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I'm Building a Theremin

You shouldn't have much trouble. PAIA has a good rep for making kits that are well designed and well documented. I hear they have good email and phone support, too.

There are lots of theremin sites out there. There is a mailing list called Levnet, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend, as the list is frequented from a eccentric range of characters (who would have thought :p ) from religious nuts to rather extreme theremin purists. Some of the members can offer practical help, but you'll likely have to suffer through significant editorializing along with the help.

I like to think of the Theremin as the Tesla coil of the musical world. It attracts much curiosity, gains the following of zealots, and ends up mostly being a eccentricity than a practical instrument.

Personally, I find them fun, rather unplayable, instruments.
 
Just follow the directions and don't rush through the project. You'll have something to be very proud of.

Enjoy!
 
jj said:

You're feelin' the excitations?

(seriously, Theremins are fun. I built one a LONG time ago out of a couple of 12AX7's and a 6V6GC)
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(smiles) man, I have an April 1955 edition of popular electronics that has the project you discribed, this was the machine jimmy Page used in the '70's...and you have to remember they didnt have polyester caps back then those monsters had to be aclimitated for hours before they were stable( for constant applications )
 
Theremins are great and PAIA are a good company. I believe they also offer a repair service if you build one of their kits and simply can't get it to go.

I'm eventually planning on getting one of the Big Briar/Moog theremins, but for now I make do with a Frostwave Spacebeam. It's basically an optical theremin that uses a spatial sensor to send a control voltage to both an output jack and the built in oscillator. It lacks the full range and volume control of a real theremin though.
 
Note of trivia:
The Therimine was use for both the sound effects and the "music" in the film "Forbidden Planet" ( one of my faves, it's actually Shakespere) >the score was done by a husband and wife team . I believe the film was produced in '55-'56.

If I were a producer I would remake the movie today using the effects that were not available then ( since all hollywood seems to make are sequals and re-makes). If you have not seen the movie I recommend it as plot, devices and general production ( appearing hokey in 2003 ) was WAY before it's time.
 
TillEulenspiegel said:
Note of trivia:
The Therimine was use for both the sound effects and the "music" in the film "Forbidden Planet"
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Monsters... from... the... id!
Do we get to tie this into the wacky stereo threads, via (the) Krell?


See also "The Day The Earth Stood Still" for more Theremin soundtrack goodness.

--Terry.
 
Louis and Bebe Barron were responsible for the music from "Forbidden Planet", however, there is no theremin on it. There seems to be some mystery to how they created the soundtrack to the movie, but the description sounds as if electronic circuit abuse and/or tape manipulating are responsible for the sounds heard.

And quite remarkable sounds, too. I think this is one of those instances where the audio lifts a movie beyond where it might have been otherwise. Though I shudder to think what Hollywood would do in the event of a remake.

"The Day The Earth Stood Still" and a few other classic sci-fi flicks of the time did use the theremin to great effect. Keep in mind that the similarly "woo-woo" sounds were also produced by the aforementioned Electro-Theremin. It can be a little challenging telling them apart.
 
Until Wild Cat mentioned it, I had never heard of the Electro-Theremin. It sounds pretty interesting though. I wonder if some of the "woo-woo" sounds in late 50's-early 60's sci-fi movies could have been made by analog synthesizers. I don't remember when Robert Moog came out with his synth, but I thought it was in the early '60's.

Speaking of Mr. Moog, I had looked into the Big Briar kit. I saw the article he did on theremins in an issue of Electronic Musician a few years ago. His kits are a bit more expensive than PAiA's, so I'm going with theirs. If I'm still smiling after this is all over, I may save up for one of those.
 
Terry said:


The enclosure is the optional enclosure you can buy from PAIA. It consists of four wooden sides, one wooden top, and a metal bottom. The antennas are made from welding rod, which comes with the kit (maybe with the case kit, I don't remember). It appears to be brass (that'd make it a brazing rod, then - but it doesn't have flux on it). Diameter is around 3mm (1/8 ").


