Theremin....

[Rodgre]

Another thread got me wondering....

How many of you have theremins?

How many of you have built it yourself?

From scratch? From Paia? From Moog? From where?

How many of you actually try to play it?

I have one. It's a Moog Etherwave kit that I built, and it sounds fantastic. I keep it as one of the many oddball toys in the studio, but I actually have tried to get good at "playing" it, not just making effects, but playing melodies. I've used it a few times on records in the last year, sometimes making the haunting whine, but a few times playing out melody parts.

It's a tough instrument to master, but after a few minutes of warming up to where the pitches are, you get better at finding notes.

Next, I'll try the bowed saw for that Mercury Rev effect....

Roger

[Tim Escobedo]

I've played with a Moog. Friggin' thing's impossible to play. They are kinda neat toys, but unless you want to dedicate your life to becoming proficient at the instrument, I find a plain, cheap old "optical theremin" good enough for the weird noises.

There's a nutty obsessive guy named Peter Pringle who does a pretty good job on the real thing. Check out this vid clip of his playing he posted recently:
http://www.peterpringle.com/quicktime/hump.mov

FWIW, bowed saw can sound kinda similar and I find MUCH easier, if somewhat lower tech!  

[troubledtom]

i built a paia one time, still use it. i make optical theremins cause they work good and are easy. oh, i also have an air synth.
 peace,
    - tom

[Gearbuilder]

Hi,
I've got two theremins.
The two's are made by myself .
Number one is a tube model from scratch,i cannibalized an old radio,take  a schematic on the web(this one with 12AX7 or ECC 81 tubes.
I hasn't yet finished the enclosure (since 4 year huuuu i'm a  very busy man or ?)If you want the schematic i could find it in my files.
The tube model is fine sounding(far away of the next SS theremin)
Five octaves ,sweet sound ,good vibe but a little too big for stage use. there's only the pitch antenna
Number two is  a SS ,small with PCB ,it works but i don't have so good results with it;the distance of my hand should be longer for playing with it well.But for effects only(Ala Jimmy Page!) it is a very nice tool
Bruno

[thumposaurus]

I built the PAIA one not too long ago, it was a very straight forward build and sounds great.

[yano]

I've never seen a theramin except in Nine Inch Nails music videos (Sin)...I'd be interested in seeing some schematics if ya'll have any...

[D Wagner]

I've never seen a theramin except in Nine Inch Nails music videos (Sin)...I'd be interested in seeing some schematics if ya'll have any...

This looks interesting.  http://www.maxiespages.com/images/Theremin/optical-theremin.gif  I like the idea of an optical theremin.  I'd love to build one for my son who is almost 15 months.  I'm sure that he will let me play with it.  

Derek

[Gearbuilder]

Hi,
I've found the main schematic link for Theremin.
You could find many types in tube or SS models ,
http://www.maxiespages.com/Articles/Theremin_tech/
Bruno

[brett]

There's an article in Silicon Chip magazine on building a good quality theremin.  SC does excellent projects, and includes lots of technical information and tips.  In Australia, there's a kit available from Dick Smith Electronics for this project.  It's about AUD$50, which is about US$40.  Unfortunately, the power supply would be for 240V, so americans would need a 120V wall wart.  Here's a link to it:http://www.dse.com.au/cgi-bin/dse.storefront/4028234705f50ccc273fc0a87f9c06ad/Product/View/K3015

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

I didn't find the Silicon Chip theremin all that easy. I built one myself, and (unsuccessfully) tried to repair two built by others. It is certainly an ingenious design, but it sure is tricky to set up, in my opinion.

[puretube]

http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2005/08/live-from-ethermusic-theremin-festival.html

[Joe Hart]

Gearbuilder, I couldn't get the link to work. And when I went to the main site (MaxiesPages), it's in a language that I don't know. And I'm lousy at reading languages that I can't read!

Maybe you could double check the link, or just post the schematic for the tube one that you liked?

Thanks.

-Joe Hart

[SonicVI]

I've built the Moog, Paia, and Jaycar theremins and the Moog is BY FAR the best as far as tone and playability goes. The Paia was the most fun to build though since there was much more to put together than the Moog. I replaced the antennas with ones from Moog and it improved the playability greatly.  The little Jaycar is a piece of junk but for $60AUD you can't expect much more than a noise maker.


Daniel

[ddes]

Gearbuilder, I couldn't get the link to work. And when I went to the main site (MaxiesPages), it's in a language that I don't know. And I'm lousy at reading languages that I can't read!

Maybe you could double check the link, or just post the schematic for the tube one that you liked?

Thanks.

-Joe Hart

Hi!
He posted it in: Mon Feb 09, 2004 11:31 pm
So yeah, the link is outdated

Good luck finding the schematic!

[inverseroom]

I built a Theremax and like it a lot.  My band partner plays an Etherwave.  The Etherwave is a better product but the PAiA does more stuff--mixing waveforms, CV and gate outs, etc.  Try hooking it up to an SCI Pro One.  Yowza!

I also make phototheremins for fun and profit.  I sell these on eBay--



...when I have time to make them.  It's a hacked "sound effects kit" I got for five bucks, to which I added pots and momentary switches for interesting short-circuiting.  Eventually I'm going to post a layout diagram on my web site, when I have time to get it together, and make it kind of a fun open-source project.

Roger, hope you're having a good summer!  Hottest one on record down here.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

http://www.theremin.info/info-135-1973_Elektuur_Elektor_Optical_Theremin.html

looks like an interesting & simple optical theremin (pitch only). I'd drop the audio out stage (unless you want a free standing battery operated unit) & just take a line out. Of course you can always use a foot volume control with a pitch-only theremin. And if it is optical, use the headstock of the guitar for control & then you can play guitar at teh same time! Who said vaudevile is dead!

BTW that's tragic about Maxie's site going!! :shock:  :cry:

[puretube]

a few links still do work here:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040602233144/http://www.maxiespages.com/Articles/Theremin_tech/

[travissk]

A couple people mentioned that they're hard to play, so here's a suggestion - looping a rubber band around your finger and the pitch antenna gives you  feedback/muscle memory. For many people, this makes the theremin easier to play.

[Ge_Whiz]

About seven or eight years ago I was bored after Christmas, so I set out to build a theremin from the EPE magazine design (pitch-only) using only junkbox parts. I had to wind the inductors myself, but it worked great and was a lot of fun. When I turned 40 I bought myself a Big Briar / Moog Etherwave kit. It's great fun to play, especially through a digital multiFX like the Digitech RP100. Recommended for noisemakers of all ages.

[Ge_Whiz]

Recommended:

http://www.thereminworld.com/EPEArticle.asp