Actual information on Claravox

Bendra I meant Hobbs, sorry.  How do they compare?  Do use the Claravox software and what are your thoughts?

Thanks 

I don’t know if it means anything but Sweetwater took Claravox off website.   I hope my order is still good.  They show a stand for Claravox and a Theremini .  I wonder if they had a set amount they could sell.   I really hope my order isn’t cancelled.......

I ordered my Claravox from Sweetwater Oct 23. It arrived today, Sept 26 (fedex on a sunday!)

First off, there is a lot of commemorative documentation...which is nice, I guess. I have not yet unrolled the enclosed poster, or read the manual carefully (I will do that later tonight)
It is much bigger than I was expecting. The finish on the wooden case is pretty nice, for a production instrument. The front and rear panels are interesting, and while the canvas covering isn't what I would have chosen, it is nice. I have some reservations about the die cut areas around the LEDs and the jacks, but as you don't touch a theremin while playing, it should hold up. On a conventional instrument -- even a synth -- this would be a real flaw. The pots have a good feel to them, and the knobs are very interesting.
The power supply that came with it is 2A 12V DC center positive, but the marking on the theremin indicates that 500 mA is enough. It uses a 2.1 mm barrel jack, which is standard with many electronics. That's good news, as it means that replacement power supplies will be easy to get, and don't require any proprietary plugs or wiring. 

The antennas are hollow brass, 0.375" in diameter and 0.050" wall thickness. They have a nice closed end where the brass has been closed and polished before lacquer. The pitch antenna has two shoulder screws where it mounts in to the body. Mine were only finger tight. I think a bit of loctite would be a good idea...these will get lost FOR SURE, and it doesn't look like an easy part to source. 
The antennas were clearly designed so that everything could be set up and knocked down easily. I can totally understand how some connections and contacts could be a bit dodgy. I did take a file to the end of my volume antenna, as there was some junk in the lacquer there, and I wanted to see if they were plated or 100% brass. 

I also got the stand. The "base," or main part of the stand is a bit of nicely forged and machined aluminum, with a rather well designed but complex collar to hold the acme screw. The screw itself is also aluminum, hard anodized very nicely. There is a large chunk of finer thread for mounting the body. That's nice...it probably won't happen, but I could see an instance where someone drops their post on concrete, and damages the thread enough to no longer be able to mount their theremin. There is enough extra that you could cut a bunch off and still have enough to mount. 
The legs are walnut that matches the body of the 'min. They have weird little plastic plates on the end, which give them *just* enough friction to hold into the body. I was able to pick the whole thing up without having them fall out, but it's for sure designed with easy disassembly in mind, rather than sturdiness. That said, there is a large range of adjustment. Great for short people. I play with mine up quite high, so I imagine you people with your heart further up in the air will be ok as well!

There are brass sockets underneath the antenna sockets. I'm not sure if this is for alternative antennas, grounding, or something else. They are not lacquered, so I imagine they have an electrical function! 

I'll post some pics ASAP. And after I've had some time with it, I'll disassemble the whole dang thing and post pics of the innards. 

My new Claravox Theremin finally arrived this week.  Spiffy design, impressively easy to setup and move around if needed.

Now if it would only make a sound.

The few minutes it played were fascinating, very different from the EWPro;  if mine ever comes back from repairs at Moog, and the Claravox ever works; it'll be fun comparing them.

So I've joined the
**Claravox: I'm waving my hands but nothings happening**
new theremin heartbreak club.

I'm going to get fine sandpaper today.  As always: thanks TW gang for sharing what you've found!

skol - omhoge

"if mine ever comes back from repairs at Moog, and the Claravox ever works; it'll be fun comparing them."  - omhoge

OMG omhoge, you've got two Moog duds to deal with.  Best of luck fixing your Cvox!  Just sand the very end face and the two little studs.  Do you hear any audio from the tuner output jack?

I guess most folks here have seen this Moog web site update: https://www.moogmusic.com/news/claravox-centennial-production-update.  Something about a volume oscillator inductor that comes loose with physical jostling.  I called that one back in the early pix of the volume oscillator board, a big horizontally mounted RF choke with just the ends soldered for support is kinda asking for it.  They even give serial number #155 as the point at which they decided to somehow address it at the factory.  A little caulk there would go a long way (I think I would 3D print a cradle for it).

Oh for crying out loud

Thank you so much for that link dewester!  No, I hadn't seen it. It was posted as mine was en route to me,
and no, of course it wasn't communicated to me by my authorized Moog dealer.  I'm communicating it to them now.

Guess I'm sending another one back to Moog; 
and spending another Halloween without a theremin...  BOO000oooooHoo

I picked up mine yesterday.

Stats for those keeping track:
October 22, 2020 - Ordered from Sweetwater (day of announcement, but fairly late in the day)
September 21, 2021 - Shipped (been out of town, so I just got it yesterday)
SN:  371

No functional issues so far - but the power input isn't very stable (physical connection is loose).  Stand is a bit iffy - I'll likely glue the legs into the sockets.

...ordered a pair of Pyramid resonators to go with it on October 27 & they should arrive in the next couple of weeks.

Not at all shocked by the shipping delay.  I don't think I've ever pre-ordered or custom ordered anything that came close to the estimated ship date.  ...the Pyramid order/estimated ship date/actual ship date mirrored the Claravox.

 ttblair - just a month from ordering until delivery - as for me ordered beginning of November 2020 and still waiting or was a the year a typo and you actually ordered it last year ?

No functional issues so far - but the power input isn't very stable (physical connection is loose).

I had some trouble with this too, but plugging/unplugging about 10 times seems to have cleared it up (I was too lazy to go and find the DeOxit).

There are brass sockets underneath the antenna sockets. I'm not sure if this is for alternative antennas, grounding, or something else.

They are not sockets, they are access holes for tuning variable inductors on the volume and pitch boards.  You should have found a red plastic tuning tool in the box.