, because I don’t have three hands for another saxophone case, I was intrigued when I heard about the Travel Sax 2.
So in this review, we’re going to talk about what the Travel Sax 2 is, and what it is not. Does it do the job for me and will it work for you? Stick around and find out.
What is the Travel Sax 2?
This is the second version of the Travel Sax. The first iteration was a 3D-printed instrument, and it had no internal sounds. It just used your smartphone as the tone generator.
Then in 2022, after some feedback from users and pro players, Odisei released the latest version. The Travel Sax 2 is injection molded in ABS plastic.
And it has real moving keys with stainless steel springs, which are meant to give you the feel of pressing the keys on an actual saxophone.
The Travel Sax has 70 internal sounds. It uses a USB type C output for mid-output, and for charging the battery.
It has an internal speaker, as well as a mini-jack output for headphones.
You can connect a phone or tablet via Bluetooth or mini-jack to play backing tracks for practice.
What’s in the case?
The Travel Sax 2 comes in a nice compact case that holds the instrument securely. It comes with an alto mouthpiece, ligature cap, and a cane reed, but you can use synthetic reeds as well.
There are three adapters, so you can use most soprano, alto, tenor, or bari mouthpieces. It also includes a USB cable for charging or for mini output, a small pouch to carry your accessories, and a cleaning cloth.
Optional Accessories
There are also some optional accessories available. There’s an extension and a small curved neck, which allows you to hold the instrument a little farther away for ergonomic reasons.
And there’s also an alternate mouthpiece, which they suggest works a little better for midi-output. I didn’t find that to be the case, but your mileage may vary.
Now each of these accessories is available separately for about $15 each.
The Instrument
Okay, so let’s check out the instrument.
Now the first thing you’ll notice is that it is very light, just 400 grams. That’s a little under a pound.
And as you can see, the fingering layout is the same as a saxophone, including rollers on the pinky keys.
Now, the space between the right and left hands has been compressed to allow you to have an instrument that is just over eight inches long.
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Having your hands closer together like this feels a bit odd initially, but you get used to it pretty quickly. And due to the stainless steel springs, there’s a nice bounce back from the keys, much like a regular saxophone.
I have found a couple of instances that require me to be a bit more deliberate in my fingering when I’m playing fast. But this is not a deal breaker. I think that working on cleaning up those little things will actually help my technique on the actual saxophone.
Now let’s talk a little bit more about the keys. They’re available in seven different colors and are extremely easy to replace. So if you should decide that you would like a different color set of keys, you can order a different set.
Or if a key should break, you can order a replacement key. It comes with a little tool that you can just use to pop out the old key and pop in the new one. This is good to know if you live somewhere where there are no repair techs.
The App
Now, as I mentioned before, there are no onboard controls other than a power button. You control everything from the Travel Sax app. Now you link to the app via Bluetooth by pressing these two side keys. And then you’re connected.
From the app, you can choose your sounds, configure the settings, transpose the pitch, set up custom fingerings for altissimo, and record videos of yourself playing the Travel Sax 2. There’s also a fingering chart, about a dozen tutorial videos, and a couple of key shortcut tips. And coming soon, there’ll be a feature that will allow you to keep a record of your practice sessions.
There is no learning curve with the Travel Sax 2. If you already play the sax, there are no new fingerings to learn. You’re ready to go.
And if you’ve never played the sax before, I think it would be a great way to get started, because you can dive right into learning the fingerings without having to form an embouchure. Then when you’re ready to graduate to a real saxophone, you’ve already got all the fingerings down.
How about the Sound?
The Travel Sax 2 has 70 internal sounds, which are samples of real instruments and synthesizer sounds. Listen to a quick demo of a few of those sounds.
So as you can hear, some sounds are better than others. But that’s the case with pretty much every other electronic wind instrument on the market.
Now, it’s unlikely that anyone is going to mistake the saxophone sounds for an actual saxophone. But in my opinion, that’s not the point. The Travel Sax 2 is marketed as a tool for people to practice saxophone wherever and whenever they want, and I think it does a great job.
How I use the Travel Sax 2
I gave it a trial run by bringing it with me on a recent vacation to South America. It took up minimal space in my luggage I was able to hang out by the pool and practice, and that’s a big selling point for me. For working out technical exercises, getting things under my fingers, practicing, and playing over chord changes, It worked well for me.
These are the things I wanted the Travel Sax for, and these are the things that this smallest electronic saxophone does the best.
Of course, if you have the opportunity and the ability to practice an actual sax, obviously, you should do that.
Now, your embouchure will not benefit from practicing the Travel Sax 2 or any other electronic wind instruments on the market. You can’t work on your sound or your pitch.
So what I do often is, I find a time in my day when I can work on tone and intonation exercises on my saxophone when no one is home. And then I work on the other stuff with the Travel Sax the rest of the time, so I don’t disturb the neighbors or my family.
Software Integrations
In addition to using it as a tool for practice, you can also use it to input music into notation software like Sibelius or Finale. This is great if, like me, you’re a better saxophone player than a piano player. Now if you do want to use it in live performance and you want access to a larger library of sounds, you can plug it into your laptop. Then you can trigger any of the sounds available in GarageBand, Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton, or any other DAW, as well as any VST plugins like Respiro or SWAM.
And with an inexpensive adapter, you can also use any of the myriad of software synthesizers that are available for iOS or Android.
Personally, I haven’t used the Travel Sax 2 in live performance, although I’ve seen some videos of players using it in live situations. Now, I don’t feel it quite has the expressive capabilities that many of the other EWIs do. It doesn’t read bite pressure, so there’s no pitch bend or vibrato other than what is programmed into the actual sounds.
But if you want to dig deep, you can achieve those effects with pedals or additional controllers.
But again, that is not its main purpose. It’s designed as an instrument to practice saxophone anywhere. And with its key action and layout, as well as its weight and size, The Travel Sax 2 ticks all the boxes for me.
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