Coalport ~ Talking Machine .. .. ..

Hey there :)

I got the Talking Machine today and hmmm, the user guide that came witn it is such a horrible copy, all smeared and unreadable. I am wondering if you could give me a crash course on its setting and  features? I know I am asking a lot, but I hoped thay you would give me a hand. I am supposed to record a theremin part for a producer and was hoping to get to a tenor (like in your Nessun dorma Video) timbre. Could you share the setting you are using for that? I'd be very appreciative!

There are 9 settings on the TM. Do they go from soprano to tenor in timbre? I am a little lost as you can tell... Could you point out the features of the knobs? I know decay but the other ones not so much...

Thank you in advance...

Hi Amey -

While waiting for Coalport, you can get a .pdf copy of the manual here:

http://www.ehx.com/assets/instructions/stereo-talking-machine.pdf

Fred.

THanks Coalport and Fred! I have read the manual and I will apply some of it on the theremin... I fiddled with it this morning and here is what I came up with... It is REALLY REALLY COOL!!!!

[URL=http://tinypic.com/r/29xauz6/6]View My Video[/URL]

or

http://tinypic.com/r/29xauz6/6

I know the lower range is not that believable, still though, it can send epic chills down your spine wowza!! Sorry I still look 1/2 asleep. That's all I had on my mind in the night. Couldnt wait to get up and play with it!!!

Coalport's settings are good but like he says the results you get are from what you input.

I also have pre-set #1 lit and activated.

There is something more interesting to me than voice and that is the TM can add a dimension to the basic sine wave a transistor theremin does not have.

My input is a clean sloping sine wave.

I am feeding a .2v p-p signal (mic level) into the TM & slightly attenuating the higher frequencies so the TM does not slam into its amplifier rails.

The Output of the TM is then fed into my stand alone theremin volume control.

I do not recommend the TM to anyone that does not have full control and technical understanding of their theremin.

Christopher

Edit: Amey no no, I think when someone is as good as you are it might create a false expectation of the TM. Someone with an EtherWave Std might think they can get your results. (-:  The device is unique to different theremin setups.

RS Theremin wrote: "I do not recommend the TM to anyone that does not have full control and technical understanding of their theremin."

Did you view the video URL i posted up there? I think I do have a good control and understanding of my theremin... Was that implied to me?

Amey,

I think your use of the TM is amazing! (a bit of a shame that there is a lot of overloading / distortion on that clip.. But one can still hear whats there). I really look forward to hearing what you come up with after playing with the TM for a little longer (a couple of days, perhaps ;-) Absolutely brilliant!

Chris,

There are not enough harmonics - the formants are weak.. It sounds quite a lot like my analogue formant filters sound.. IMO, you either need to pump more harmonics into your TM, or you need to make some adjustments to how you are using the TM. Just my personal opinion though - If you like what you are hearing, well, thats all that matters - Please dont get me wrong, I think what you are doing sounds great.. I just dont think it sounds like a voice.

ps - Reading about the TM, I see that the formants are (or can be) shifted as a function of dynamics - You may want to try driving it with signal from after the volume control.

Fred.

Fred ~ Yeh, I need to invest some money on some recording gear as I am just using a laptop and its built in cam (shudder). The Ipad does a better job, so maybe later I'll try that :) THanks for watching and your nice words! :)

Amey - A real shame you are so far away - I have loads of redundant recording kit.. oh well. One can pick up a USB2 "soundcard" for peanuts, or go for one with reasonable pedigree (People berate behringer, but I have several items made by them, and they have all been better quality than equipment I bought for more than twice their price)

http://www.behringer.com/es/Products/UCA202.aspx

I dont own one of these, but they are selling here for about £20.

Fred.

I do have a soundcard... I am just too lazy to set everything up, record, edit, sync etc... I do that for all my vocals and it is really time consuming lol. and time is something I dont have much of, unfortunately.