--Terry.
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It does sounds like a brazing rod. I think I read on the web site that the antenna does come with the enclosure kit. I had something a little different in mind for the box, so I'm not buying that part. The Mr. is a little less than enthusiastic about my idea, so we'll see if I have to compromise or not. In any case, thanks...brazing rod isn't too hard to come by.
 
Peach Jr. said:


Speaking of Mr. Moog, I had looked into the Big Briar kit. I saw the article he did on theremins in an issue of Electronic Musician a few years ago. His kits are a bit more expensive than PAiA's, so I'm going with theirs. If I'm still smiling after this is all over, I may save up for one of those.
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Robert Moog was great, as I remember there was a top 10 ( maybe lower) song entitled "The Minitor" in the late 60's that gave his business a boost. I helped build studio A at USF in Tampa for Brad Albers ( unacknoledged as i wasn't a student at the time and helped out a friend ). Place had a moog full synth as i remember with the Lily Tompson patch board ( the phone lady on laugh in). Had some early digital stuff too. Programable in fortran using punch cards...damn no wonder I feel old 8p
 
Peach Jr. said:
I wonder if some of the "woo-woo" sounds in late 50's-early 60's sci-fi movies could have been made by analog synthesizers. I don't remember when Robert Moog came out with his synth, but I thought it was in the early '60's.
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AFAIK, most of the "synthesizers" (as we kinda know them today) didn't really come into being until the 60s. I believe Don Buchla preceded Moog by several years. T. Serge was also a early purveyor of synthesizers, but I think he may have come later.

The early synthesizers seem less likely to produce "woo-woo" sounds, both on a practical level and technological level. In practical terms, people like Sam Hoffman and Paul Tanner were relatively quick and easy ways to get "woo-woo" sounds, both being fairly well established and available Hollywood session masters of the Theremin and Electro-theremin, respectively. In technoligical terms, most of the early synthesizer controllers I'm aware of were much less capable of "woo-woo", gliding pitch sounds, perhaps in conscious contrast to existing electronic instruments like the theremin. They tended to have fairly quantized pitch, such as keyboard controllers, or sequencers which kinda "play themselves".

Interestingly, Moog's earliest commercial endeavors in the electronic musical instrument field were in Theremins. I believe they were his bread and butter long before he ever released a synthesizer.
 
Theremin: a mythical instrument

The Theremin is a mythical musical instrument like the Crumhorn or the Bagpipe. The Theremin has been debunked before; it is similar in operation to the Bagpipe which has been shown to be little more than a sack full of cats that the “player” squeezes under his arm to produce the sounds. On the Theremin there is a hidden peddle that presses ageist a sealed bag containing one or more ghosts which of course let out with a wail due to the excessive cruelty being forced upon them. It is hardly an “instrument” suitable for a warm-hearted person who has any compassion for those that have “crossed-over” :)
 
kedo1981 said:
Don’t forget to find out all you can about the Russian Dr. Theremin it’s inventor.
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Wasn't there some lady named Clara Rockwood or something like that who was one of the greatest players?
 
Re: Theremin: a mythical instrument

Rocky said:
The Theremin is a mythical musical instrument like the Crumhorn or the Bagpipe. The Theremin has been debunked before; it is similar in operation to the Bagpipe which has been shown to be little more than a sack full of cats that the “player” squeezes under his arm to produce the sounds. On the Theremin there is a hidden peddle that presses ageist a sealed bag containing one or more ghosts which of course let out with a wail due to the excessive cruelty being forced upon them. It is hardly an “instrument” suitable for a warm-hearted person who has any compassion for those that have “crossed-over” :)
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Now hold on there. I know crumhorns exist - I've seen one. My uncle and aunt were early-music nuts (at least until my aunt became ill a few years ago). They are far, far scarier creatures than either a bagpipe or a theremin. Even more frightening than a unicorn.

A device for torturing ghosts, eh? Yes, that settles it...I must learn to play the theremin or die trying. :D
 
The Beach Boys also used the theremin near the end of the song "I Guess I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" and to great effect. Check it out if you get the chance. Does anyone know who actually played it on those or other records? Does it take a virtuoso to play it well or can anyone do it with a little practice?
 
What's an ondes martinot (spelling?), when was that invented, and does this question have any relevance at all to this thread?

Rolfe.
 
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