If anyone has any knowledge of the specs on the Claratone speaker (size, frequency response, sensitivity, wattage, ribbed cone vs. smooth cone, etc...) I'd love to hear it. I've been checking out the Weber speakers (http://www.tedweber.com/) site. You can have custom Alnico speakers built for a decent price there.
RCA Sounds / Recordings / Samples
Posted: 10/4/2009 10:29:57 AM
coalport: "One thing you can do to emulate the sound of a tube theremin if you are playing a transistorized instrument, is to put the signal through a tube processor of some kind prior to amplification."
I do the same thing, but with a far less expensive unit than an Millennium pre-amp. I use an ART Tube MP-2 preamp:
http://www.amazon.com/ART-Tube-Studio-Mic-Preamp/dp/B0002E50MC
Available for as low as $30 from various sources. It's no Millennium or Avalon, but the bang-for-buck ratio is amazing. It does add a nice "tube warmth" to the sound of my Burns B3 Deluxe, which is pretty "clean" on its own.
How can you go wrong for 30 bucks?
I do the same thing, but with a far less expensive unit than an Millennium pre-amp. I use an ART Tube MP-2 preamp:
http://www.amazon.com/ART-Tube-Studio-Mic-Preamp/dp/B0002E50MC
Available for as low as $30 from various sources. It's no Millennium or Avalon, but the bang-for-buck ratio is amazing. It does add a nice "tube warmth" to the sound of my Burns B3 Deluxe, which is pretty "clean" on its own.
How can you go wrong for 30 bucks?
Posted: 10/4/2009 10:41:43 AM
I've been using an Art Tube MP as a preamp for a small power amp for a while now. It does sound better than say, a Behringer mixer or something, but it's not great either. I've heard some people online talking about how it's mainly a solid state device with a tube stuck in it. I sometimes think about mounting it under my Etherwave somehow for a volume control.
I had a silly idea a couple of weeks ago.
What if one had a transistor theremin with an instrument level, sine wave output (Fred's Etherwave mod?) and a quality all tube guitar amp. Could one dial in a pleasing (and theremin-like) amount of tube squishing of the waveform (distortion). The amount of squishing and
and shaping being related to amplitude (and possibly pitch?).
The beauty of this, probably foolhardy, idea is that once you move into the guitar realm, all manner of equipment becomes available.
I guess the question is if it would sound "theremin interesting" or if it would just come out sounding like a distorted slide guitar.
(Anyone have an Etherwave Plus, CV synth with sine wave, and a vintage Fender Twin amp? ;)
I had a silly idea a couple of weeks ago.
What if one had a transistor theremin with an instrument level, sine wave output (Fred's Etherwave mod?) and a quality all tube guitar amp. Could one dial in a pleasing (and theremin-like) amount of tube squishing of the waveform (distortion). The amount of squishing and
and shaping being related to amplitude (and possibly pitch?).
The beauty of this, probably foolhardy, idea is that once you move into the guitar realm, all manner of equipment becomes available.
I guess the question is if it would sound "theremin interesting" or if it would just come out sounding like a distorted slide guitar.
(Anyone have an Etherwave Plus, CV synth with sine wave, and a vintage Fender Twin amp? ;)
Posted: 10/4/2009 10:50:34 AM
[i]"As I understand it, the reason why tube theremins sound "better" to many people is that the qualities of the tone actually change depending on the register the thereminist is playing in. It all has to do with the heating and cooling of the elements inside the "magical Inca fire bottles". Transistorized theremins are less interesting to the ear because the wave pattern is fairly consistent from the bottom to the top of the range."[/i] - Coalport
My Burns B3 Deluxe definitely changes waveform depending on pitch. I even took o-scope pics to show it:
High waveform (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3233710504_45e1a0be2c.jpg)
Low waveform (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/3232855575_7db0608533.jpg)
The low waveform is more triangle shaped, which means more even-order harmonics, and has a bit of a half-cycle "bump" in it, showing some extra 2nd order harmonic (but not enough to make a complete sawtooth wave.)
As it gets higher, the tone smooths out to almost a clean sine wave.
My Burns B3 Deluxe definitely changes waveform depending on pitch. I even took o-scope pics to show it:
High waveform (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3491/3233710504_45e1a0be2c.jpg)
Low waveform (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3351/3232855575_7db0608533.jpg)
The low waveform is more triangle shaped, which means more even-order harmonics, and has a bit of a half-cycle "bump" in it, showing some extra 2nd order harmonic (but not enough to make a complete sawtooth wave.)
As it gets higher, the tone smooths out to almost a clean sine wave.
Posted: 10/4/2009 10:58:14 AM
[i]"The beauty of this, probably foolhardy, idea is that once you move into the guitar realm, all manner of equipment becomes available."[/i]
Like the Behringer Ultra Fuzz stomp box I use? Turns the B3's output into a pretty gnarly pulse wave at extreme settings. At minimum settings it puts a little "hair" on the tone. Probably similar to what Etherwaves do with their waveform controls. (Which is why I got it.)
Like the Behringer Ultra Fuzz stomp box I use? Turns the B3's output into a pretty gnarly pulse wave at extreme settings. At minimum settings it puts a little "hair" on the tone. Probably similar to what Etherwaves do with their waveform controls. (Which is why I got it.)
