Has anyone here played a Pegna theremin?

THere is no price because Dominik builds them to your specifications, with the kind of encasing you want. So it would be hard to put a price out there without knowing what you need. Send him and email with what you have in mind and he will quote you a price :)

Great, I'll do that, thanks very much! :)

I also have an interest in the Pegna Satie II all tube theremin. I have emailed the manufacturer to see if a pitch preview could be installed and what the total price would be.

What has me so interested in this instrument is, of course, the sound and the price at under $500 seems more than reasonable. Here is a youtube video that is a pretty good demonstration and I haven't seen this mentioned in this thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fplc2szvW8o&feature=player_embedded#!

Don't hold your breath over it. I ordered one over 2 years ago and Sarah also ordered 1 year ago and ... We still don't have one. 

The maker is slow at returning emails, there is no follow up on anything really. If I were you, I'd look elsewhere.

Go with the Subscope!  I am very satisfied with mine.  

Don't hold your breath over it. I ordered one over 2 years ago and Sarah also ordered 1 year ago and ... We still don't have one. 

The maker is slow at returning emails, there is no follow up on anything really. If I were you, I'd look elsewhere.

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Well, I just ordered one and chose bank money order as my payment method. Then I sent an email through their system telling them that I will send the funds upon email confirmation that they are still in business, the theremin is still in production and that they can and will ship upon receipt of the funds.

We'll see if I have better luck that Sarah or you....

I also am curious about the Pagina theremin, curious enough that if the instrument were viable then I might consider buying one.

Our friend Pekkanini who has posted here recently has played a Pegina and seems to know the maker of these theremin so perhaps we could ask him if he could shed any light on the situation?

In regards to the Pegna.....

Though I consider myself to be an amateur player I would just like to chime in here. I think many of us would like more alternatives to the the theremins that are readily availible on the market now...namely Moog, Burns and a couple others.   

My first introduction to the world of theremins was a B3 that I got as a Christmas gift.  After a few weeks of playing it I knew that I wanted something that I could advance with so I found a used Big Brier on Ebay for a good price, which is an older model of the Etherwave Standard.  It helped get me to another level of learning but I still wanted something better so I purchased a brand new B3 Pro largely due to all of the excellent videos Thomas Grillo made with it.  

My B3 Pro is an absolutely beautiful instrument crafted out of solid walnut.  As a former antique re-finisher I truly appreciate the workmanship that went into it and the touch plate mute switch is awesome.  The only problem is that it is essentially a B3 in a fancy box.  Having said that I still enjoy playing it with certain music but it falls short in the lower scales.

About a year ago I landed a vintage Moog Melodia on ebay for a great price and had a guy here in Pittsburgh repair it.  It is interesting to play because of the metal plate instead of the volume loop but mostly it is just a cool looking piece of theremin history that happens to work.

I continued most of my playing on the Big Brier until last year when I saw Amethyste doing her magic with the Subscope on so many of her videos.   After chatting with her about it I contacted Dominik in Germany who handcrafts them on an individual basis and ordered one.  The Subscope Voicematic 3 is packed with all the features we are looking for in the instrument and has a wonderful sound and good linearity. It is truly a work of art from a design standpoint as well.  Is it the the Holy Grail of theremins...probably not but I feel very fortunate to own one. I play it the most of the time now and would highly recommend it to anyone serious about advancing their skills with a limited budget.

We have to keep in mind that even if we are lucky enough to own an Etherwave Pro, which from what I have seen may be one of the best theremins made in recent years, it will not make us better musicians.  A better quality instrument be it a violin, oboe or theremin will not make you play better but may encourage you to improve your skills.  Thomas Grillo does magic with the little plastic B3 in his videos which proves you don't need Clara Rockmore's theremin to sound like a pro.

I don't know about other therminists but I think it is easy to dislike the EWS because after all it is common, mass produced and very abused by all kinds of bad players that you can see on Youtube who will never use it for anything other than sound effects and a noise maker in their garage rock band.  It also lacks some needed features that Moog could easily add at little cost...something as simple as a mute switch that I installed myself for $3 or the ESP01 module Thierry developed for improving the sound. On a positive note the EW has a robust sound that can be modified using the "waveform" and "brightness" knobs.  It is also very durable and travels well which is why I plan on using it for busking this summer. In addition, because it is mass produced it is replaceable if necessary without breaking the bank.  It is plain and simple a tried and true instrument that we are fortunate to have like it or not.

My Subscope Voicematic will stay in my music room connected to my vintage style speaker that I built because it is my favorite and most versatile for different styles of music  but I will continue to play all of my theremins for different reasons.

When I first saw the Pegna I immediately thought it was wonderful that there is finally an affordable tube style theremin being manufactured brand new at such an affordable price!   But Peter Pringle and others are wise to caution that we really haven't heard enough good recordings of credible therminists playing serious music on it.  We know little to nothing about the manufacturer other than the fact that they don't seem to deliver on their promise based on the above posts.  I hope that everything comes through for those who ordered one so that we can finally get a reliable evaluation of the Pegna. Hopefully it will be a glowing review.....If so I want it!  

I' ve just ordered a Pegna theremin too.

I see that many of you here had problems like not receiving it or cannot even get contact with the maker.

Personally, I have to say that the seller/maker/owner (Mr. Mattia Pegna; almost seems to be a one-man company) is quite fast and very polite in answering e-mails and I was able to place an order without many troubles.

I also have to say that I order from Italy (in italian), and this may be the reason that he actually answers my e-mails.

I should have it in my hands before Jul 15. If I will get it for real I'm going to post an in-depth review of the Unavailable.

I can also record clips with discreet quality, much better than the Pericle Odierna's video (that seems to be the only evidence of its existance) that shows great playing skills and very poor recording skills.

He's very good at answering emails. Delivering the goods is the problem.