Beat Frequency live on YouTube

Posted: 4/9/2009 5:17:22 AM 1

From: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK

Joined: 10/5/2005

If you track yT for theremin videos you won't see this one - no "theremin" tag - but here I am on stage, doing my thing, complete with double chin and beer belly...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoe_GEsY8c

Uh, this is a "panic box" piece, so classical thereminists may prefer to watch with the sound muted. You have been warned!

There may be more to come...

Posted: 4/9/2009 12:19:10 PM 2

djpb_designs

From: Escondido, CA

Joined: 2/6/2008

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I want to watch the whole thing at a later date (can't spend the quality listening time on it at work!), but what I watched sounds great to me!

Even in the minute or so I watched, I could see a lot of interesting effects to try out.

Keep up the good work!

Don

Posted: 4/9/2009 2:55:22 PM 3

GordonC

From: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK

Joined: 10/5/2005

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[i]sounds great[/i]

The guy with the camera had a pro quality mike, and the sound system was massive. [i]And...[/i] the sound engineer got it almost right first time.

All it took was a little tweak of the DFA knob to make it perfect. :-)

Posted: 4/9/2009 3:17:51 PM 4

FredM

From: Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. ................................... Fred Mundell. ................................... Electronics Engineer. (Primarily Analogue) .. CV Synths 1974-1980 .. Theremin developer 2007 to present .. soon to be Developing / Trading as WaveCrafter.com . ...................................

Joined: 12/7/2007

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This sounds great! Superb performance, congratulations Gordon!

At about 8:20 there there is a wonderful, almost recognisable chord! (LOL ;) with harmonics which grow into a spectacular clean sound.. I also love the 'crackling' overdrive distortion you are getting.

All extremely interesting and enjoyable.

Posted: 4/9/2009 3:46:35 PM 5

Brian R

From: Somerville, MA

Joined: 10/7/2005

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[i]Uh, this is a "panic box" piece, so classical thereminists may prefer to watch with the sound muted. You have been warned![/i]

Anyone prissy enough to snub this performance on intonational grounds just isn't listening. It's beautiful, and if anything, your warning might be worded more appropriately:

"Classical thereminists might drop to the floor and/or eat their hearts out in a fit of jealousy when they hear the glorious timbres produced by the panic box. A select few might descend into madness as they attempt to harness those rich sounds in the pursuit of precision playing. If excitement over warped sound lasts longer than four hours, consult your physician."

Really must dust off ring modulator and experiment with signal inputs... sanity be damned.

Posted: 4/9/2009 4:57:24 PM 6

GordonC

From: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK

Joined: 10/5/2005

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[i]the 'crackling' overdrive[/i]

Heh, heh. The sound engineer didn't notice me crank up all the knobs on my amp after he got everything just so.

I had a great time [i]and[/i] I discovered three phrases to get the sound man on your side and impress him with your foresight, gear and technical know-how...

1. "I packed a spare one. You can borrow it."
2. "I have XLR out on my amp."
3. "Just a touch more DFA, please."

(By the way - you should check the other videos on Caché Vidja's channel - not theremin, but some great electronica from the same event.)

Posted: 4/9/2009 7:41:19 PM 7

GordonC

From: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK

Joined: 10/5/2005

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[i]Really must dust off ring modulator and experiment with signal inputs... sanity be damned.[/i]

Brian, go for it! To paraphrase Man From Uranus, theremin + delay + ring mod = instant radiophonic workshop (*)

Also, don't tease the classical guys. I listen to Radio 3 - I know they got some good sounds going on. It's more that - well, if the best classical player gently tickle the ether with delicate, butterfly hands, then I feel like I got electricity shooting out my fingertips in great crackling arcs when I play.

(*) Except they didn't have a theremin.

Posted: 4/9/2009 9:46:19 PM 8

FredM

From: Eastleigh, Hampshire, U.K. ................................... Fred Mundell. ................................... Electronics Engineer. (Primarily Analogue) .. CV Synths 1974-1980 .. Theremin developer 2007 to present .. soon to be Developing / Trading as WaveCrafter.com . ...................................

Joined: 12/7/2007

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1. "I packed a spare one. You can borrow it."
2. "I have XLR out on my amp."
3. "Just a touch more DFA, please."

Hmmmm.. Not so sure about 3! .. Perhaps you are in the know about this - perhaps not... My understanding of DFA is that it is a placebo.. it does nothing! - It has been a long time since I had anything to do with studio hardware.. so perhaps there is now a real function performed by the DFA (Does F** Anything) Knob.. (Back in the early 80's I built a DJ mixer for a Rastafarian sound battle, which had a knob which performed the same function as DFA - It was the ELEE knob .."Everything Louder than Everything Else" (The mixer was named the Silicon Spliff)

Am I missing something? ;)

Posted: 4/10/2009 3:10:28 AM 9

GordonC

From: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK

Joined: 10/5/2005

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Yes, I knew what it meant. Now you've gone and told everyone. D'oh.

Did the Silicon Spliff also have anti-bogart damping and Blimburn compensators?

Posted: 4/10/2009 1:46:28 PM 10

djpb_designs

From: Escondido, CA

Joined: 2/6/2008

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Hmm I would thought that would have been DFA = don't f** with Anything! (smaller words like 'with' are often not included in the acronymn)

And of course the symmetric complement to that is the DFN (does f*'g nothing) control. This should be located right next to the "under no circumstances should you push this button" control. Which is guaranteed to be pressed!

So many knobs ... so much temptation :)

Don