Or, Neil's mini-review of the Wavefront Travel Case Theremin.
Well, she arrived a little battered (broken plexi panel only) but complete, and with the next challenge in hand - find an appropriate power supply!
After rummaging through the boxes of doom @ the local electronics surplus shop, lo and behold the elusive 12v DC bipolar power supply surfaces. $9.50 + $1 for a DIN plug. A good start.
I wired up the power supply last night and hey presto there's a red light and some crazy high pitched frequency belting out the headphones. Since the kids were asleep I had to limit my testing to headphones and not through my valve bass amp :( ...although through 'phones it's easy to hear the effect of the Waveform and Tone controls.
Tuning was a breeze - didn't even read the manual, it was very obvious. Linearity was surprisingly good and the instrument as a whole was surprisingly easy to control - within a couple of minutes I was playing some Portishead ditty, with pretty reasonable intonation for a first timer (others in earshot may not have agreed!). In actual fact I really didn't think I was going to get as far as I did in the first night - it turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. Tired arms from hours of waving though!
The Waveform and Tone controls are subtle but useful, the Waveform sounding more like a midrange shift rather than a definite change in waveform. As for the sound, it's quite sawtooth, and can be fairly brash when you turn the treble up (although this was through headphones). I would've liked the ability to mix some pure sine wave into the mix, it would definitely hold more presence in the lower registers.
Headphone output isn't a pitch-preview, although it can be used as such if you ride the master volume to bring the sound up once the correct pitch is found.
What else would I like? A microphone stand adapter - I feel a little edgy with an open suitcase sitting on a table or stool...inviting Murphy to knock the thing off!
In general the quality of the unit is brilliant. Looks professionally built for a purpose and it's industrial edge certainly differentiates it from the more traditional designs...although I must say I like the look of a nicely finished wooden case with aerials extending either side!
Well, she arrived a little battered (broken plexi panel only) but complete, and with the next challenge in hand - find an appropriate power supply!
After rummaging through the boxes of doom @ the local electronics surplus shop, lo and behold the elusive 12v DC bipolar power supply surfaces. $9.50 + $1 for a DIN plug. A good start.
I wired up the power supply last night and hey presto there's a red light and some crazy high pitched frequency belting out the headphones. Since the kids were asleep I had to limit my testing to headphones and not through my valve bass amp :( ...although through 'phones it's easy to hear the effect of the Waveform and Tone controls.
Tuning was a breeze - didn't even read the manual, it was very obvious. Linearity was surprisingly good and the instrument as a whole was surprisingly easy to control - within a couple of minutes I was playing some Portishead ditty, with pretty reasonable intonation for a first timer (others in earshot may not have agreed!). In actual fact I really didn't think I was going to get as far as I did in the first night - it turned out to be easier than I had anticipated. Tired arms from hours of waving though!
The Waveform and Tone controls are subtle but useful, the Waveform sounding more like a midrange shift rather than a definite change in waveform. As for the sound, it's quite sawtooth, and can be fairly brash when you turn the treble up (although this was through headphones). I would've liked the ability to mix some pure sine wave into the mix, it would definitely hold more presence in the lower registers.
Headphone output isn't a pitch-preview, although it can be used as such if you ride the master volume to bring the sound up once the correct pitch is found.
What else would I like? A microphone stand adapter - I feel a little edgy with an open suitcase sitting on a table or stool...inviting Murphy to knock the thing off!
In general the quality of the unit is brilliant. Looks professionally built for a purpose and it's industrial edge certainly differentiates it from the more traditional designs...although I must say I like the look of a nicely finished wooden case with aerials extending either side!