Roll Call! - 2008 - Part 2

I don't think you missed much. The point of mySpace is that it provides information that people are interested in without the effort of setting up a website, and of discovering other people with similar musical interests. It's a database. For me it is a way of finding thereminists and hearing their music and discovering when they are playing a London venue.

It was a tremendous tool for publicising Hands Off last year, and Without Touch 2 currently. Most of my invitations to play gigs have come via mySpace too. What I really don't get is Facebook. What's that about?

It is also kind of handy for forums like Theremin World that do not have a private messaging facility - usually it is easier to find someone on myspace than to track down their email address if you want to exchange a few words via the back channel.

Yes, Housefly's Lament is one of mine. I found a copy of the Gakken instructions online as a pdf document and copy-and-pasted it a paragraph at a time into google translate. Not that it was totally helpful - I'm still not to sure how to do something in the manner of a sea-urchin - but it let me figure a few things out. Post if you get stuck and I'll probably be able to help. There are several other people here have also made one. (The mystery diagram on the first page is "You can magnetise a screwdriver by stroking it against the back of the loudspeaker.")

I've seen a few new Summer arrivals popping up around the Forums.

Would love to know more about you and your Theremin Activities.

I've been busy with the site here and working on a new concert. It's a great feeling to have new tunes bumping around in my head all day.

So... what ya all up to?

Hello, fellows!

I've been lurking for a few weeks now and finally will introduce myself.

I'm a retired systems programmer from St. Louis, MO, who has been intrigued with the theremin since the 1950s sci-fi movies showcased their sound.

Years ago, I built a theremin from a 1967 Popular Electronics article. The instrument was a disappointment. This, of course, was before the Internet and the theremin info it provides.

A few weeks ago, I assembled a Moog standard Etherwave kit, but was not satisfied with the finish I applied to the case (It's downright ugly). Also, the physical design is not to my liking (why is the audio out placed at the front of the case?).

A friend of mine is a very skilled woodworker - a guitar and harpsichord maker. We thought building a new case would be a fun project. We chose a cocobolo board with remarkable, hallucinogenic grain patterns. The board was not cheap at $60 USD, but it will be worth it. We plan to make the knobs out of cocobolo as well and reposition the power and audio out jacks in the base. The microphone stand receptacle will be flush-mounted in the base as well. Also, we will add a pitch preview.

The wood is pseudo-bookmatched, meaning the grain patterns will continue from top to front and sides. We plan a clear, lacquer finish.

Currently, I output the Etherwave into the A/D input of a Yamaha S80 synthesizer. This allows for a myriad of effects, but my favorite is a voice simulator effect which gives the theremin the sound of a soprano vocalist.

When we complete the case, I will post photos. It may be awhile, however, since we work at a snail's pace.

A photo of the very beginnings can be found at http://flickr.com/photos/97827539@N00/2630394313/

"...and that a theremin impersonating a violin makes little more sense than a violin trying to sound like a theremin!"

Very true! Coming in close, but not touching my wife's violin doesn't produce much sound :)



Don

Welcome to ThereminWorld ExclamPt!
Congrats on the Moog theremin project.
That new case is going to look great,
perfect for playing the waves of the aether.

Keep us posted how it turns out and your theremin music making.

Beautiful case! That was an excellent choice of wood to use.

Don

The grain on that case makes me dizzy! It is perfect for a theremin.

Hi,
i'm also new to this forum, heared about the theremin i think in octobre last year and decided to spend my money on a black theremin standard. Here in nothern germany getting a moog theremin isn't that easy, because you have to wait for a long time (about 5 weeks now) but i hope, it'll arrive next week. I'm a student of computer science and heared about the theremin in a lecture about computer and music.

I'm reading the Rss-Newsfeed for a while now and decided just yesterday to join the forum. So here i am.

Excellent DarkMoonWolf, welcome to ThereminWorld, thanks for joining.

Too bad it takes so long to get a theremin there, but I think it will be worth it.
I couldn't go to sleep when mine arrvied.

Let us know how it goes when you get yours.

There's a lot of information you can search for in the forums and the getting started pages about the basics of setting up.
Any answers you cannot find post in the appropiate forum, there's lots of helpful folks here, even now during our slow Summer time.

Well, i could've had the theremin earlier. In the music shop i visited (real life, non internet because i didn't want to spend so much money virtually) they said (after i explained what a theremin is =)) that the chery-wood-version is available at once and the black moog standard theremin would take a while. i took the black one, just because i found it more beautiful. After 5 weeks of waiting, i'm still sleeping wuite well ;)

Thanks for the tips, i just decided to buy the book „Die Kunst des Thereminspielens“ (The Art of Playing the Theremin) by Carolina Eyck, because it is in german. I don't midn reading english stuff as long as the source is originally english. Despite of that the shop where i ordered it was quite nice (Servi Verlag Berlin).

So i hope that next week both the theremin and the book will arrive.