SOMA Flux

Not exactly a theremin, but a very interesting instrument declaredly inspired by it. It's essentially a digital synthesizer with a theremin-like control, with some interesting twists.
What do you think?

https://somasynths.com/flux/

Some less theremin-like demos here, exploring all the sonic possibilities:
https://somasynths.com/flux_demo/

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"What do you think?"  - Spider76

Thanks!  It has a more intuitive playing interface than a Theremin, and you can do similar things with it.  I believe one could probably also do this with hand capacitance and so dispense with the magnet holding.  There was an instrument that did this with LEDs pointing up and reflecting off the hand, but I can't find a link to it anymore, and it probably wasn't as responsive.

The voices seem more old school analog synthy: waveform and distortion driven rather than filter driven, which isn't my cup of tea.  They could maybe do more with the right hand z axis to give an abrupt turn-on, so the left hand wouldn't be required to ape it?

Don't mean to dump on it, I'm all in favor of more controllers!

"What do you think?"  - Spider76Thanks!  It has a more intuitive playing interface than a Theremin, and you can do similar things with it.  I believe one could probably also do this with hand capacitance and so dispense with the magnet holding.  There was an instrument that did this with LEDs pointing up and reflecting off the hand, but I can't find a link to it anymore, and it probably wasn't as responsive.The voices seem more old school analog synthy: waveform and distortion driven rather than filter driven, which isn't my cup of tea.  They could maybe do more with the right hand z axis to give an abrupt turn-on, so the left hand wouldn't be required to ape it? Don't mean to dump on it, I'm all in favor of more controllers!

I've been playing mine a month, and I must say it's very inspiring to put in the practice time required to play it in all the ways it offers.

I don't think hand capacitance could suffice because it can't be nearly as precisely localized as those two little magnets. Of the 32 sounds, I must say I dislike most, but I find at least 6 (plus their 2-4 variations per) to be very usable and desirable. The others are useful for more wacky stuff, I guess, but given limited time, I really want to focus on playing notes in rhythmical time with varied articulation and tone rather than get sound effects-y. Taste varies, of course, and I get the most out of it with external multi FX, as I find the single plain vanilla reverb not so great. Onboard delay is fine, but I prefer more flexibility there, too.

There is right hand Z for a staccato articulation, and most presets have two different kinds of staccato. Both are very useful, and I couldn't do without the variety of articulation they provide. The left hand can do its own thing in these staccato modes.

I like the thing so much that I want to re-try the Moog Etherwave that defeated me more than 15 years ago. I hesitate to spend the money (again) because I think that FLUX's making it so easy, by comparison, to play in tune and separate notes will make me give up too easily. It's just that I loved that Etherwave sound down in the bass range. FLUX has a pretty good filter-y bass patch that's one of my goto's, but it's not the same. There's supposed to be a CV/MIDI breakout box someday, so maybe that will give me what I want.

Thanks for that feedback Jimmy!

"I don't think hand capacitance could suffice because it can't be nearly as precisely localized as those two little magnets."

Hmm.  Theremins are pretty precise, though I guess I see your point.  Not sure I'd want to be gripping magnets in order to play though.  Have you tried the Continuum?  IMO throwing away tactile feedback is a pretty drastic thing to do on a musical controller.

"Of the 32 sounds, I must say I dislike most..."

I wonder how much work generally goes into presets?  Synths live and die by them, as most folks won't dig deep enough to create their own (mea culpa).

"Taste varies, of course, and I get the most out of it with external multi FX, as I find the single plain vanilla reverb not so great."

IMO synths live and die by the quality of their reverb too, it's absolutely essential that it be a good implementation and not given short shrift.  I really hate adding outboard effects for this bread and butter stuff, it's just too fiddly.

Yeah, I have a Continuum, a Slim70. After three years with it, it made me liquidate all my hardware synths, and I'm still not tempted to go back at all. I was so skeptical about FLUX that I'd decided definitely not to buy one after trying it out for 2 hours at a trade show. There were only earbuds available, and that early model had some glitches to boot. Most of all, what's the use of FLUX when you can play the same monophonic lines on the Continuum? The difference with Continuum turns out to be much greater control over nuances of tone because Continuum requires additional pedals to get closer to the same number of dimensions of control, and I really don't like using pedals with my Continuum because of the way it restricts my physical position (a personal quirk). I've actually been calculating liquidating the Continuum, I like the FLUX so much as an instrument to devote myself to. You can't beat polyphony, though, and I find many, many EaganMatrix patches just fantastic out of the box so that I think it's unlikely given, say, a year's perspective that I'll still be willing to part with the Continuum.

I was also very skeptical of FLUX's "bows," thinking that they add a degree of cumbersomeness that I really would not want to deal with (drops, misplacings, etc.). To my great surprise--and I was expecting to dump the FLUX within a week--those magnetic bows turn out to be a non-factor. It's difficult to drop them, and they're just effortlessly secure in your hands. It's convenient to stick them on and pluck them off the microphone stand, and you can easily wiggle knobs and punch buttons on other gear without changing the bows' position in your hands.

Another dealbreaker with FLUX was going to be the poor posture required to play it, with your body constantly hunched over because your eyes can't leave the keyboard (like Continuum). Personally, I'm sensitive to this. I've found though, that standing play allows (even requires) enough body re-positioning that, so far, I haven't been subject to the repetitive stress types of issues that I'm personally prone to. That could change, and I'll quit the thing on a dime at the first twinge of tendinitis because I've personally learned that lesson.

Onboard reverb? Synth enthusiasts debate fiercely over this, one side believing that outboard FX are always far more desirable, so synths shouldn't increase their costs by providing unwanted onboard FX. It's a moot point with me since I got the category-killing Axe-FX III, so at the cost of an inconvenient space hog and a lot of money, I can emulate any FX that I've ever owned well enough. I've thought for gigging, though, the FLUX is so wonderfully transportable (Continuum not so much), that I'd hate to ruin that by purchasing a small reverb unit, but I think I would have to because I just can't warm up to FLUX's reverb.