Fixing Claravox volume antenna

"That‘s the respectable view of an engineer, but probably not the one of a musician who probably associates huge movements with increased volume and musical expression while returning to a default position is associated to silence." 

- ThierryThis is my view as a lay Thereminist.  And with my instrument set to closer = louder my resting position is also silence.  IMO if large volume hand movements are necessary then the instrument itself isn't very good.  There is a happy medium to be found between flapping like a bird and too tight.

To me as well the common behaviour is natural. When volume is max you can freely gesture in addition. This can be seen in many videos. If volume was max in the down position one has to freeze. Of course a thing of personal preference.

Btw silicone hose over the loop would add some soft and matt aesthetics.

I'm wondering that muting the volume while touching the antenna seems like an unsolvable problem. It means a sudden path to earth via the higher body capacity. The variable pitch oscillator suddenly breaks down. This should be prevented.

"I'm wondering that muting the volume while touching the antenna seems like an unsolvable problem."  - JPascal

It's easily solved with insulation, but that's not traditional.  I've seen series capacitors on some Theremins, and I assume it's there to put a limit on conduction when the touched antenna is more or less shorted to ground.

"It means a sudden path to earth via the higher body capacity."

And significant resistance, which is probably more of a problem because it really damps oscillation.

"To me as well the common behaviour is natural. When volume is max you can freely gesture in addition. This can be seen in many videos. If volume was max in the down position one has to freeze. Of course a thing of personal preference."  - DOMINIK

Good point!  Though IMO it's a very minor benefit.*

Closer = louder makes the instrument easier to play percussively, and definitely prevents it from making unwanted noise.  Traditional farther = louder seems dangerous for a stage performance situation.  I'm always struck by how much Thereminists visiting our studio have to keep their hand firmly on the volume loop (making it wobble around on the stand) when not playing, and how many times it ends up squawking regardless of how careful they are.  Not exactly touchless!  And if it squeaks when touched that seems like the worst of all possible worlds, what with all the squawking and wobbling going on.

I know, I'm tilting at windmills...

*I get how some musicians do things unconsciously and uncontrollably due to the concentration going on in a performance, and maybe it's just an overgrown pet peeve of mine, but I find excessive theatrics and emoting distracting.  E.g. someone plays a single note on a piano and feels the need to accompany it with pretentious whole body movements, showy hand flourishes, and guitar face - it would be comical if it weren't so annoying to watch.

When Thereminists raise their volume hand really high in a performance I start thinking they're either showing off or there's something wrong with their instrument.

"When Thereminists raise their volume hand really high in a performance I start thinking they're either showing off or there's something wrong with their instrument."

I agree.  How about the ones that swirl their hands around like they are conducting an orchestra?  I don't understand how you can have any predictable control that way.  I imagine that it would look more impressive to the average person who has never seen a theremin before.  

What is important is the musical result.
Try to listen to a thereminist's performance with your eyes closed.
Then open your eyes and listen again.

Some are very strict and rigid when playing. So is their music.
Others do a lot of apparently useless and parasitic movements.
Their music is often much more sensitive and emotional.

The same comments applies to orchestra or choir conductors.

But there are exceptions...

Re: volume hand gymnastics ... I do see a lot of thereminists whose focus seems to be on the lovely shapes they can achieve with their left hand vs the pitch sometimes! I think they are trying to emulate some of the a listers who perform more regularly. Some of the rubbery finger movements will not achieve much more than just a controlled expressive flat hand ... I tend to go minimalist but still do micro volume adjustments 

Something I've imagined to be true is the use of a a general lifting of the hand away from the volume loop to limit envelope shaping, while still performing the shaping movements, which makes it understandable from a practical standpoint.

A volume antenna which squeaks when touched is (with Moog’s principle of operation and circuits in the Etherwave Standard and Plus) perfectly normal. Even more: The better the sensitivity of the volume circuit is adjusted, the more it squeaks. Just don’t touch the damn thing! You should be aware of the fact that the Theremin is known as an instrument which you play without touching it… Shrink tube insulation does prevent this without affecting the volume response, that’s true. But it’s ugly! Better train your left hand to be less clumsy, so that you manage to mute your instrument without touching the loop.And when I’ll have the fix for the Claravox’s problem with its insufficient dynamic range which makes that you can’t completely mute it, it risks to squeak even more when touched. As I said above, learn to not to touch the thing!

I forgot about this thread for a while, cool to see it so active! If it was possible for the instrument to be silent at some radius from the volume antenna, it would be much easier to deal with. The solution I've come to through necessity is to use my hand's natural insulator- my fingernails! This is only really possible due to my unconventional technique of holding my hand facing upward / toward my body. I end up resting my hand on the volume antenna via a little divot formed between my middle finger and ring finger nails, which means I essentially get as quiet as possible (which is still not silent unfortunately) without squeaks or needing any extra insulation. I would really prefer to not have to do that, however. I envy people I see in videos with the Etherwave Pros, where they indeed have that silent radius to work with.

I received this morning a brand new Claravox but, when reading the beautiful certificate of Authenticity, hand signed by Mike Adams, President of Moog music, I realized that my Claravox had been manufactured on April 29th,2022, a year and a half ago.

I also received the dedicated stand that has the issue with the tightening knob not blocking the vertical screw but I can easily deal with that.

Both antennas have been finely sanded at the end, which means that the coating has been removed at the factory (each antenna was enclose in a thin sealed plastic bag). It's a known issue which has been addressed by Moog.

BUT ! I also have the issue of the volume antenna that cannot completely mute the Claravox.
This happens only in traditional mode.
It's really disturbing when playing, in particular when a piece ends with a long decrescendo.
I tried all possible settings. Even with my arm through the loop, the sound is still audible.
I searched the forum but didn't find any solution.

I opened a ticket on the Moog site and am still waiting for their answer.

Do you know if an solution has been found ? Thierry, may be ?