Having problems Calibrating my new Theremini

Hi & HELP!!!

Yeah, so I am new to all of this. I know that it will not be easy. Still, I have tried to calibrate my new Theremini using the calibration setup "wizard" in the startup or setup of this device. Being an IT guy for 40 years and a MIDI/electronic music hobbyist for ~~30 years, I figured I could setup the Theremini so that I could at least get it to screech with SOME linearity and/or consistency. I mean I have watched every video out there that I can find on the subject in general and in specific for the Moog Theremini. I just can't seem to get the thing to calibrate the same way twice, and based on vids I have seen from other beginners, I a, really starting to wonder if my device is bad, or what I am doing wrong. I even saw one suggestion that some of this issue could be improved by replacing the pitch rod with a ~~ 20" one. Have not yet tried, but would love to know if anybody has. I am running f/w v 1.1.1 and my gut is telling me that the instrument is fine and that it is me, regardless of what I try, I cannot get the thing calibrated. At this point, if I could just get the pitch rod calibrated, I'd be thrilled. The amplitude loop seems far less responsive, though it's sensitivity CAN also be changed, again, I cannot find consistency--i.e. turn on and calibrate, doing the same things twice, w/o moving the device or anything around it, and get the same calibration results twice, let alone a calibration I like and is usable for one to learn on. HELP!!

Thanks, HiramAbiff

Why do you think its not calibrated? Your firmware is ok. Not sure what you mean by "get the same results".

It should have a perfectly fine linearity to play as long as you set your range to 3-4 octaves. Do not try and set it to the full range - especially if you are just starting. If you want to play melodically then I suggest something like C3 to C7. But I change it all the time depending on the key I'm in to optimize the range.

Usually (for a piece with a decent range) I set it a few notes below and a note above the full range of the melody I want to play. I know that way that my top note is just about near the antenna and I can easily scale my distances accordingly. One of the interesting things about being able to set a specific range on the thing. I did just that here.

https://soundcloud.com/rk53-1/the-death-of-ase-theremin-strings

If you have followed the calibration steps and you can't get a decent linear pitch field with this method then something may be wrong.

You can also set the CV for pitch and then put a voltmeter on the CV output to see how the range is playing. If you set it 0-10V and you do not see things going from 0 to 10V in a rather linear fashion, this again may be a hardware issue. Call Moog in that case.

And make sure you have a 4-5 foot clear space around it when you calibrate.

Rich

HiramAbiff,

After many years of exploring the theremin I have found that most people that stick with it have some sort of quirk in their personality. Your experience might be normal but the way the theremin actually works is not what you imagined.

Don’t you just love Colorado!

Christopher

Two really great responses. The volt meter idea strikes me as a definitive answer to whether or not it's me (probably the case...). THAT I will try.

As for changing range, I tried that & will do so again. Seems appropriate for the beginner. Again, regardless of range, each time I turn the thing on, it wants to be calibrated & it never seems to set itself up the same way twice, regardless of room and stance consistency. Again, I would assume that a volt meter would give me a definitive answer.

Regarding personality quirks, if you only knew........ Shame, really that the flowers suggested, do nothing but put me to sleep--that has its advantages, but makes it harder to learn the Theremin! :-).

I'll report back on the suggestions made to date. If anybody else has anything to offer me--if nothing else but to prove that the device is working properly, I am all ears and much appreciative of any advise offered.

Thanks again,

HiramAbiff

Yes. Put voltmeter on both pitch and volume CV (you set which one to use in the menu). I zapped mine from static last winter and volume CV was bad - saw it in a second by looking at CV voltages.

"I zapped mine from static last winter and volume CV was bad - saw it in a second by looking at CV voltages."  - rkram53

I didn't discover any obvious ESD protection in the tear-down of my Theremini, so, if so, it's not surprising.

Heck - before I realized it - I zapped my Etherwave Plus as well.

Moog fixed them both without issue.

"Heck - before I realized it - I zapped my Etherwave Plus as well. Moog fixed them both without issue."  -- rkram53

They should, as it seems their products are not designed to withstand normal use.  For the old EWS I sort of understand this, but the Plus has less of an excuse, and the Theremini pretty much none IMO.  Connecting naked CMOS inputs to pieces of bare metal that will get touched a lot is a classic ESD no-no.

Well, just to check back in--"STUFF" happened which kept me from getting back here sooner...

Volt meter says all is ok. A little more practice with the help of some suggestions made here as well as some real-time one on one help, at least got me to the point where I can make the thing sing up and own multiple scales as I had expected. This does not make it any easier to play, mind you, but THAT, I did not expect. Hoping that will come with time. Just need to find a way to practice at night when my "juices" are flowing without waking up the wife! Tried headphones on both the Theremini and my amp, but of course the cord changes things up and randomly affects my currently flawed movements. Any advice on this would be appreciated. Actually, while asking for advise, it appears that while I have found a few voices for use in Moog's librarian software, people seem to have collections of voices which I cannot seem to get my hands on. In fact, when I seem to get close, I just wind up downloading a blank HTML page (Windows 10), which I am saving to disk with the thought that some data might be hidden within, but I am still at a loss. Would REALLY appreciate any help in acquiring as many voices for this thing as I can. If anybody has an idea how/where to get these or has a collection they are willing to share, PLEASE help me.
Last, using either Android or Windows, if anybody knows of a good musical type of "flash Card" application which I could use to help me practice finding and playing notes or phrases, please advise. Such a program with a pitch recognizer would be so wonderful as it would (conceivably) be able to get more aggressive as my technique improves (or not) on any given night.

As always, thank you all in advance.

HiramAbiff

the 3 presets libraries i know of are here: http://animoog.org/theremini/ .

after calibration, if you put the theremini into theremin mode, then the left knob works for pitch adjustement. nightly playing + dangling cables = changing pitch. 

it's all a bit cumbersome (tuning, zero beat, how many octaves on a armslenght etc.) but after a while you get used to it. 

if you like, you could try to reverse the volume antenna response and hear how different some presets can be played  in the lower volume area.

 did you try audacity as software on windows?