I've been fascinated by the theremin since I read about it in the November 1967 issue of Popular Electronics (http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/PopularElectronics/Nov1967/PE_Nov1967.htm) magazine. I desperately wanted one, but was just a kid at the time without the skill or the money to build one. I played clarinet for 9 years when I was a kid and then switched to keyboard. I've been working as a Software Engineer for the past 30 years.
20 years ago, I made a theremin simulator using a Macintosh computer and a Yamaha TX81Z synthesizer. I wrote a program on the Macintosh that controlled the TX81Z via a MIDI interface. It sounded just like a theremin, and could produce glissandos, vibrato, and all of the other sound effects that the theremin could produce. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a way to control it using hand movements. It was controlled using computer commands.
I've never had a "real" theremin until yesterday when I built an ultra-simple one. I described it in the "one chip theremin" post in the "Theremin Construction" forum. I've played a few simple tunes on it, but not very well. I'm going to practice on it and tweak it, but it may end up just being a detour on the path to building the theremin I really want.
20 years ago, I made a theremin simulator using a Macintosh computer and a Yamaha TX81Z synthesizer. I wrote a program on the Macintosh that controlled the TX81Z via a MIDI interface. It sounded just like a theremin, and could produce glissandos, vibrato, and all of the other sound effects that the theremin could produce. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a way to control it using hand movements. It was controlled using computer commands.
I've never had a "real" theremin until yesterday when I built an ultra-simple one. I described it in the "one chip theremin" post in the "Theremin Construction" forum. I've played a few simple tunes on it, but not very well. I'm going to practice on it and tweak it, but it may end up just being a detour on the path to building the theremin I really want.
