There was a lot of vitriol directed at the initial release version with firmware 1.0 and before the iPad app was released. Has the dust settled enough to reveal a sense of the Theremini's usefulness in a real world performance context. Or, as I like to put it sometimes, "Is Stereolab using one yet?"

Optofonik™ _{is on Bandcamp}

The verdict is (as far as I can tell): If you like it, you like it (I do) and if you don't like it, you hate it.

But that's irrelevant as I just listened to some of "The Well Tempered Oscillator" following your user link. Nice stuff and if that is the direction your music heads in, it would at least on the surface appear that you have absolutely no desire to play old dead composer's music (or pop music for that matter) with great precision and expression on a theremin. You need to look up "Beat Frequency" and discuss things with Gordon C. He's just done some really interesting things with a Theremini - not to mention a world of experimental magic with theremins of all sorts.

And I can see why you bemoan a single CV out on the Theremini - as I do too. Which is why I use the Etherwave Plus for CV control that has gate, volume and pitch CV outs.

Certainly you should go to a store and try them, but frankly IMHO Etherwave Plus (or some theremin with multiple CV outs) is the way you should be going so you can connect up the theremin as a fully functional gestural controller assuming you have synths that support CV inputs and use the theremin to its best musical advantage for your style of composition.

Rich

I think thereminist Carolina Eyck put it very well recently in one of her theremin videos when she said that the Moog THEREMINI is great for simple melodies and to take to parties because it is fun and has a built-in speaker.

Speaking as president of the Old Dead Composers Theremin Association, I neither like it nor dislike it. All I can say is that it is of no use for the kind of music I play (dead guy stuff) because of its latency problem. This is something that is inherent in the hardware, and that no amount of firmware updating is going to be able to fix (something Thierry Frenkel pointed out when the theremini was first introduced).

This is probably why Carolina said the instrument is great for “simple” melodies. If you attempt faster, more difficult precision passages with larger intervals the instrument’s digital sampling rate can’t keep up with the speed of your gestures. It’s the same feeling you get when you want to pass someone on the highway, and you’ve got the pedal to the floor, but your car is just barely chuggin’ along!

The instrument is probably fine for FX, experimental, “avant garde”, and other genres that do not require the kind of precision control that the works of old dead composers demand! 😀

“The most important thing for a beginner thereminist is to know exactly where you want to end up, before you start out.” Clara Rockmore

I think everyone would agree that the best thing anyone can do is simply try them before you buy if you can. If you have no music store that has them near you, in this day and age all anyone has to do is web order from a reputable company that takes it back.  For those that do not use www.Sweetwater.com, you should check them out. I only order from them (for 15 years now). They assign a sales person to you so you get personal service and they get to know your history, they take things back without hassle and you can arrange for a credit card that lets you pay interest free over 6 months on most everything and frequently they extend that for a lot of things to 24 or even 36 months. (I admit I've bought a lot more stuff than I might otherwise have because of this so be careful).

So if you want a true theremin with full CV functionality and you buy a Theremini because it is $100-$150 less than what you want - I would definitely say save up for what you want. I am really hoping that Thierry's new creation will have CV outs. In any case I'm starting to save up for that.

What Carolina should do is put out a video that shows her playing the Etherwave and the Theremini as best she can playing the same piece. Not trying to denigrate or extol - just an unbiased presentation of what each can do in terms of playability. That would really be useful to people. I don't recall anyone actually doing that. 

TRYING BEFORE BUYING is a great idea provided the person knows what he or she is looking at and how it compares to other similar items. The vast majority of newcomers to the theremin will purchase based on cost.

If you try talking to them about stability, linearity and configuration (never mind "smoothing" and latency), it doesn't mean a helluva lot because these things are unique to an instrument the person knows nothing about.

"If you try talking to them about stability, linearity and configuration (never mind "smoothing" and latency), it doesn't mean a helluva lot because these things are unique to an instrument the person knows nothing about."

Only if that person chooses to be willfully obtuse. That's where forums like this come into play. I read all the early opinions about the Theremini and they were not good. After reading a bit about Theremins I understood the issues people were experiencing with the Theremini. When the new firmware was released the debate started again; that was almost a year ago hence the reason behind this post.

I also watched a good many Theremini videos featuring a well respected "precision Thereminist" or two, or three. It would have been nice, as rkram53 mentioned above, if the same musical selection were played on a Theremini then a Theremin so as to illustrate some of the more nuanced differences in the ability deliver a "precision" performance.

Nevertheless, thanks for the replies. I ordered one on the cheap, cheap enough to sell it for not much of a loss at some point. For the type of project I'm involved in it appears that is will serve my purposes. Cheers and happy new year.

Interesting use of a Theremini here:

I rote: “The vast majority of newcomers to the theremin will purchase based on cost.”

Opto rote: “I ordered one on the cheap, cheap enough to sell it for not much of a loss at some point…"