Is Moog still making Theremins?

Posted: 1/17/2024 6:13:25 PM
Yngvox Moogsteen

From: The Middle

Joined: 9/23/2021

     Seems no new Moog Theremins on Sweetwater,Guitar Center, Musicians Friend,Pitbull,etc.  Only Theremini are available new.
Did they stop production?  Maybe they are getting ready for Etherwave Pro rerelease we would all appreciate.  😂 😆 😝 
Thanks 

Posted: 1/17/2024 10:11:26 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

Moog Music lives on largely in name only, sad to say.  Acquired by conglomerate inMusic.  I read that they laid just about everyone off.

Posted: 6/5/2024 3:17:37 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

Am looking around again today, nothing new except for Thereminis (blea).  It's extra tough out there for a Thereminist these days.

Posted: 6/6/2024 2:24:54 PM
DreadVox

From: The East of the Netherlands

Joined: 6/18/2019

On this side of the big pond, in the Netherlands (Bax Music Shop) and Germany (Thomann, Musik Produktiv), it's also only Thereminis.
Also at Wilco Boterman's sites (https://theremin.nl/  and https://www.ethermagic.eu/) no theremins are offered for sale.
I would suggest people looking for a good analog theremin to contact Dominik / Subscope.

Posted: 7/8/2024 9:46:24 AM
bluecoffee

Joined: 4/18/2022

I'm in the UK too. I contacted Moog about this recently, and they replied:

I am very sorry to hear that you have not been able to find an Etherwave Theremin. At this time, the Etherwave Theremin is no longer in production and only available on the aftermarket.

The only currently available Theremin product is the Theremini which can be purchased through your nearest Moog dealer: moogmusic.com/dealers.


I managed to buy a second hand Moog Etherwave (standard) theremin on eBay UK for £375, which I'm very happy with. They don't come up that often, and searching for them is quite tricky. They're also on Reverb.com but tend to be much more expensive (around £600). I've seen them on Facebook Marketplace too, but for "collection only".

I own a second hand Theremini and a OpenTheremin v4. The Theremini is very difficult to get a stable pitch out of - any slight disruption to the electromagnetic environment seems to make it unhappy - mains extensions, nearby metal objects/computers etc. But the built in speaker, multiple sounds and outputs make it much more fun for kids.

The OpenTheremin is a better instrument, but doesn't seem to have the range to be able to reliably get an octave from a closed raised fist to an open horizontal hand.

Good luck.

Posted: 7/10/2024 5:16:43 PM
bendra

From: Portland, Oregon

Joined: 2/22/2018


The OpenTheremin is a better instrument, but doesn't seem to have the range to be able to reliably get an octave from a closed raised fist to an open horizontal hand.


I don't own an OpenTheremin, but do you think just using a better set of antennae might help? in particular the L shaped pitch antenna strikes me as sus

Posted: 7/12/2024 2:55:48 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

"I own a second hand Theremini and a OpenTheremin v4. The Theremini is very difficult to get a stable pitch out of - any slight disruption to the electromagnetic environment seems to make it unhappy - mains extensions, nearby metal objects/computers etc. But the built in speaker, multiple sounds and outputs make it much more fun for kids."  - bluecoffee

100% concur.  The fields are super weak and so have been filtered to death, which isn't a solution when the goal is a responsive musical instrument.  In theory the oscillator boards could be replaced with higher Q / voltage versions, but how to address the excessive filtering in the SW?  And the field setup procedure (also in the SW) is a time wasting mess.

"The OpenTheremin is a better instrument, but doesn't seem to have the range to be able to reliably get an octave from a closed raised fist to an open horizontal hand."

Could you elaborate?  I've never messed with an OpenTheremin, though I have examined the schematics and some of the code.  Are you saying the sensitivity is variable depending on the field calibration?  (That wouldn't necessarily surprise me, as rough calibration is implemented via antenna C padding, which would tend to vary the absolute sensitivity.)

"I don't own an OpenTheremin, but do you think just using a better set of antennae might help? in particular the L shaped pitch antenna strikes me as sus"  - bendra

I don't mean to be overly harsh on the OpenTheremin, but I don't get why the Euro-rack compatible form factor was chosen?  Do folks actually rack mount them in overwhelming numbers?  If so, how the heck do they play them?  The faceplate is very narrow and so places the antenna connections and oscillators very close to one another, which is bad from both electrical and ergonomic angles.  I'm personally fine with whatever ends up working best in those two categories.  Broken record, but portability / compactness / aesthetics are at best distractions early on in the musical instrument design phase, and at worst drag everything down decidedly non-musical paths.  Job #1 is getting it to work well (Theremins are accidents just itching to happen), #2 is making it as fun and painless to play as possible (people intimately interact with it) - IMO #3 and the rest should be very distant and very minor weighted goals from these two, and only entertained after 1 & 2 have been clearly addressed.

Posted: 7/12/2024 6:51:15 PM
Mr_Dham

From: Occitanie

Joined: 3/4/2012

The OpenTheremin is a better instrument, but doesn't seem to have the range to be able to reliably get an octave from a closed raised fist to an open horizontal hand. - Bluecoffee


An error can easily be done when reading the user guide which says:
"Touch the FUNCTION button on the theremin for about 3 second. The LED-light will turn pink and
the theremin will start the automatic calibration of the antennas. To not disturb the calibration step
away form the theremin and wait until the blue LED-light goes back on. The calibration should take
about 60 seconds."

The expression "step away" is often understood as "go in another room" which is wrong.
Instead, the user should stay in his playing position, keeping his hands away from the antennas.
(e.g. arms at his sides or casual cadaver position from D-LEV manual). This way you'll get a much more usable and adjustable field.


Posted: 7/12/2024 7:11:37 PM
Mr_Dham

From: Occitanie

Joined: 3/4/2012

Ha... Dewster, you're absolutely right,
But the open (pocket) theremin is like a travel toothbrush. Indispensable. 

Posted: 7/13/2024 12:47:31 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

An error can easily be done when reading the user guide which says:
"Touch the FUNCTION button on the theremin for about 3 second. The LED-light will turn pink and
the theremin will start the automatic calibration of the antennas. To not disturb the calibration step
away form the theremin and wait until the blue LED-light goes back on. The calibration should take
about 60 seconds."  - Mr_Dham

60 seconds seems kinda long, is there some sort of slow averaging going on?  How often do you have to calibrate it?

The expression "step away" is often understood as "go in another room" which is wrong.
Instead, the user should stay in his playing position, keeping his hands away from the antennas.
(e.g. arms at his sides or casual cadaver position from D-LEV manual). This way you'll get a much more usable and adjustable field.

IIRC there's some ambiguity regarding this in the Theremini manual as well.  The D-Lev (via Vcal & Pcal) can be adjusted to have the player standing there with hands on the controls, arms back at body, or running out of the room.  Arms at body is my preferred posture because it's quick and convenient, and it obviously takes the player's body capacitance into account.

But the open (pocket) theremin is like a travel toothbrush. Indispensable. 

Ha ha, yes!

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