Etherwave 1 octave?

Hello,

I just recently purchased a Moog Etherwave Standard online, and upon arrival it only plays through about 1 controllable octave, then about half an octave right up next to the pitch rod. Turning the pitch nob doesnt increase my field at all, it only changes the starting pitch of the octave the instrument is playing. Ive checked out some videos online that said you needed to let the instrument warm up to get an accurate field, but leaving it on does nothing to the pitch. I had tried 1 other etherwave at a store, and it had a similar response. Ive seen videos of this instrument producing 5+ octaves normally, am I doing something wrong? Should I simply throw this thing out the window and give up on my theremin dreams?

Thanks!

Are you using head phones plugged into the theremin? That is the precise thing that will happen if you use headphones.

You need to plug it into an amplifier with a long enough instrument cable to get a ground, lay the cable on the floor  and that should do it.

If that does not do it, you need to open it up and adjust the coils - expect to take some time to get it right, be patient - when you replace the cover, you will probably have to open it up and readjust it because the top on will modify your initial correction.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Etherwave+adjusting+the+coils&oq=Etherwave+adjusting+the+coils&aqs=chrome..69i57.630j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Good luck and BE PATIENT.

Sounds like two and a half possible causes:

a) That thing is defective (not very probable), then send it back under warranty.

b) too much (parasitic) capacitance around or bad grounding. Did you set it up on a microphone stand creating a free field with a radius of 1,50m/5ft around and connect it to an appropriate amplifier which is grounded/earthed through its wall plug? Do you stand at arm length from the pitch antenna? 

c) I see you are in NYC. Don't you have actually extremely cold and wet weather conditions? If you ordered it online, it might just have spend too much time in a cold and humid storage or on the way during shipping and the wood has temporarily absorbed too much humidity which greatly decreases the pitch range and makes it unresponsive. In that case, take a Philips screw driver, open the cover and let it dry at room temperature for a week or so. Put the lid back before trying it again, it will never work correctly when the cover is not in it's place. These are highly sensitive beasts.

I experienced the same here in Montana. Turning it on and letting the unit warm for 15-20 minutes did the trick for me. (BTW it was shipped from LV Nevada) so the climate and temperature change may have contributed to it as well.

Blessings!