New to Thereminism - Looking for tipps to startup with a Kees

Hello dear Theremin community,

i´m a absolute beginner in Thereminism, living in southern germany. I came across to this (fantastic) Website and was really fascinated about the instrument and the history. A lot of posts (especially by Gordon C.) here drove me to order a Kees Theremin. The prices for Moog Theremins are so high here in germany compared to US that i decided to start with a cheaper one to find out if i will ever be able to play it. Today Kees Enkelaar gave me the go to order one.
Juhuuu, this took some time, but he is really very friendly!
Now i´m eagerly awaiting it to arrive in time to Chritsmas.
Can you folks please be so kind and give me some good hints how to start when i receive my new baby in some days.
- Which kind of Amplifier would you recommend ?
- Does any Mic stand will fit to the Kees?
- Do you recommend a learning video or a special book ?
What else is necessary during the startup phase.

Many thanks in advance for your answers

Best regards

Arthur aka Mungo

For some advice about amplifiers, look here (http://www.thereminworld.com/forum.asp?cmd=p&T=2174&F=557&p=1) and read the first comment by GordonC.

Regarding the mic stand, I don't have a kees so I don't know, but you can take it to your local music shop and try it to find out. If it has a mic stand mount, though, most any mic stand will work, they're almost all the same.

For a learning video, I strongly recommend How to Play the Theremin with Peter Pringle (http://www.peterpringle.com/dvd.html). It's in English, but it seems like your English is pretty good and Peter uses very plain language, so I feel confident that you'll be fine with it.

And welcome. I hope you'll have lots of fun with your Theremin for many years to come.

Thanks a lot for your valuable information, i´ll try to find the Pringle DVD at Amzon.de !
(special thanks for ...my good english... wish my english teachers two decades ago could hear you :-) )

As it's apparently my fault, I'll try and answer some of your questions too...

Because the Kees has an output volume control you can plug it into just about anything - headphones, home sound system, ipod speakers. Of course a practice amp is better, but there is no need to buy one before your theremin arrives. This means you can take your theremin to your local music store and try out some different amps that suit your budget and choose one with a sound you like. Be sure to listen to the bass notes as well as higher tones. If the amp has reverb, that's a bonus - the raw theremin sound is very dry - a little bit of reverb helps.

If you think it possible that you will upgrade to a different theremin in the future, choose a keyboard amp - most theremins produce line-out levels, as does the Kees when the output volume is at maximum - guitar amps will distort badly at those levels and sustain damage.

Yup, any mic stand will do. At least, I just bought the first one I saw, and it was fine.

Books & Videos (http://www.thereminworld.com/play.asp)

Anything else? Patience, the tolerance of your family, a sense of humour, a suitable power adaptor, cables.

Also consider buying a stool - one with the seat 75 cm up will allow you to play standing or sitting without adjusting the height of the theremin.

Again thanks!
Gordon, i promise i will post the first "success"-stories here in the forum. I hope my wife and the children will survive the first cacophony... :-)
And you are right your enthusiastic postings ensnared me to the Kees. Your Videos are great, Chapeau!

Best regards
arthur

Arthur, unless things have changed since I last checked, the Peter Pringle DVD is only available directly from Peter's web site. However, he does ship worldwide.

No problem, then i´ll order from his site directly. thanks, arthur

Hi and welcome to the Thereminworld.com community.

The following link will take you to a thread -- scroll down and you will see a recent post I made on the amplifier topic:

http://thereminworld.com/forum.asp?cmd=p&T=2197&F=6

Hope that you find the information useful.

[i]-- Kevin[/i]

Hello kkissinger, thanks for your warm welcome words and the useful link.

BTW i have read that there exist some problems using the Kees with a DC Power adaptor, i think it was a post by Gordon. Does anybody of you use succesfully a DC 9V Adaptor with the Kees, i mean without any noise or interferences ?

Regards arthur

I did have some trouble with my first 9v adaptor, but the problem was a faulty adaptor, not the Kees. Any adaptor that meets Kees' specifications will be ok.

Adaptors sold for use with audio equipment - effects pedals, for instance - should have the appropriate characteristics of low noise and hum.