Moog Theremini Owners

Hi Rich! I am starting to play tunes on my theremini! I have a question though. When I am using my headphones I order not to disturb my husband or my cats, the volume comes back even though my hand is resting on the volume antenna. Has this been an issue for anybody else? Thank you. Christina

@CraftyWitch: I have a Theremini, and have not encountered this issue (yet). If you've not already done so, you may want to try flashing your Theremini to update 1.1.0, or higher (when available).

Hey Crafty,

I have not seen it either. But you had that screen flicker issue. Did you call Moog? They want to know if people are having problems so they can help.

If you turn on the Theremini while holding the Setup button you will see what version of firmware is installed.

Rich

FredM wrote "I dont think anyone chooses a theremini because they dont want a theremin.."

I did. :-) I have three theremins already, so the opportunity to transfer some of my theremin skills to another instrument was far more appealing than another theremin.

Just got it today, for my b'day. Liking it so far - it's a lot of fun for the money. So far my top tips are connect it to a decent amp - I'm using an SR Technology Jam 150+ and a Studiospares Fortissimo 15A Active Sub Bass - together about four times the cost of the theremini - and if you're not keen on the digital perfection of the theremini sound, an Elecroharmonix Analogizer roughens it up nicely. (Got one of those for Christmas - it's almost as if I knew.)

I think my iPad is going to be attached to it most of the time. I'm not a big presets fan, and the delay options in particular are a bit too timid for me. Eventually the ipad will be doing a lot of the heavy lifting, but at the moment I'm sticking with Moog's app while I get to know the basics of the instrument. 

I would add - even after a short usage I can see why classical  thereminists baulk at it. My hope is that it generate sufficient revenue to justify the R&D required for a professional version. I think a lot of ambitious theremini owners are going to want an upgrade path that gives them the benefits of a heterodyning theremin with good pitch and volume fields without abandoning the flexibility of a software synthesiser. 

Craftywitch - I have noticed that both the pitch and volume fields tend to shrink a bit while the instrument warms up. This may be the problem. Perhaps try turning the theremini on fifteen minutes (a guess) before you calibrate it?

@GordonC: @all: ...It's also a good idea to wait about 10, to 15 minutes prior to calibrating, or minutely tuning via theremin mode to let the circuits stabilize. I also had the screen wink issue, but the latest update stopped it.

Thank you all for responding. I have contacted Moog about my issues. I have the latest firmware update. I am going to warm it up first before calibrating and will let you know if this fixes it. Grateful for my Theremin family!

@gordon: happy b-day and a good time on the noises! it's a little bass beast. why not a ipad-dock with antennas?

@craftywitch: andy hughes, the tech guy from moog, announced a further firmware, released soon es ever, that should fix some of our quirks! meanwhile, he also sent a file, that fixed the flipping screen. wanna have it? 

when calibrating the near hand position, make sure you don't touch them, better keep a little distance, a inch or so, for near hand position. but they should not be touched anyway, because of a possible electro static discharge (esd). it's no myth and it's caused by, for example, woolsocks on carpets mostly in the wintertime. rkram53 seems to be a victim of that right now.:-(

Yes. Very good advice. I now have a habit of grounding myself before I step up to the thing to be safe. Very easy to create a static discharge in the winter.

Gordon,

I'm very interested in hearing what the sound is without and with the Analogizer.

Rich

zapped by winter statics! you named it so nicely.

to be safe: touch a grounded metallic anything first. jack, amp chassis,or on the theremini the earth screw on the backside. even while you play discharged, some charging happens (from the antenna-swing?), as far as i encountered and explain to myself certain pops on the pitch side of the etherwave. no wonder, i'm part of the circuit anyway; hands off the aerials! no wait a minit: the theremin is the only instrument, played.....