The Theremincello

Fred, thank you for your kind words! 

For the moment I have no plans to make the decay variable, I tried to approach it best to the decay of the C-String of a real Cello.

The ghost tone which you found is most probably due to sampling issues, I recorded mic-less, directly from the audio out into the sound card. The "original signal" (at least for voice I ) is very rich in harmonics, the second harmonic being almost at the same level as the fundamental. This may also be a reason for this slightly metallic undertone. There is still some fine tuning needed in the wave shaping circuit. I hope to be able to optimize that and then to make a true acoustic recording soon.

" This may also be a reason for this slightly metallic undertone." - Thierry

IMO, you certainly dont want to lose that! - the sound has a really nice metalic quality, really a good synthesis of a plicked string IMO, particularly as I know you are (most likely) not doing any dynamic harmonic manipulation (VCF etc).

Fred.

Gordon wrote: Is a theremincello a cello? No. No more than it's a theremin. It's user interface bears some similarities to a cello, and it heterodynes like a theremin, but it is its own instrument.

If the so-called "theremincello" is not intended to be a an electronic cello (but rather a unique and different instrument all its own) then I think the question here ought to be, WHY PLAY IT LIKE A CELLO?

Cello fingerboard control is very difficult but it has advantages for the traditional cello we are familiar with. Why impose cello technique on an instrument that could be more easily mastered using a different interface? What is the advantage of it from the practical point of view? 

For a number of reasons, the cello is played in such a position that cellists cannot see their hands. This is definitely a disadvantage for a musician and does not seem particularly ergonomic for the theremincello. 

I'd like to understand why Leon Theremin developed it. He must have had an idea in mind...

Am I correct in believing that Lev played the (acoustic) Cello or something similar?

Is it simply that this was what the reason? It was an instrument he was familiar with, that he could play - And the novelty of electronics in those days made it SEEM like a good idea at the time ?

Fred.

"not particularly ergonomic" says the thereminist. LOL!

I don't know enough about cellos or fingerboards to know if there is some advantage to having the fingerboard where it is on a theremincello. I do know that when people interact with instruments, function follows form; I have seen guitarists lay their guitar on their lap to play a different sort of music on it, and I am told that those keyboards that forgo the conventional layout in favour of a hexagonal grid of buttons facilitate some things that would tie a player's fingers in knots on a regular keyboard, whilst hindering some things that a conventional layout makes easy. So it seems possible to me that people will use a theremincello in quite a different way to other fingerboard instruments.

Yes, Lev played the classic Violoncello. But I think that he must have had an idea to improve something. I can't imagine that he invented an electronic Cello just for fun.

I've got the impression that we are only at the beginning of understanding all the initial thoughts by LT. Some of our TW engineers discovered only recently that there are hidden secrets in the oscillator and mixer topology of the RCA theremin. I'm very curious to see what will come next... :-)

Hello my friends, (-:

Is the Theremin Cello practical? IMHO it is about as practical as Plucking this sound byte which I am using analog heterodyning and detection but plucking the notes using an unnatural but simple digital approach. One of the things about plucking is it makes even poor sound seem better.

Now Bowing a theremin cello adds the human effect. I think the theremin pitch field can be viewed as bowed by human influence. I don’t think someone can get the unrestrained non-mechanical effect of being human with a keyboard.

I abandoned my idea because the keyboard makes better sense but exploring what is possible is where the fun rest.  The mistake is making the comparison by calling it a cello.

That is like saying Electro-Theremin.

Christopher

"Some of our TW engineers discovered only recently that there are hidden secrets in the oscillator and mixer topology of the RCA theremin. I'm very curious to see what will come next... :-)" - Thierry

My understanding ;-) is that the main proponent of the exceptional qualities of the Lev oscillator (particularly with regard to its linearity when coupled to a suitable antenna circuit) has backed away somewhat from this position ;-)

The fact that the Lev oscillator design is different to what was generally believed, and that it confers many advantages over designs which followed, cannot I think be disputed..

But I think that particular engineer got perhaps a little too carried away with his optimism and reverence for Lev, and failed to be his usual critical cynical self on the matter!

As for the Lev mixer, exploring this led to development of a new mixer topology which is causing some "dispute" LOL ;-) .. but at least one variant of the original dual-fet multiplying mixer posted here is working well - although everyone who was building other variants  seem to have gone quiet - which probably either means they had dissapointing results, or that the results were so good they decided not to share them, and have gone off to set up their own cottage theremin businesses...

;-)

Fred.

"I can't imagine that he invented an electronic Cello just for fun" - Thierry

And the Terpistone ?  ;-)

Back in those days there were no synthesisers, electronic sounds were new and exciting - Hell, I can still remember the rush I got the first time I heard a synthesiser with its VCF sweeping through the spectum.. and that was 50 years after the theremin was created, and I had listened to sounds which Levs generation couldnt even have imagined.

I may well be wrong - But I think he did the electronic Cello because he could, because there was a known physical instrument he could "modify" to produce the kind of sounds electronics could generate back then.. Keyboards had been done and werent suitable for this anyway -

Also, we forget that Lev was a complete nutter!  He wanted to get Lennin's body "processed" so that he could ressurect Lennin with technology he would create..

I think that we stand no chance of getting into a mind like that and determining why he went for an electronic cello - and that ANY reasons (including "just for fun") are possible.

Fred.