Lighting up the diamond speaker! :)

Nearly done. Just have to paint the mast, and install a back panel for the speaker. I've finally covered that ugly pvc junction where the speaker connects to the mast.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thereminist-thomasgrillo/?saved=1

I would urge anyone who wants to customize a theremin and/or speaker, not to go overboard with flashing lights, gewgaws, gold trim, and fancy Walmart hardware accessories. While each of us has his or her own personal taste and preferences, speaking strictly from the point of view of production values, you do not want to upstage yourself by having props that attract more audience attention than you and your performance do.

Clara Rockmore meets Pee-wee Herman.

By tarting up our instruments and speakers like hookers from a Bessarabian brothel, we can detract from our music, cheapen our presentation and end up looking more like something from a carnival sideshow than serious musicians. 

Yes, yes, I know, it's all supposed to be FUN, FUN, FUN. But the music can easily be forgotten in a flurry of baubles, bangles, beads and stuffed badgers.

"Less is more"

This is just a personal opinion and is intended only as food for thought, not as a criticism.

.... oh but i love my theremin antennas bedazzled :) I think they are making me play better (secret powers and all ;)... Ha.

What you say is correct Coalport.But why do I want to turn this Robot's head into a theremin?See picture below.I think the cultural history of the theremin is a very interesting subject.The instrument has a voice like sound (singing lady) and is controlled by the operator who pulls this strange voice out of the ether...It was truly an exotic invention at it's inception...and it is associated with the strange,the exotic,the unusual,the etherial,science fiction and magic..etc.It is almost like Mandrake the magician controlling ladies and making them do strange things according to his will...like singing any note of his choice.Feminists could write long essays on this aspect.So you cannot get away from this exotic cultural aspect of the theremin.This is why I think some of us want to 'tart up' our 'singing lady' with the exotica of our choice..it's a natural inclination that many thereminists control with difficulty...or perhaps are slightly embarassed about.The robot below is from the movie "Forbidden Planet" which I think had some theremin/electronic music in it . I think the star of the movie was definitely Robby the Robot who has hints of a theremin in his design...note the antennas on his head that are similar to the pitch and volume  antennas of the theremin.Curiously the character "Morbius" in the above movie looks like Mandrake the magician and it is he(in the movie) who made the wonderful robot who can do practically anything ie who has great control over nature ie the robot can make or reproduce anything in the natural world and in great abundance.This control over nature(another lady ie 'mother' nature) is like the thereminist controlling the 'singing lady' so the robot therefore has theremin like antennas haha.See the video below where Walter Pigeon looking very like Mandrake introduces  'Robby' as an MGM promotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unXpg6dwEEQ&feature=related

@coalport. Yeh, I don't want to go "too far" with the detailing of the speaker either, but I was inspired by the ornate detail of my mother's harmonium, and wanted to carry some of that over to the present. The lights will only be dimly, and steadily lit for classical works, but are capable of being used as FX lighting for when I'm doing rock or other modern works that are better suitied for flashy lights. When the lighting is off, you would hardly notice they were even there. Yeh, it's possible to go overboard with frilly details, but in this case, this is a one off "personalized" instrument designed to fit multiple genres. I do have other speakers in the design process which will look fairly ornate, but won't be quite as flashy as this one.

@invisiblejelly That Robby Robot would make a cool theremin. Heck, it's already got antennas properly oriented. LOL

I think one thing that is important and to be able to "play" the theremin (or whatever you are doing is carried in a wholesome fashion) before you actually go overboard with the details etc. I think it is okay to decorate your instrument to make it "yours" but I also feel that as a theremin player (strange, i just cannot really call myself a thereminist yet!), I have a great deal of pressure on my shoulders in promoting the theremin in the ways that I feel are right for what I do. It is all a personnal choice, but as a person, I know i'd never be satisfied to use the theremin for FX only and kinda sing along with it... Anyway, what I am trying to say here is that before you add the fluff, you need to have the right "stuff". I think Thomas has the stuff :) Have fun with your fluff :)

What I am saying is that from the point of view of stagecraft, the presentation of the instrument and its player should be appropriate to the kind of music being performed and to the audience in attendance.

If you're playing SciFi FX for fans of that kind of sound, then by all means play a "Robby The Robot" theremin. It should perhaps be pointed out, however, that Robby The Robot was introduced in the 1956 SciFi classic, FORBIDDEN PLANET, in which composers Louis and Bebe Baron did not use a theremin. 

I don't think it would be a good idea to dress up as Gort, complete with laser visor, and come out on stage and play LASCIA CH'IO PIANGA. 

I have customized, in one way or another, every theremin I've ever owned and I think it's a great idea to make your instrument "your own". But don't paint yourself into a corner by doing something that makes a permanent statement that may not be appropriate for every kind of thing you want to do. If you build your Etherwave into a stuffed badger, you're stuck with a stuffed badger.

It's like having "CHARLENE FOREVER" tattooed on your chest. You'll regret it when Charlene dumps you and you meet Beverly!

For most adult audiences, the theremin is exotic enough on its own without any help from glitter and mactac. In fact, those kinds of things can be a distraction if you are a serious precision thereminist. 

Every one of us posting here has some quirky artistic leanings, combined with a certain level of hard headedness and determination to do what we want to do regardless of others' opionions.  That's a required personality trait for anyone wanting to play theremin and be open about it with friends and family.  Therefore, it's not suprising that these artistic attributes show up in self expressive decoration on our instruments.  I personally have very little talent as a graphic artist, so I haven't decorated any of my rig, though I have thought of putting some googly eyes on my shoebox EW case (only thought about so far).

    I kind of understand coalport's point about tarting things up too much, since I am presently trying to create some opportunities to play somewhere other than my practice space, and I run in to a lot of "Oh yeah...that's that creepy instrument they use in old Sci Fi movies..."  and then I have to expend some effort to try to convince other musicians that there are other ways to play...though that's not to belittle the cool creepiness that can be created, as invisiblejelly has pointed out.  I am a little ignorant of what a hooker from a Bessarabian brothel looks like, though I have worked as a sound man in Country Music in my past, so I probably have encountered some similar characters in various southern honky tonks...

The iconic image of Clara Rockmore in front of her diamond speaker is an example of how graphic imagery is inextricably linked to this instrument.  I'm kind of with Amethyste on this...Thomas has earned the right to show a little graphic flair.  Me, maybe not yet..

molly: "Every one of us posting here has some quirky artistic leanings, combined with a certain level of hard headedness and determination to do what we want to do regardless of others' opionions."

***********************

It's like religion. If we want to get along at all, we must all feign tolerance of the beliefs of others even when it is our deepest conviction that they are wrong.

 It's like religion. If we want to get along at all, we must all feign tolerance of the beliefs of others even when it is our deepest conviction that they are wrong.

Amen to that coalport!!

In His Service --- Dana