Claravox Centennial- known issues, bugs and quirks

. . . My serial number is 00188 Here's a snap of the loop antenna complete with  marks and scratches. I understand we are all negotiating tricky times right now but this is, in my view a little naughtyhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/KUSuuWXncFPSrqFx7 < azure711

Wow! Those are significant scratches/marks! It looks like something is seriously wrong with the lacquer and that there are cracks or scratches in it that have exposed the metal to the air and caused the brass to tarnish. Given that it’s a new instrument, I can’t imagine how the brass could tarnish so quickly. If so, the only way to repair it would be to strip the current lacquer off, buff the bare metal and re-lacquer it. Moog should be required to replace it with a new one - good luck with that. 😥

Your other problem sounds like it’s the same thing many of us have also experienced. 

Oh hey, that's an interesting photo!

It indicates that the antenna was bent AFTER lacquer. The blotch is from the die in a bending machine. I wonder if Moog is making volume antennas in-house?

As any brass horn repair person can tell you, lacquer goes on last!

Having said that, lacquer repair is pretty easy. Don't believe all the twaddle on the internet. You can strip the old lacquer with paint thinner or acetone...or vodka! Then polish it using an automotive chrome polish, or even better, ultra-fine abrasive pads (they go all the way to 12000, and then T for Tripoli). Clean with dish soap to remove oils from polish. Spray with Nikolas A2105 or Mohawk M103. No baking needed.

Another thing to try would be the Music Nomad Lacquer Polish. It has a small amount of thinner in it, and it levels the finish while cleaning. It might cover those minor imperfections. 

Good luck!

Also! Stew-Mac has a lacquer repair pen! But as we don't know if this lacquer is nitro-cellulose or shellac, I hesitate to recommend. But if you recoated with nc for guitar parts, it would work a treat!

It indicates that the antenna was bent AFTER lacquer. The blotch is from the die in a bending machine. I wonder if Moog is making volume antennas in-house?

As any brass horn repair person can tell you, lacquer goes on last! < Flounderguts

Exactly!!! If the lacquer was applied BEFORE the antenna was bent (that was my first impression too but it was hard to imagine that anyone would be so incompetent as to actually do something so utterly stupid), then Moog’s manufacturing processes and lack of quality control are absolutely appalling. However, the more I look at the photo, the more evident it becomes that this is exactly what occurred. As you stated, any brass repair person knows that lacquer is applied last.

Others have reported problems with scratches on their antennas but have not stated precisely where. Mine had small scratches on the volume antenna but they don’t appear to have cut through the lacquer (as far as I can tell at the moment). Of course, the parts that make contact with the Claravox (the end that’s inserted and the locking pins) weren’t conductive because they were covered with lacquer. As mentioned previously, GENTLY sanding and removing the lacquer from the open end, and also the locking pins, will allow contact to be made, although it appears as if many (including mine) have required extensive calibration before the instrument becomes playable. BTW, the reason to be extremely careful when removing the lacquer from the locking pin, which is made from a metal other than brass, is to prevent any damage to the brass where it meets the pins - this, of course, is to prevent the brass from tarnishing.

Frankly, Moog should be required to replace antennas such as the one shown in the photo; customers should never have to repair a brand new item that displays such gross incompetence by a manufacturer.

BTW, what is the serial number of the instrument?

It indicates that the antenna was bent AFTER lacquer. The blotch is from the die in a bending machine. I wonder if Moog is making volume antennas in-house?

As any brass horn repair person can tell you, lacquer goes on last! < Flounderguts

Exactly!!! If the lacquer was applied BEFORE the antenna was bent (that was my first impression too but it was hard to imagine that anyone would be so incompetent as to actually do something so utterly stupid), then Moog’s manufacturing processes and lack of quality control are absolutely appalling. However, the more I look at the photo, the more evident it becomes that this is exactly what occurred. As you stated, any brass repair person knows that lacquer is applied last.

Others have reported problems with scratches on their antennas but have not stated precisely where. Mine had small scratches on the volume antenna but they don’t appear to have cut through the lacquer (as far as I can tell at the moment). Of course, the parts that make contact with the Claravox (the end that’s inserted and the locking pins) weren’t conductive because they were covered with lacquer. As mentioned previously, GENTLY sanding and removing the lacquer from the open end, and also the locking pins, will allow contact to be made, although it appears as if many (including mine) have required extensive calibration before the instrument becomes playable. BTW, the reason to be extremely careful when removing the lacquer from the locking pin, which is made from a metal other than brass, is to prevent any damage to the brass where it meets the pins - this, of course, is to prevent the brass from tarnishing.

Frankly, Moog should be required to replace antennas such as the one shown in the photo; customers should never have to repair a brand new item that displays such gross incompetence by a manufacturer.

BTW, what is the serial number of the instrument?

