Preferred sound

Hello, after sticking lots of extra diodes in my EWS I like the voice of my 'new' theremin..

http://soundcloud.com/invisiblejelly/11my-theremin-sound22

http://soundcloud.com/invisiblejelly/mytheremin-voice2322

also the above sound is very nice to my ears (but my playing needs more work)from adding extra diodes principally replacing C2 and C6 in the EWS and building up the capacitance by ganging them in parallel and putting more capacitance on where C2 and C6 were..and making it lop sided in capacitance...using both 4001 and 4148 type diodes wired in so they are capacitors.In the EWS messing with C2 and C6 is fairly safe in that one doesn't have to adjust coils etc..and you can add diodes and immediately test the sound...Also adding these diodes alters the way the waveform and brightness dials respond particularly if one loads up diodes where only C2 or C6 used to be.I'm not sure what these diodes are doing but they do alter the theremin's voice..so if you are brave enough to take the top off your EWS and fiddle with diodes replacing  C2 and C6 then some interesting new sounds await you..gorgeous cello tones, better bass, wonderful 'singing ladies' etc...

Hey invis,

I have my grandson over today age 14 and he is my music critic as I have no taste and he thinks I am about as sharp as a marble. He is my assistant cleaning up the hobby room when we are finished, he is not inexpensive!

He said to tell you the last sound byte was better than the first, that both give indications of using a microphone. The first sample sounded like an experiment we did a while back with a speaker and mic in a 5 gallon plastic bucket.

Keep up the fine work!

hello RS Theremin...HaHa I didn't use a plastic bucket but I did use a cheap microphone next to my amp which is a Behringer 45 watt...It would sound a little better if I had a better mic.Eventually I want a theremin that sounds like the wonderful contralto Kathleen Ferrier...that would be nice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypePP1ENcmw&feature=related

@invisiblejelly: Hi, with the ESPE01 module, I am able to get that sound with the waveform at 2:30, and brightness at about 10 to 10:30. Really sounds a bit like a brass instrument with a mute like that. :)

In order to emulate Ferrier's sound you are going to need a lot more than a timbre setting. 

Last summer, I was asked to participate in a short documentary on Ferrier's life. The producers saw the video I made in which I added a Celtic harp to Ferrier's 1949 "a cappella" version of BLOW THE WIND SOUTHERLY, and they contacted me. 

Miss F. used to practice in my great grandmother's living room, accompanied by Johnny Newmark on the Steinway. While I can't say I ever knew Miss F. (I was a bit young) I did know the late Mr. Newmark and we became great friends in the 1960's. 

As you know, Ferrier died of cancer at the height of her extraordinary career. I am a bit skeptical of anyone who claims to be able to emulate her sound on an Etherwave theremin regardless of how it has been modified. With all due respect, I'll believe it when I hear it. 

Most of the "sound" of the instrument of any artist, whether it is Ferrier's voice or Rockmore's custom theremin, does not come from the raw timbre of the instrument but from what the artist does with it. That is why Clara's theremin, when it is played by someone other than Mrs. Rockmore herself, doesn't sound like Clara's instrument at all. It loses its vitality and luster because those qualities came from Clara herself, not from the circuitry.

You're not going to sound like Perlman just because you're playing his Strad.

I turned down the producers of the Ferrier documentary. Too much hassle. 

If you want to sound like Ferrier, study her phrasing and particularly her use of vibrato. Low voices usually have a slightly slower vibrato rate than high voices but the rate of Ferrier's vibrato was surprisingly fast given that she was a contralto. This lent an urgency and dramatic poignancy to her sound that other contraltos don't have. Her voice was also both fragile and powerful at the same time which is the reason why more than half a century after her death, she can still send shivers up & down the spine of listeners who are sensitive to her unique expression. 

As for the ESPE01 module for the Etherwave theremin, all Etherwave owners should have installed this wonderful device long ago!

Will it make you sound like Ferrier? I doubt it. Ferrier is not in the module. She's in YOU.

