Ruslan, are you talking about your experience with the Claravox? I see you have one listed in your user profile, but wasn't sure if you'd received it yet?
I must say that, other than octave register shifts, I get disoriented whenever I change the sensitivity or location of the pitch field, my muscle memory goes to heck and takes maybe several days to fully adapt.
Ruslan, are you talking about your experience with the Claravox? I see you have one listed in your user profile, but wasn't sure if you'd received it yet?I must say that, other than octave register shifts, I get disoriented whenever I change the sensitivity or location of the pitch field, my muscle memory goes to heck and takes maybe several days to fully adapt.
My current theremin (TVox Tour) is extremely non-linear and there is no way to adjust the curve. However, I can adjust the total length of the pitch field. If I don't need the bass, I just go closer to the instrument to have more spacing between notes in front of me (bass notes are inaccessible, because they are located behind me). If I don't need high notes, I take a step back to get acceptable spacing in the range I need (high notes are unplayable, because the spacing is too small). Claravox adjustments will save me from unnecessary steps towards / away from the instrument, but I don't expect to see any magic, it's just a convenience.. So I plan to rotate this knob in both directions
"My current theremin (TVox Tour) is extremely non-linear and there is no way to adjust the curve." - Ruslan
Ah, that explains it! :-) I think your experience with a more linear instrument that also has register switching may change how you approach playing.
Got a call from Moog today to tell me my Claravox (#133) is being shipped back to me and should arrive next Monday. There was an issue with the connections of the inductors on the volume oscillator board that needing fixing (I think that's what he said). Any way they retuned and stress tested it and all is good.
I would also like to note that the support guy I worked with at Moog was great. Very attentive, seem genuinely interested in my situation and kept in contact by phone and email. Over all they had it in their possession for 4 days so I think that's pretty good turn around.
I'll follow up next week once I get it set up and tested.
Got a call from Moog today to tell me my Claravox (#133) is being shipped back to me and should arrive next Monday. There was an issue with the connections of the inductors on the volume oscillator board that needing fixing (I think that's what he said). Any way they retuned and stress tested it and all is good.I would also like to note that the support guy I worked with at Moog was great. Very attentive, seem genuinely interested in my situation and kept in contact by phone and email. Over all they had it in their possession for 4 days so I think that's pretty good turn around.I'll follow up next week once I get it set up and tested.
For some reason, probably because I'm a bit stupid, I had only tried Traditional Mode, which does exhibit the volume problem.
However it turns out, this Claravox is working fine in Modern Mode, after calibration... It still chirps when touching the volume loop. Is this normal for the Claravox? Thomas Grillo wrote a lengthy post about the chirping problem on an Etherwave Standard, but
the problem does not exist in the EW Pro series.
About Traditional Mode, maybe the volume circuit just needs some tuning with the supplied tool?
The manual doesn't explain how to use it though, and advises to await instructions from a Moog technician.
Anyway, I sent Moog a video of its behavior in Traditional Mode and it looks like a defect to them. It will be sent to their EU service center for inspection. All in all I'm satisfied with their support so far.
Another DEAD Claravox. Well . . . the winner is, HANDSDOWN, the D-Lev!
I received a surprise message from FedEx on Tuesday stating that my Claravox had been shipped (Moog had promised the North Carolina Department of Justice [NC DOJ] that they would ship to my dealer, Prymaxe, by September 15, 2021). I was delighted to receive it (serial number 00218) yesterday and spent several hours playing it and comparing it to the D-Lev prototype. I had to stop as my arm started to hurt!
Overall, while in my opinion the D-Lev continues to be the superior of the two instruments, the Claravox seemed to be significantly better than my other instruments. I counted my blessings that I had received a functioning Claravox . . . or so I thought.
I sat down this evening for another round of fun only to find that, like so many others, my Claravox is DEAD! No audio, no sound, no nada - except the pretty lights do light up on par with a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I just contacted Prymaxe and they tried to send me a refund - I told them I paid for a functioning instrument! I've just written to Moog and will be writing to the NC DOJ tonight as they want all details about the situation.
Thank God I've got the D-Lev to play - it's a fine instrument, even though the prototype is in a wine bottle gift box! It's worked like a charm from Day 1.
"Another DEAD Claravox." - ContraDude
Oh man, that sucks. I'm no one and have no inside dope, but I think Moog Inc. maybe bit off more than it could chew by making a "dual mode" Theremin. It sounds really good on paper, pleases everyone, gives them that retro cred their business seems almost entirely based on, but introduces critical unnecessary complexities for no good engineering or playability reasons. The hardware could likely have been hugely simplified and made more reliable and adjustment-free had they just gone with the "modern" mode - which everyone will use anyway due to the extra field adjustments and the octave bank switching. Marketing is wagging the dog here IMO. I do sincerely hope they can get their act together and ultimately make everyone happy with their Claravox purchases.
Here’s a brief review of my DEAD Claravox (before it gave up the ghost):
As I mentioned above, my new Claravox is dead, Dead, DEAD - no audio at all, although at one point this evening it made a few noises - nothing remotely musical. Currently, no audio via main out or headphone out in either traditional or modern mode. Nothing.
Yesterday, the Claravox seemed like a very good instrument and played much differently than my other instruments (except for the D-Lev, which I maintain is an all-around superior instrument). I messed with the various settings and it’s a bit complex but not overwhelming.
The thing I tried to focus on the most (because I like it on the D-Lev so much) is the responsiveness of the volume antenna. The D-Lev wins hands down. On the Claravox, the traditional mode is sluggish in comparison, although that may be a characteristic of analog instruments. it’s definitely better when using the modern mode but, again, the D-Lev clearly wins. I couldn’t seem to make the Claravox more sensitive (respond faster).
Pitch antenna linearity on the traditional mode is, as might be expected, not bad, but not great. On modern mode, it is much better although I don’t know if it’s as nearly as adjustable as the D-Lev - I doubt it. I think that both the Claravox and the D-Lev seem to be similar on the volume antenna but, again, I think the D-Lev has much greater range of adjustability.
Regarding pitch quantization - the Claravox seemed very good (which only worked in modern mode), as long as it’s at the default setting or less sensitive; above that, it’s a bit too much for me.
Pitch preview seemed okay. Unlike the D-Lev, the same timbre is heard through the headphones as through the amp. No surprises there.
The D-Lev is light years ahead as far as presets are concerned. The number of onboard presets on the D-Lev is vastly greater - and there are a few on the Claravox that are just crap. Again, the one strange thing is how strong the bass is on the Claravox and how it causes sympathetic vibrations on various objects in the room (the D-Lev doesn’t do that despite having a larger range).
UPDATE:
I tried the Claravox this morning and nothing - no audio from any sources. As I’ve tried to remember all of the posts I’ve read about defective Claravoxes (Claravoxi? LOL), I recalled reading about something coming loose - what and where, I don’t remember.
Anyway, I have not moved the instrument and it’s located in the same spot as last night . . . so, I thought I’d try to wake it up, rattle its cage, strangle it (yeah, I’d like to strangle Moog)! LOL
Well . . . guess what? It started to work. WTH?!
I’ve strangled it a few more times to see if that would change anything and it continues to work. My next test is to leave it turned on and see if the heat from the electronics causes the problem (there don’t appear to be any vents on the case).
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