Etherwave Plus has a growling undertone to the sound

Hi all,
I'm a total novice with my Etherwave Plus. Because of this, I may be asking an entry-level question, but I would be so grateful for any advice.

I've had it for a while (from new) and finally decided to finally get it set up and have a proper go with it. When setting it up, I'm finding that it gives me a quite 'growly' course sound. I've adjusted the waveform and brightness and this growl seems to always be present. There's a kind of undertone sound to the note, which does change pitch with the sound. But I don't seem to be able to get the pure sound I want.

I've looked into adjusting tuning and I'm very happy to give this a go, but I would welcome an experts advice before fiddling around with it in too much depth.

Thank you in advance.

Jacob

Do really low notes sound like a motorcycle?  If so it's almost certainly mains hum.  It's either insufficiently grounded, or you've got it located too close to an AC line.

How does that expression go: "A soundbite is worth a thousand words"

Post a sound byte so we know what you hear.

Tuning is the last thing you want to do, are you using the factory power supply?

Christopher

Hi,

Thanks forgetting back to me. 

I'm using the factory supply. I'm also pretty certain its not mains hum, doesn't sound like it and it pitches with the note.

I've tried plugging in in different sockets and repositioning the unit and it makes no difference.

I'll get a sample recorded and posted.

Thanks again

Jacob

If it sounds a bit like this, than its from hum modulations. Looking forward to your sample.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIgRkarg5ow

"I'm also pretty certain its not mains hum, doesn't sound like it and it pitches with the note." - Electroflex

What are you using for an amplifier?  Do you hear the "wolf tone" or whatever ever going against the pitch?  Rising when the pitch is falling?  If so it's aliasing.

cheap switching power supply wall warts or cheap LED lights should be checked first - also lay a generous amount of audio cable on the floor.

Hey Jacob!

From my experience, the Etherwave Standard/Plus in general don't have a terribly delicious sound quality.

I actually just had a friend lend me his unmodified Etherwave Standard, which was exciting, because my instrument is an upgraded Etherwave Plus. The two instruments sound identical out of the factory, but it's been so many months since I upgraded that I couldn't wait to hear the original sound again. By direct comparison, the factory Standard has a much more coarse and growly sound than the modified Plus - so what you're hearing may be normal, but that also means it's there to stay unless you modify the theremin... which is not as daunting a task as it sounds. In fact, some professional thereminists (including Carolina Eyck) recommend it right out of the gate.

I would recommend giving Thierry Frenkel's ESPE01 pitch extension module a look. There's some great footage of it on YouTube. Not only is it generally a good idea for long-term playing, as it improves linearity and gives you more octaves to play with, but it'll smooth out the timbre all throughout the theremin's range. Not a substitute for an Etherwave Pro, but a very, very significant bump up from its vanilla state. Affordable, too.

In case there's some other issue going on, though, do post that sound sample! Looking forward to hearing it.

Colin

CB Thereminist Said: Not a substitute for an Etherwave Pro, but a very, very significant bump up from its vanilla state. Affordable, too.

My own research is a bump up from the EtherWave Pro. Why would anyone pay that much for a muffled whistle sound?

The Theremin is from the birth of electronics in the early 1900's and does something beautiful. Some want to make it complicated or too expensive for the average user.

My Pitch sound with a perfectly linear Pitch Field is $45 in parts stuffed in a gutted EtherWave Standard.

If things work out this PCB will be given away at "no cost" to qualified builders in the year of the 2020 Theremin Celebration.

Please no whiny engineers! You are not going to get rich from this stuff.

Performed by my friend Thereminst Valery S of St. Petersburg, Russia - home of the Theremin Family.

Christopher   

www.Hwy79.com

Edit: dewster your post is funny, are you the TW rules police? When your 1,000,000 thread rolls over I will celebrate your success. LOL 

"My own research is a bump up from the EtherWave Pro."  - Christopher

Dude, the OP is asking about a technical problem, not asking you to hawk your wares for the thousandth time (and insult everyone else in the process).

Give it a rest, or at least restrict yourself to doing so in your own threads.