Not to defend Moog, but I'd hardly expect a boutique shop like them to know much about manufacturing brass. And IMHO it adds character to the theremin. I don't think it's really as heinous as you make it seem 

And it's pretty easy to repair. 

I come from a manufacturing background...and some of the items I have produced sell for 5 to 10 times as much as a ClaraVox. I'm actually pretty impressed by the manufacturing finish of my ClaraVox. It was obviously handled with care during assembly and testing, and packed by hand. I bet if the person with the tarnished antenna sent them a note asking how best to repair or address the discoloration, they would immediately move to fix the issue...without having to make demands. That's certainly how the companies I work with would treat such a situation. 

Also, rather than sanding the lacquer off (which works great!) I would recommend using a solvent, such as paint thinner or acetone (wear gloves, that stuff goes through your skin and heads straight towards your liver!) and rubbing it off with a paper towel. 

Kudos to you and Dewster for figuring out the issue in the first place. I'm looking forward to disassembling my CVox and seeing what makes it tick. Mine is from a later batch, so it will be interesting to see if they changed the volume antenna board and configuration from the earlier version.

I quite like the brass antennas, but they are so heavy! I'm thinking that I might make some aluminum antennas for mine. Whaddy'all think? Also thinking about making a black and gold faceplate to replace the linen-paper one...

Hi All,

Just got my Claravox yesterday, #00092. My volume antenna issue is that the useable distance from off to full volume is less than an inch. Moving my fingers from just about touching, the volume peaks at bout 3/4" and then dies off as I move away. Actually, you can sort of play "backwards" by moving closer to it to start a note. 
I sort of fixed it in Modern Mode with the calibration procedure, but that doesn't affect Traditional Mode. Is fixing this going to involve the Inductor Coil Tool? 

I'll probably be contacting Moog. Is there a better method than the "Contact Us" form on their website?

Cheers

"Also, rather than sanding the lacquer off (which works great!) I would recommend using a solvent, such as paint thinner or acetone (wear gloves, that stuff goes through your skin and heads straight towards your liver!) and rubbing it off with a paper towel."  - Flounderguts

I'm wondering if the coating might be more plastic-based, which might ideally (if flexible enough and not overdone) allow some bending afterward?  If so, it might be much harder to remove.

"I'm looking forward to disassembling my CVox and seeing what makes it tick. Mine is from a later batch, so it will be interesting to see if they changed the volume antenna board and configuration from the earlier version."

I'm looking forward to that too!  The oscillator boards just plug in so there doesn't seem to be a lot involved in their electrical removal.  But their physical removal is a little difficult in that tight space as it's hard to get good torque on the long philips head wood screws in the plastic spacers.  It's a rather odd mounting, I wonder why they didn't try to integrate it into the plastic antenna mount thing.

"I quite like the brass antennas, but they are so heavy! I'm thinking that I might make some aluminum antennas for mine."

Maybe aluminum alloy anodized with a nice gold-ish color?  Or thin-wall stainless with TI PVD coating?

"Also thinking about making a black and gold faceplate to replace the linen-paper one..."

We didn't remove the faceplate, but the backplate was thin plastic with reinforcing ribs.  It would be nice if Moog could supply blanks here, but probably not.

"I sort of fixed it in Modern Mode with the calibration procedure, but that doesn't affect Traditional Mode. Is fixing this going to involve the Inductor Coil Tool?"  - cheesemaster

Most likely.  The end of the plastic hex tool you stick in is the hole is the one with the little flat screwdriver tip.  Have you tried lightly sanding the very end face of the volume loop tube?  Once you establish good connectivity the tuning itself is pretty easy (traditional mode, volume null at 12 o'clock, adjust for maximum volume with hand away) though contacting Moog is probably the right way to approach this, and I (and others here) would be interested in any repair / tuning instructions they might give you.

"I sort of fixed it in Modern Mode with the calibration procedure, but that doesn't affect Traditional Mode. Is fixing this going to involve the Inductor Coil Tool?"  - cheesemasterMost likely.  The end of the plastic hex tool you stick in is the hole is the one with the little flat screwdriver tip.  Have you tried lightly sanding the very end face of the volume loop tube?  Once you establish good connectivity the tuning itself is pretty easy (traditional mode, volume null at 12 o'clock, adjust for maximum volume with hand away) though contacting Moog is probably the right way to approach this, and I (and others here) would be interested in any repair / tuning instructions they might give you.

 
Thanks, Dewster.  It certainly feels like a simple calibration issue. I'm not going to hit it with any sand paper until Moog has a chance to comment. 

I had a few hours to spend with the CVox this morning and I really do like it. The sound is great and the app really unlocks a lot of timbres that I wasn't expecting. I also wasn't expecting to be interested in the pitch quantization, but it I think it offers some interesting potential along with some remote control.

My day job is in a busy spell right now, but I'll contact Moog within the next day or so.

BTW, I'm also in Northern NJ, Bergen County.