Posted: 10/4/2009 2:30:37 PM
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
Forget my prior posting where the temperature of the tube (or modulation thereof) was questioned as a possible mechanism for the "tube sound" .. This was pure BS.. As I understand it (after having gone over some old text books) The major (effectively only) source of heating in a tube of the type used in Theremins is the fillament current, which is not affected by the register or waveform or anything like that.
[i]"My Burns B3 Deluxe definitely changes waveform depending on pitch. I even took o-scope pics to show it" - Joe Max[/i]
These waveforms show typical harmonic changes which are primarily due to oscillator coupling - The 'smoothing' of higher frequency waveforms could also be a function of the post-mixer filtering applied in the design.
I do not see any reason why the waveform from a Tube Theremin should change as a function of frequency more than a transistor design should.
[i]"My Burns B3 Deluxe definitely changes waveform depending on pitch. I even took o-scope pics to show it" - Joe Max[/i]
These waveforms show typical harmonic changes which are primarily due to oscillator coupling - The 'smoothing' of higher frequency waveforms could also be a function of the post-mixer filtering applied in the design.
I do not see any reason why the waveform from a Tube Theremin should change as a function of frequency more than a transistor design should.
Posted: 10/4/2009 2:33:27 PM
Joe Max wrote:
I do the same thing, but with a far less expensive unit than an Millennia pre-amp. I use an ART Tube MP-2 preamp:
************************
If you're happy with it, that's all that matters. People hear very differently from one another.
Everybody's right.
I also have a TL Audio (http://www.tlaudio.co.uk/docs_07/product_07/5051.shtml) "Ivory" series tube processor that I really like. I used to use it on theremins but now it's hooked up to a bunch of weird Chinese classical instruments.
I do the same thing, but with a far less expensive unit than an Millennia pre-amp. I use an ART Tube MP-2 preamp:
************************
If you're happy with it, that's all that matters. People hear very differently from one another.
Everybody's right.
I also have a TL Audio (http://www.tlaudio.co.uk/docs_07/product_07/5051.shtml) "Ivory" series tube processor that I really like. I used to use it on theremins but now it's hooked up to a bunch of weird Chinese classical instruments.
Posted: 10/4/2009 4:36:16 PM
Dae23 said:
[i]I had a silly idea a couple of weeks ago.
What if one had a transistor theremin with an instrument level, sine wave output (Fred's Etherwave mod?) and a quality all tube guitar amp. Could one dial in a pleasing (and theremin-like) amount of tube squishing of the waveform (distortion). The amount of squishing and shaping being related to amplitude (and possibly pitch?).[/i]
Squishing? My theremin file has this quality and sounds interesting. I can’t play any tunes and this is without volume control so it is not a true theremin tune. This is a two transistor "heterodyne" theremin with one Op amp for audio pre-amplification. This is not Clara’s voice but to my ear it is the squishing that makes it warm, maybe tube/valve like?
Sound byte (http://www.oldtemecula.com/theremin/rs-illusion/sounds/voice-of-drama2.mp3) (350k)
You could view the slower rise and fall time of the waveform through its pitch range in software you might have like Audacity.
Several technical factors come into play to generate this sound, like ideal transistor biasing and antenna tuning (-‘ oops, but I am not technical enough to break down what’s happening.
Christopher
.
[i]I had a silly idea a couple of weeks ago.
What if one had a transistor theremin with an instrument level, sine wave output (Fred's Etherwave mod?) and a quality all tube guitar amp. Could one dial in a pleasing (and theremin-like) amount of tube squishing of the waveform (distortion). The amount of squishing and shaping being related to amplitude (and possibly pitch?).[/i]
Squishing? My theremin file has this quality and sounds interesting. I can’t play any tunes and this is without volume control so it is not a true theremin tune. This is a two transistor "heterodyne" theremin with one Op amp for audio pre-amplification. This is not Clara’s voice but to my ear it is the squishing that makes it warm, maybe tube/valve like?
Sound byte (http://www.oldtemecula.com/theremin/rs-illusion/sounds/voice-of-drama2.mp3) (350k)
You could view the slower rise and fall time of the waveform through its pitch range in software you might have like Audacity.
Several technical factors come into play to generate this sound, like ideal transistor biasing and antenna tuning (-‘ oops, but I am not technical enough to break down what’s happening.
Christopher
.
Posted: 10/4/2009 4:59:30 PM
RS Theremin wrote:
My theremin file has this quality and sounds interesting.
***********************
The sample seems to have a lot of distortion in it, and a "hissing" sound that must be either an artifact from the recording process or from the devices used to process the sound.
My theremin file has this quality and sounds interesting.
***********************
The sample seems to have a lot of distortion in it, and a "hissing" sound that must be either an artifact from the recording process or from the devices used to process the sound.
Posted: 10/4/2009 6:00:45 PM
@ Coalport
Thank you for mentioning the noise. My ears are not sensitive enough to hear it but I think it may have come from the noise a theremin can pick up in its background.
Several places in the audio chain are also suspect as you mention. This is disappointing in that I may miss out on some really good theremin audio not knowing what I can’t hear.
Christopher
.
Thank you for mentioning the noise. My ears are not sensitive enough to hear it but I think it may have come from the noise a theremin can pick up in its background.
Several places in the audio chain are also suspect as you mention. This is disappointing in that I may miss out on some really good theremin audio not knowing what I can’t hear.
Christopher
.
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