the first chapter of Ron Cole's doctoral dissertation, "The Electronic Valve Instrument: Nyle Steiner's Unique Musical Innovation," submitted to the University of Washington in June of 1998. It has been edited for use at this website. 

The basic concept that was to give birth to the Electronic Valve Instrument (EVI)¹ began in 1964. Nyle Steiner, a trumpeter, music student, and engineering employee at an electronics firm, envisioned an electronic string instrument in which the string fingerings could be manipulated utilizing trumpet-fingering technique. He states,

This project was shelved in favor of the formation of Steiner-Parker Inc., a Salt Lake City based partnership with fellow engineer Dick Parker, which began designing keyboard-based synthesizers in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steiner was responsible for design of the electronic portion while Parker designed and built the cabinetry and enclosures. Since Steiner was not a keyboard player, he resurrected his concept of using a trumpet-based controller to manipulate a synthesizer tone generator. His original goal was to create a synthesizer that trumpet players could easily play without having to learn keyboard-fingering technique. Steiner stated that,

Development of the EVI began in 1971, with the first prototype being produced the next year.⁴ Commercial availability began in 1975.⁵ Steiner estimates around 200 Steiner-Parker EVIs had been produced between 1975 and 1979, many of them having been sold to university music departments and pop groups. He noted that,

The first EVIs controlled only on/off tone generation in a dedicated synthesizer module, initiated by blowing into the breath pipe of the instrument, which activated a breath (air pressure) sensor. No air actually passed through the airtight instrument; the performer actually allowed air to pass from the mouth around the outside of the breath pipe to simulate the airflow through a wind instrument. Octave selection was achieved via a rotating canister and thumb-rollers, and pitch via three springed switches positioned to emulate trumpet valves.⁷ Toward the end of the 1970s, many of the added features associated with the later EVI versions were incorporated into the design, including CV (control voltage) directed volume via manipulation of air pressure at the breath sensor, a vibrato sensor, a "bite sensor" for controlling a portamento effect, and pitch bending plates (albeit retro-fitted by Steiner). Several commercially available synthesizers were also interfaced for use with the EVI, such as the Mellotron.⁸

Steiner-Parker Inc. dissolved in 1979, and Steiner was left with the rights to the EVI. That same year, he began a five-year relationship with Crumar, an Italian electronics firm in the business of designing and marketing keyboard-based synthesizers. The Crumar EVI, which debuted commercially in 1980, had all of the previously mentioned features plus the benefits of larger manufacturing and marketing resources, much more than Steiner and Parker had by themselves. The Crumar instrument sold more than double the amount of the Steiner-Parker EVI, around 500 units.⁹ Toronto trumpeter Bruce Cassidy of the jazz-influenced rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears made one of the earliest recordings using the Crumar EVI.¹⁰

The debut of the Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) specification in 1982 had enormous repercussions throughout the world of electronic music, not the least of which was the obsolescence of many makes of commercially marketed synthesizers. Some pre-MIDI synthesizers were adapted for MIDI uses. J. L. Cooper Electronics constructed MIDI adapter modules for several synthesizers, one of which was the Lyricon, a wind controller using woodwind-fingering technique, which was popular in the 1970s. Jim Cooper rewrote the software specifications of his Lyricon MIDI adapter for the Crumar EVI’s accompanying synthesizer module, and Steiner adapted the hardware interface. This allowed the Crumar EVI to transmit MIDI note on and note off, aftertouch, pitchwheel (pitch bend), and breath control (which could be used to control several effects, including volume). Los Angeles based studio musician Judd Miller to this day continues to use this version.¹¹ Crumar never incorporated these MIDI functions into its EVI model and, in fact, never produced more than one model. Crumar ceased production of the EVI in 1984, and discontinued operations entirely in 1987.¹²

However, during his association with Crumar, Steiner continued to refine the EVI’s MIDI functionality.

As the Crumar EVI was approaching discontinuation, Steiner not only continued refining his EVI prototypes, but also began designing the EVI’s sister instrument, the Electronic Woodwind Instrument (EWI), initially named the "Steinerphone." This instrument was to be electronically almost identical to the EVI; the major difference in design, of course, involving fingering. The EWI’s fingering system originally was to be patterned after the basic pattern used by woodwinds. However, due to the problem of fitting a great amount of switches in the body of the instrument, Steiner replaced the switches with smaller touch keys. Touch keys were open contacts in the circuitry, located to emulate woodwind keys, and allowing the user to ground those contacts with the fingers, rather than closing the circuit with a switch. Steiner pointed out that,

Accordingly, Steiner began to fit his EVI prototypes with touch keys, trading the simulation of a "valve stroke" using switches for more available space on the instrument. The touch keys were placed in the same location on the instrument as the springed switches, again emulating the placement of trumpet valves, and also allowing space on the instrument for the possibility of additional keys. He took advantage of this added space by creating trill keys. Trill keys were three additional touch keys located to the side of each "trumpet" touch key, within easy reach of the fingers. The function of the trill keys was to alleviate certain awkward fingering combinations by creating alternate fingerings, which would also allow easier trilling between certain notes.

A significant improvement to the Crumar synthesizer module, again fashioned in a Steiner prototype, was the "External In" port. This allowed the synthesizer to manipulate the audio output of an external synthesizer, using many of the same devices used to manipulate and edit the synthesizer’s resident sounds. For example, varying air pressure at the EVI controller could control the volume of the external sound source. Between the EVI prototype’s MIDI capabilities, and those of the "External In" port, innumerable timbral variances were possible.

The EWI-1000 did outsell the EVI-1000 by a wide margin. In fact, the EWI-1000 was successful enough to spawn two descendents, the EWI-3000, available from 1990 to 1995, and the EWI-3020, available since 1995. Over 15,000 EWIs have been sold to date.²⁰

The discontinuation of the Akai EVI-1000, however, does not mean that the EVI is completely out of production. Nyle Steiner can, and does, convert an EWI-3000 or an EWI-3020 into an EVI for recompense,²¹ as was done for aforementioned EVI artist Bruce Cassidy.²² Steiner is also working on a version of the EVI that outputs directly to MIDI, without a dedicated synthesizer module, permitting more flexibility in timbral choice. This instrument also would also allow for the possibility of wireless MIDI, freeing the performer from the confinement of a cable strung from the controller to the synthesizer.²³

After three corporate associations, the responsibility for the perpetuation and development of the EVI once again rests with the inventor himself. As long as Nyle Steiner is willing to keep on developing his unique wind controller, its continuity is likely to be assured.