Carolina Eyck discusses how to tune an Etherwave Standard Theremin updated with Thierry's awesome ESPE01 mod.

Meet Nano, a new modular theremin by Polish manufacturer Assec.  Setting it apart from more traditional models, Nano comes as a basic unit that can be extended via add-on modules to give it additional capabilities.  

In its most basic form, Nano features a pitch antenna and a foot-controlled volume pressure plate.  This base unit sits on the floor and the pitch antenna mounts to a standard microphone stand.  The base unit comes with the pitch antenna, power adaptor, cable straps, and a plastic box (presumably for storage).

If foot control of the volume isn't sufficient for your needs, you can add an optional volume antenna that also mounts on the mic stand.  The pitch and volume antennas sit in an L pattern that can easily be rotated left or right to accommodate left or right-handed playing.  The volume antenna features a built-in dial for controlling volume response as well as an on/off/mute switch.

But wait... there's more!  An additional module provides continuous pitch preview via a headphone jack. 

Personally, I really like the visual simplicity of this design.  Instead of having a power cable as well as audio cables coming in and out of the instrument on the mic stand, the clutter is kept to the floor.  

As for concerns, I wonder how having the pitch tuning knob on the floor unit will affect the usability of the instrument in live performance situations.  We're looking forward to getting our hands on one of these instruments to provide a more in-depth review.  

More information, including photos, audio samples, and how to order can be found at assec.pl.  You can also join in a discussion about the Nano in our forums here.

From July 17th to 21st, 2014, there will be the traditional Theremin Summer Academy in Colmar/France. If you want to...

• have individual theremin lessons (all levels and styles)
• have group lessons (improvisation)
• partake in workshops (Theremin & computer, effects, etc.)
• play in a theremin chamber music ensemble
• meet other thereminists from many European countries for exchange and socializing
  (actually signed up from F, D, GB, CH, HU, DK, NL, more to come)
• simply have fun 

... then visit the academy's website and sign up quickly!

This year's teachers are:

• Carolina Eyck (D): Classical theremin playing, improvisation, jazz
• Thorwald Jorgensen (NL): Classical theremin playing, interpretation
• Wilco Botermans (NL): Experimental and electronic theremin music
• Thierry Frenkel (F): Classical theremin playing, theremin chamber music

More about the teachers and their programs here!

At the same time, Thierry will be ready to fix, tune, upgrade or modify your theremin.

Author Sean Michaels will be kicking off a tour to promote his new book Us Conductors, a fictional account of the life of Leon Theremin and his love for Clara Rockmore.

As a bonus for theremin fans, Michaels has enlisted the help of several popular thereminists to perform at his tour stops. The book tour starts June 21st in Boston with Jon Bernhardt of the Lothars performing.  Additional stops will feature Rob Schwimmer, Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel, Mano Divina, and Arthur Harrison.  Complete details of his schedule are available at http://usconductors.byseanmichaels.com.

Us Conductors is now available in the US and Canada.  Visit our Theremin Books page for more information.

We've all seen last year's viral (and infamous around here) video of a cat "playing" a miniature theremin, right?  Well this takes the concept to a whole new level.  In what appears to be a video from the headquarters of Mandarin Electron, we see that it's now possible to for a person to play a cat playing a theremin via remote telepresence.

Is this the new future of theremins?  Not sure, but it sure is fun to watch!

Thanks to CRL for the tip!

Update:  Masami Takeuchi provided some additional information on the project.  The robotic cat system is called Tango.  The video above features Tango 1 and was created around 1999.  He just shared another incredibly fun video showing two Tangos (one on theremin, and the other on snare drum) along with a band of animals from ~2000.