Which theremin?

[chipaudette]

Hi All,

I'm considering getting a theremin to add to my arsenal of musical instrument "party catalysts" for my house. I'm looking for either a recommendation on a specific model, or I'm looking for suggestions on what qualities I should pay attention to when selecting my own theremin.

Some options that I've found are:

Moog Etherwave for $389 for the standard.

Dan Burns B3 Deluxe for $199

I'm also open to buying and building a theremin from a kit. I'm good with electronics but bad with cabinetry. Here is one option:

PAIA Theremax Kit for $229 with case

My main criteria for selection is good sound. Second is price. Any thoughts and experience is highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Chip

[kenmoore]

Theremin World's buying guide

Hey there,

Here's a link to a very thorough buying guide at ThereminWorld.com...

Theremin World

Enjoy!
Ken

Ken Moore Design

[chipaudette]

Hey Ken,

Thanks for the pointer. Your web site and your Wii Theremin are pretty cool, too. Nice work.

The info on Theremin World is pretty cool. I'm really struggling with my decision, though...

I really like the rich feature set of the PAIA kit, especially the CV output. I have an old Korg Mono/Poly anolog synth, and I think that it would be fun to connect the theremin to it as a controller. Sounds like a wicked cool idea. I don't like the comments that I've read, though, that the PAIA is harder to play than the Moog. I don't like those kind of comments at all. Also, I'm not huge on the idea of starting the PAIA kit from scratch. My time is valuable. Also, my Frankensteim modification jobs tend to work better when I'm starting from a FUNCTIONAL system. I've been much less successful starting from nothing.

So, for the MOOG, I like the reports of its playability and tone. These are big plusses. It has fewer features...I've already mentioned the CV thing. Yeah, I know that the MOOG has an optional CV out, but it's a Hz/Volt CV and not an Octave/Volt CV that my synth needs. Oh, the MOOG is a lot more expensive.

And I haven't talked about the Dan Burns theremins at all. They're the cheapest of the bunch, but I haven't heard any reports of playability, stability, or modify-ability.

Does you (or anyone else) have $0.02 to add?

Chip

[kenmoore]

Hard to go wrong with an Etherwave

Hey Chip,

I only have 4 months' experience with real Theremins at this point, definitely not an expert, but I can tell you that the Etherwave Standard models really hold their value. After hunting around for a long while I found one sold used for $270, played it for a couple months and just recently sold it through Craigslist for $275 (after upgrading to Etherwave Pro). So basically I rented a Theremin for 4 months for negative $5

If you can find something used for a price point of about $300 and take good care of it you shouldn't have much trouble getting your money back when and if you ever decide to.

Ken

[Rob Mercure]

If you want a theramin with panache and lots of historical authenticity Radio and Electronics Engineering magazine published an article for one by Robert Moog - can't get much better than that. Of course it's tube - but the original theramins were - and other than using some funky tubes such as the 6C8 (easily subbed) the article provided exact dimensions and winding instructions for all of the coils and inductors. Article should be easy to find these internet days and I've always thought about making one.

Rob

[Albert Kreuzer]

Yes, I always wanted to build that one. Radio & TV News, January 1954. The funky tubes are 6B8 and 6K8.
Does anybody know where to get "Stanwyck LHO 2" horizontal oscillator coils? Or something that can be subbed for them? Seems there is nothing like that in Europe.

Thanks
Albert

BTW, that's me :
YouTube - Theremin

It's playback because they did'nt want any cables on the floor. Theremin is a #126 (see Art's Theremin page), but the recording was made with a #145 (also designed by Art Harrison). Build pictures at 126 Theremin and 145 Theremin.