Subscope Theremin

bisem wrote:  ...after playing for almost three years I have decided that the therein isn't just a passing fad for me and I am ready to move up a notch from the Etherwave.

What is it about the Subscope theremin that leads you to conclude that it is a notch higher than the Etherwave on the theremin scale? Just curious.

Amethyste:  I am sorry for any trouble I caused with my inquiry. I know that your intentions were only to share information about your lovely instrument.

Dominik:  I hope this thread did not cause "Thereminworld" visitors to spam you.  I will email you from the address on your website.

Coalport:

Thanks for your interest in my comment.  From what I have heard and seen of the Subscope I like the sound and the features that can be customized and incorporated into it along with the design.  Also I appreciate Amethyste as an artist and take her opinion of the instrument into consideration. My Big Brier Etherwave is in need of replacement.  

There is no doubt that Moog is a solid force in the theremin market and they have earned their reputation for good reasons....however do you think that buying another Etherwave is the best way to go?  Unfortunately I can't go to Guitar Center and try out every theremin out there.  In fact I can't even find anyone in the entire city of Pittsburgh that even owns or plays one.  As a novice I appreciate your input.

Hello Bisem,

l meant to reply to you today, but I was home sick with a nasty migraine that is slowly going away. Now, it is a good time to do so. personally, the Subscope is a tremendous instrument. The linearity is amazing, the sound is great and what I love the most about my Subscope is its amazing transportability. I mean it weighs nothing, easily packed into a MOOG etherwave gig bag with room to spare for all the cable etc... its sleek look and beautiful craftsmanship is a sight to behold. 

I have had it for a year now and I am still as exhilarated by it now, as when I first received it. I appreciate your kind words about you liking what I do. One thing I know is that you have to do what you love and that applies to the theremin. If you like one and would like to try it, by all means (if the money part is doable) go for it! Dominik is a very kind person and very attentive to details. You will get exactly what you want. For me, it wasn't worth buying an etherwave because I would need to have it reversed for left handed playing. So it would have been close to $1,000 to get what I needed (I absolutely need a pitch preview because I am 90% deaf in my right ear). I am a picky person and the Subscope pleases me greatly.

Bisem, feel free to message me on my YouTube channel with questions you may have, I'd be more than happy to talk with you.

:)

Amey, 

EVERYBODY NEEDS A PITCH PREVIEW whether they're partially deaf or not. 

Many people, when they first try an audio pitch preview, are disconcerted by the constant tone in their ear and they end up abandoning the preview altogether. They never really give themselves a chance to get used to it. Playing the theremin is like figure skating. No matter how good a skater you are, there is always a chance that when you fly through the air you'll end up on your ass.

Because of the ever-present risk of catastrophe, a thereminist cannot enjoy his/her own performance the way a pianist or violinist can. Unlike all other instruments, the linearity and configuration of your theremin are constantly shifting. The degree of difficulty of what you are doing is so great, and the risk that you will screw up so high, that there is no part of your brain that is available for the pure appreciation of the music.  You need all the concentration you can muster just to get it right and stay constantly one step ahead of yourself. If you let go and get lost in the moment, you will end up as flat as the figure skater.

The pitch preview will not take all of the risk out of theremin playing, but it will minimize it. By reducing the general level of anxiety, the preview gives you added confidence and will improve the quality of your playing even in areas where it is of no use. The more skilled you become with the preview, the more useful it is. To begin with, it is only really handy for coming in on the correct note but as you progress, you develop the dexterity and concentration to use it wherever there is a short rest - even one as brief as a quarter note. If you are playing two consecutive notes that are separated by an interval of three octaves, there is no chance that you will get it right, bang on, every time. With a preview, it's easy. (The preview will not help you with connected notes - that is, notes that do not have a space between them).

The olympic skater cannot objectively enjoy his own performance the way the audience can. He is far too busy pacing, watching, counting and listening. Getting sloppy for even one single second means disaster. Ditto for thereminists.

If you are a theremin hobbyist and you are only playing for yourself, then your own satisfaction and enjoyment is all you have to think about. If you are playing for others, then the enjoyment of others is what you have to be concerned about and they may be a lot less forgiving of minor slip-ups than you are yourself.

The pitch preview - NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT.

Brian - my email just returned: Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender

Please have a look in your spam folder. Any other address you could provide me with?

Thanks,

Dominik

Dominik, I received your email and returned with a question. If you have the same problem again let me know and I will provide you with another address....thanks.

Brian

Amey, 

EVERYBODY NEEDS A PITCH PREVIEW whether they're partially deaf or not. 

Many people, when they first try an audio pitch preview, are disconcerted by the constant tone in their ear and they end up abandoning the preview altogether. They never really give themselves a chance to get used to it. Playing the theremin is like figure skating. No matter how good a skater you are, there is always a chance that when you fly through the air you'll end up on your ass.

Peter. I can't skate. Does this mean I must ditch the EW before I injure myself?

Actually, knowing my other half feelings for the EW, it might be before she injures me................LOL

Seriously though, I have always assumed that having that preview to start the performance off exactly as you intended must be a very useful thing to have!

I have used the preview right at the beginning of my learning and I think it really helped me to get better faster. It's like American Express. I wouldn't leave without it :)

I agree - IMO, pitch preview is probably the most essential addition to a theremin. Ironically, I think that low-end and / or non-linear theremins need this feature even more than high-end more linear ones..

Preview gives one the means to compensate for non-linearity - with a non-linear theremin one is "blind" - remembering note positions (particularly in the areas closest and furthest from the antenna) requires retaining a complex mental 'map' - and this 'map' must change whenever the theremin or its conditions change.

But even with the most linear theremin theoretically possible, perfect linearity CANNOT ever be obtained - this is a fact of physics... This is true whatever bogus mechanisms for linearity are postulated - THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERFECT LINEARITY, AND PERFECT LINEARITY CANNOT EVER BE ATTAINED!  (or at least not in any real-world situations where the player moves and there are objects within 10 metres of the theremin, and there is no sentient 'entity' moving the antenna or adjusting the tuning to keep linearity constant - if there are theremin "demons" or "spirits" or whatever undertaking these tasks, then I suppose perfect linearity is possible!  ;-)

So, IMO, if one wants to play a theremin with correct intonation, one needs audio feedback so that your brains control mechanism can implement correction - And Pitch preview facilitates this.

Fred.