Man, coalport, what you wrote is sooooooooooooooooo hit the nail on the head:
"Will it make you sound like Ferrier? I doubt it. Ferrier is not in the module. She's in YOU."

That is a profound statement. and the reason why it is profound, it's because it is true... There are people that have been gifted with golden vocal cords, others with silk brush strokes and airy feet and gazelle grace. Ferrier's enchanting phrasing and vibrato are exemplary, she uses her gift(s) to her advantage and embellish the music. When it comes to the theremin, it is true that it shouldn't be your first instrument, it doesn't teach you much other than "wow, this is effin' hard!". without a background in music (voice or other instruments), ther theremin will sound lifeless and quite boring. I am sooooo grateful that I came to the theremin with a good vocal background. I have had several people saying that my playing resembles closely to how a singer would sing. I think my background as a vocalist has helped me in my journey with the theremin and I feel that "my sound" is very unique, just like my voice.

The theremin is the best thing (aside meeting my husband) that has ever happened in my life.

Thomas wrote:

"Hi, with the ESPE01 module, I am able to get that sound with the waveform at 2:30, and brightness at about 10 to 10:30. Really sounds a bit like a brass instrument with a mute like that. :)"

invisiblejelly says

"Howdy Thomas I do have the module.. yes maybe I should put it back in because I have about 30 extra diodes in there which is a bit ridiculous..with the diodes waveform is all the way to the right and brightness all the way to the left with that muted horn like sound...I can get good muted trumpet sounds with other settings....with the diodes my bass is louder than with the module..but not as extended...I think I like the diodes a little better...

Coalport wrote

"If you want to sound like Ferrier, study her phrasing and particularly her use of vibrato. Low voices usually have a slightly slower vibrato rate than high voices but the rate of Ferrier's vibrato was surprisingly fast given that she was a contralto. This lent an urgency and dramatic poignancy to her sound that other contraltos don't have. Her voice was also both fragile and powerful at the same time which is the reason why more than half a century after her death, she can still send shivers up & down the spine of listeners who are sensitive to her unique expression. "

invisiblejelly writes

"Hello Coalport,I saw a documentary on Ferrier last weekend and I hadn't heard her before but immediately fell in love with that voice and I guess with the woman herself..in the doco they played recordings of her and focused on the faces of the people who knew her personally while they listened to her sing...The look on those faces while listening was just extraordinary and I couldn't help but be caught up in that....And so I wished I could make my theremin sound like her I think as a kind of tribute as her story is very moving... you know she actually broke her leg on stage while performing Orfeo(cancer had spread to her bones by then) but she kept on singing, remaining stationary, standing still(as she couldn't move) the other performers having to come to her on stage while performing... now that's just extraordinary and also very English...And yes I will listen to her as you suggested thankyou Coalport...

Thomas wrote:

"Hi, with the ESPE01 module, I am able to get that sound with the waveform at 2:30, and brightness at about 10 to 10:30. Really sounds a bit like a brass instrument with a mute like that. :)"

invisiblejelly says

"Howdy Thomas I do have the module.. yes maybe I should put it back in because I have about 30 extra diodes in there which is a bit ridiculous..with the diodes waveform is all the way to the right and brightness all the way to the left with that muted horn like sound...I can get good muted trumpet sounds with other settings....with the diodes my bass is louder than with the module..but not as extended...I think I like the diodes a little better...

If you have the ESPE01 module, why do you fumble around with diodes? Just put the module in and replace C2 and C6 by 2 variable capacitors 10-40pF. This allows you much more fine-tuning of the timbre. Best results will be obtained when the settings of the variable capacitors do not differ too much. It is preferable to have a slightly higher capacitance setting for the variable oscillator's signal while a too unbalanced signal will give a weak and thin signal. A capacitance setting around 25pF to 30pF for both will for example give a somewhat fatter voice in the soprano register which is closer to the voice of tube theremins.