Silicon Chip Deluxe Theremin Revisit.

Hi Everyone,

I know that it isn't exactly a pedal, nor is it guitar-related, but, it is a musical instrument and is still true to the whole idea of DIY, anyway, I thought that I would start a thread about it since I'm going to be dragging it out of retirement so that I can play it at an up and coming gig, and I'm going to be doing a bit of servicing work on it to get it working at it's best, it needs some adjustments done to it, and thought you guys would be interested in reading about it.

Now in order to do the adjustments, I need to buy a set of plastic Radio alignment tools from Jaycar Electronics, which I'll do tomorrow, I'll also post some pics of it and maybe an audio demo.....stay tuned (pun not necessarily intended).


Here's some pics of my Deluxe Theremin:

Attachment 21528

Attachment 21529

Attachment 21530



Okay, so what is it anyway?, it's an electronic musical instrument that you play without even touching it, it has two antennae attached to it, one antenna is positioned vertically and is called the "Pitch Antenna", the other antenna is positioned horizontally and is called the "Volume Antenna", you can control the pitch of the sound that the Theremin makes by positioning your right-hand closer to, or further away from the Pitch Antenna, the closer you position your hand to the pitch antenna, the higher the pitch of the sound that the Theremin makes, and vice versa, you can also control the loudness of the sound that the Theremin makes by positioning your left-hand closer to or further away from the Volume antenna, the closer your hand is, the softer the sound produced by the Theremin is, and vice versa, so, even though the Theremin is not even touched by the person playing it, the person still has full control over both the pitch and loudness of the sound produced by the Theremin, have a listen to the song "Good Vibrations" by the Beach boys to get an idea of what the Theremin actually sounds like, pay particular attention to the pure wailing sound in the choruses, that's what a Theremin sounds like.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eab_beh07HU


Here's another example, this time it is an old 1929 RCA Theremin that uses Valves instead of Transistors to produce musical sounds, notice how the guy playing it is controlling both the pitch, and the volume of the musical notes by positioning his hands relative to the two antennae, he doesn't even touch the instrument while playing it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpfsVZHJmHw


And yet another example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6KbEnGnymk


Here's one more example, an RCA Theremin played by Clara Rockmore, showcasing how the Theremin can sound almost like a soprano singer:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g7CDxy2Ipc

I'm always interested in theremins Doc

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dedman

I'm always interested in theremins Doc

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They're quite fascinating and I've always wanted to build one myself, I bought this particular one as a kit of parts from Jaycar Electronics a few years ago.

Apparently, they are one of the oldest electronic musical instruments ever invented, the first original Theremin was invented back in the early 1920's by a Russian Physicist, Lev Termen, which is where it gets it's name from.

For sale: One theremin. Never been touched.

Hahahaha....good one Simon.

What is the definition of a True Gentleman???



A Man who can Play the Theremin, but chooses Not To.....

Wow crazy. I would strive for a better hand movement than that dude in the second vid and dont do it with your mouth open

If you haven't seen the Theremin documentary, it's definitely worth it. Very interesting man with an interesting history. Seeing the Theremin being used to play classical music that sounds nothing like the usual warbly, horror/sci-fi theme music is eye-opening too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fretworn

If you haven't seen the Theremin documentary, it's definitely worth it. Very interesting man with an interesting history. Seeing the Theremin being used to play classical music that sounds nothing like the usual warbly, horror/sci-fi theme music is eye-opening too.

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I think I may have watched that documentary at some stage, I agree, most people who get introduced to the Theremin do seem to be stuck in this mindset that the Theremin is only really good for 50's B-Grade Sci-Fi movie sounds and soundtracks, when nothing could be further from the truth, as some of the videos I've posted prove that you can actually make some beautiful music with a Theremin, if you approach it the right way, it deserves to be recognized as a legitimate musical instrument in my honest opinion.

Update:

Managed to get some suitable tools for doing the re-alignment work on my Theremin from Jaycar Electronics, so I'm going to be starting on it later on this afternoon, hopefully I'll be able to get it working to the extent where I can do an audio demo of it for you.


Update 2:

Okay, as far as I can tell, my Theremin seems to be working properly after having the alignment work done on it, it was basically a case of re-adjusting some adjustable radio-frequency transformers on the circuit board so that the circuits were operating correctly, not an easy task to do without the proper setup procedures written down on some paper, so I had to make do with my trusty old 25Mhz Dual-Trace Oscilloscope and Digital Multimeter, I did however have a circuit diagram though.

Anyway, just for a bit of a laugh I thought that I would try sending the output signal of my Theremin through my Boss RE20 Space Echo pedal, needless to say I got some pretty spaced-out sci-fi sounds that would easily have been at home in a Dr Who episode from the early 60's....cool, of course, I did try to actually play something musical on it too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DrNomis_44

I think I may have watched that documentary at some stage, I agree, most people who get introduced to the Theremin do seem to be stuck in this mindset that the Theremin is only really good for 50's B-Grade Sci-Fi movie sounds and soundtracks, when nothing could be further from the truth, as some of the videos I've posted prove that you can actually make some beautiful music with a Theremin, if you approach it the right way, it deserves to be recognized as a legitimate musical instrument in my honest opinion.

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When i think Theremin I think John Spencer Blues Explosion.

In particular this performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbwxLGohUM0

Update:

Here's a link to an audio demo of my Deluxe Theremin that I uploaded to my soundcloud account...enjoy!!!


https://soundcloud.com/drnomis_44/deluxe-theremin-demo

sounds super cool Doc, don't think you needed a 5 minute demo ! sounds like something from the old TV show Lost in Space or a flying saucer sound.
What happens when you touch both antenneas ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wokkaboy

sounds super cool Doc, don't think you needed a 5 minute demo ! sounds like something from the old TV show Lost in Space or a flying saucer sound.
What happens when you touch both antenneas ?

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Nothing really, all that happens is that the sound stops that's all.


Back in the 50's when all those B-Grade Sci Fi movies were being made, the Theremin was extensively used to create all those other-worldly spooky sounds, I seem to remember watching Lost In Space on TV when I was younger, great show, I've also watched the original black and white version of The Day The Earth Stood Still, another classic B-Grade Sci Fi from the 50's.

Here's a link to an interesting website about building Theremins:

http://www.thereminworld.com/