Theremin with Alesis AirFX (one player)

DD, my apologies for missing the previous thread.

Today, I noticed a fringe benefit of boom-mounting: If you've forgotten a program number, you can consult the handy list printed on the back (that is, the bottom) of the AirFX unit, without stooping to turn it over.

Gordon wrote: [i]I haven't had chance to play with my AirFX much at all, having been in Berlin for Carolina Eyck's birthday/CD release party.[/i]

Interesting... I suppose that this has not been an event for the grand public?

Nope, just some of Carolina's friends. And the Charlton family, apparently. I posted a little bit about it on my blog, and there will be some photos in the fullness of time. And before you ask, I did not see any microphones, video cameras or mobile phones in use while Carolina and Randy George played a duet.

(To make up for your disappointment, here (http://www.myvideo.de/watch/5065792/TV_total_Carolina_Eyck_im_Talk_09_09_08)'s a German TV interview with Carolina that you won't find on youTube. Please tell us if she said anything of particular interest. :-)

I've been using the airfx with my theremin since they came out. I mount mine on a gooseneck clamped to my theremin stand so that it sticks out directly in front of me. the airsynth is on a separate stand under the vol antenna. my rig goes thusly: theremin --> delay pedal---> mixer channel.....mixer effect out---> air fx... airfx out--> separate stereo channel on mixer. makes it infinitely blendable and I can run my other gear through it too. some of the airfx effects can be a bit of overkill if run straight through and this setup helps tone it down in those cases or I can mute the theremins channel and have just the fx playing if i'm so inclined. Hope that helps.

Hi Rah Rah Records.

I'm just back from a recording session. (White Label Music here in the UK do a thing called Sonic Weekend - about 20 musicians, a ton of equipment, a church hall or similar, much chaos and beer and - astonishingly - an album is created [i]ex nihilo[/i].)

I used the AirFX on one track - a Noise piece (*), so I really wanted it full-on. The chain was Theremin --> ping-pong delay --> custom ringmod (no internal oscillator, I was ring-modding one channel of the ping-pong against the other - one channel modified with a PS2 (**) pitch shifter with feedback) --> low pass filter --> mixer (to mix back in some of the un-ringmodded output from both of the delay outputs) --> AirFX --> amp.

Without the AirFX it would have sounded pretty much like Iron Sun (on youTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmXqTLJbw3c)) but denser as Iron Sun used a PS5 in the chain rather than a PS2, so no feedback on the shifter.)

I used the AirFX settings Percolator (bandpass filters), Kenneth's Frequency (ring-mod) and Nervous (rapid tremolo) and was pleased with the results.

In practice I found that operating it at the same time as the volume loop was possible but inconvenient, and a distraction. But the ability to dial up a different effect very quickly, set the parameters and then lock them in place was good. It would have been better if the device had the control knob on the right as I was operating it with my left hand, but turning the device 90 degrees anticlockwise cured that.

I like the idea of the gooseneck! Can you still operate the program knob OK?

Overall I am pleased with the AirFX and using it in a recording situation allowed me to form some ideas about how a similar XYZ system could be incorporated into a theremin. When I arrived home I had an email from a theremin designer/innovator who had reached the same conclusion by a different path. I'll be emailing him shortly to let him know I think he's on the right path.


(*) Working title - [i]Dirge[/i] - seven of us on effected theremin, wooden box (kicked at 20 BPM!) snare, EMS Synthi A, eBowed guitar, bass, Lasso D'Amore, flexatone, a couple of other synths.

(**) By the by, theremin and PS2 by itself is a showstopper. For another piece - [i]Tsunami[/i] - I used it with a non-harmonic down-shift and a lot of feedback - really stomach-churningly sick low notes, like Phantom Of The Opera on bad acid. Not too good for solo work - the feedback loop takes time, and rather dulls the responsiveness of the volume antenna for staccato playing as a consequence - but in an ensemble it is monstrous! The first time I played a note, everyone stopped playing, chatting or moving, and adopted a "F--- me, what was THAT?!" look. :-)

the gooseneck works well for me. I mount my theremin a little higher than most...about chest high and stand back a ways so that my hand motions are mostly fore-aft rather than up-down for volume and left-right for pitch. it's more like shadowboxing with my instrument. Better for my posture too, I always found myself hunching over it when it was lower. so having the airfx in the middle of all that makes perfect sense. I can work it with either hand as I see fit. sometimes I just work it with my torso....hmmm what if I wore a mirror on my shirt?

Aha! So that's you on the slideshow on Miss Chocolate Cake's myspace profile (http://www.myspace.com/misschocolatecake).

Yup, I have my etherwave more at waist height, which would align the AirFX with, uh, my groin. Hmm. I think my pitch hand movements are already suggestive enough without adding hip thrusts to the equation. (I'm not Elvis The Pelvis, and I don't want to be known as his brother Enis.)

Just when this thing was starting to pique my interest, Alesis went and discontinued it!

So maybe there will be inflated AirFX prices on eBay soon :(

Don

Don. They have been discontinued for a while now, but there are still probably a few lying around in music stores. Mine served as a doorbell for the shop from which I bought it. It was listed on their website. Didn't take too much digging around in Google to find it.

There is currently one on eBay with a day and a half to go. here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ALESIS-AIRFX_W0QQitemZ220384791695QQihZ012QQcategoryZ29943QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ht_548wt_1182) The current bid is £2.20, which indicates very little.

(The vendor is UK based, and I'm not sure if he will ship overseas. If that's a problem you could have it sent to me and I'll check it works and forward it.)

I also see one in Macon, GA currently listed on eBay (auction lasting until Apr 12).