Historic Original R. Moog Model 201 for Sale

I am selling an original Robert Moog model 201 Theremin he made in his basement in Flushing, New York when he was 19 years old.  I spoke to Robert about it the year before he died and he told me that his father did the work-work and his mother helped in typing the instructional manual. This mint condition instrument comes with the original manual and I am seeking interested collectors who understand the significance of this historic instrument.

As many of you may know, this model 201 represents the transformative work that Robert was beginning to experiment with in designing sound wave manipulation that led directly to his design ideas for creating the first electronic synthesizer.   The serial number on this Theremin is #5401.  This could well be one of his first units of the 201 design that he made in January of 1954.

Please contact me for price and more information:

zworldmusic@yahoo.com   

805.798.2480

What an opportunity!  Do you have a link to any pictures of it?  Best of luck!

This is exciting, only about 20 were made. Maybe for my local music museum in Carlsbad, CA?

Visit Moog Archive

Unfortunately I can't make out the serial number in this picture from the Moog Archives.  But if only 20 were made in 1954, and the one for sale has SN# 5401, I'm wondering if it's possible this is the first production 201 made?  It would be helpful to have a close-up of the serial numbering scheme for other 201's to be sure.

 “This mint condition instrument comes with the original manual and I am seeking interested collectors who understand the significance of this historic instrument.”

The phone # and email address are about 1 hour north of Los Angeles. If the seller’s words are true and not just cashing out, why not donate it to the beautiful Carlsbad, CA Museum of Making Music which is about 2 hours south of Los Angeles. They have a theremin exhibit with an original RCA and EtherWaves for the public to try. 

They have a theremin .mp3 sample on this page Museum. (I did not donate that sample, Coalport?)

Also it would be wise if the seller put up his own pictures of the instrument with the manual shown. The market for this treasure is very small and the seller, a fine musician, knows this.

I've done a little research and learned that 22 Model 201's were made. It would be VERY helpful to have an up-close photo of the actual instrument for sale & especially the serial number.  The number 5401 is a curiousity, because according to Bob he started numbering them with 5417 (though I don't yet know why).  It's possible this is incorrect information, and a photo would go a long way towards helping answer the question.

Some pics of the inside of the instrument would be great too!

I've got a model 201 that I sent to Bob Moog for repair in 1994 at Big Briar. He was very friendly and gave me a little history of my theremin.

"This instrument of yours was built by my father and me in 1954 or 1955. I was about 20 years old at the time, living with my parents and attending Queens College as a pre-engineering student. My father was a professional engineer and skilled amateur cabinet maker. He built the cabinet and I did the electronics. The antennas and front panel were made by some of my father's employees,-he was the general superintendent of a large maintenance shop of Consolidated Edison in New York City. In fact the front panel is silk screened with a screen that was hand-cut by one of my father's employees."

The serial number 3430 is stamped on the front plate, confirmed by Bob in his correspondence. I wonder how many of these are still known to exist.