Moog Etherwave Plus
From: Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. ................................... Fred Mundell. ................................... Electronics Engineer. (Primarily Analogue) .. CV Synths 1974-1980 .. Theremin developer 2007 to present .. soon to be Developing / Trading as WaveCrafter.com . ...................................
Joined: 12/7/2007
Hi Peter,
No, I havent used one - but can tell you in general terms..
There is a pitch voltage output which gives standard 1V/Octave - It is possible therefore to control the pitch of an analogue synthesiser, and get this to track the pitch of the theremin - provided the theremins pitch is above about 100Hz.
There is a volume voltage output which can be used to drive analogue modules, but as this doesnt track the pitch, it is best used for controlling VCA's (volume)
There is a gating / trigger output which can trigger envelope generators in an analogue synth and provide a sustain (holding) function.
In essence, coupled with a modular analogue synthesiser, these voltages and trigger can make the theremin a controller for the synth - these voltages etc can also be used with any voltage controlled modules to either generate signals or process signals - for example, if the pitch voltage is taken to a VCF, the theremins audio can be processed by the VCF.. If an envelope generator is triggered by the gate signal, and this envelope generators output is mixed with the theremins pitch voltage at the VCF, one gets triggered VCF sweeps etc.. One could even mix something like a random voltage generator or analogue sequencer with the pitch CV output, and drive the VCF for some really tasty sounds (I personally love the sound of sequences or random voltages stepping the VCF cut-off, while controlling the mean cut-off frequency to centre on the input signals frequency .. Even a 1V square wave mixed with pitch CV gives a 1 octave VCF cut-off change, and imparts a rythmic quality to the sound)
Digital ? No, there is no digital output - But if one took the pitch CV into a voltage to MIDI converter (or use something like the Nobation Bass Station, which is an analogue synthe that takes a CV, drives the synth, and outputs MIDI) then in theory anyway, you could drive MIDI kit from the theremin.
Hope this helps until someone who has actually played with an EW+ says something! ;-)
Fred.
Note - Only analogue 1V/Octave synthesisers / modules will work with the pitch CV output.. Beware of some old synths (Korg MS series I think, and PAiA) which used V/Hz are not compatable (but they never were compatable with anything, not even themselves ;-)
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