Which amp: Prime KB30; Prime KB15; Crate KX15; Peavey KB1: Moog TB15

I am going to purchase an Etherwave. I am looking for an amp for it. Since I am just starting, the only place where the amp will be used at the start is in my apartment. But, thinking down the road into the future and if I get up the guts to play in public, I possibly might do gigs at my church and at an overnight recreational park facility. My church meets in a day room/lounge area of a college dormitory which is about 50 ft square. The overnight recreational park facility has a lodge which is about 30ft by over 100ft, but the sound only needs to reach halfway down the building since everybody sits at one end when live music is being performed.

I have found 4 amps on Zzounds.com, other then the Moog TB15, that are around the same price as the Moog TB15: Prime KB30; Prime KB15; Crate KX15 and Peavey KB1. The Prime KB30 has the highest wattage (30 watts) of all the 4 amps and a 10 inch speaker. Would this be the best choice considering the venues I mentioned? Can the Prime KB30 be turned down enough so it won't cause any excessive noise problems in my apartment?

I also think that as a thereminist, I will eventually want an up high/behind my head speaker. Looking at the descriptions of all these amps, they all have headphone outputs. The Crate KX15 is the only one of the amps, including the Moog TB15 theremin amp, that has an external speaker output. But, the Crate KX15 is also the wimpyest at only 12 watts. Would a headphone output work for a behind the head speaker or do I need an amp with a true external speaker output?

I do not own a motor vehicle so the amp I purchase should be carryable by a single handle, at a reasonable size, weight that can be carried on foot and public transit. Also considering tranportability of my theremin, does the Moog Etherwave gigbag have any compartments or external straps to carry a mic stand?

Considering all this info I gave you, what amp would you buy if you were me? :)

The Etherwave gig bag does not have any compartments or external straps to carry a mic stand. In fact, there's hardly any room in there to carry anything but the etherwave, its power cord, its antennas, and maybe a tin of breath mints.

As far as amps, I can't help you choose between those you listed because I know fairly little about them, except to say that you shouldn't concern yourself with *power* so much as tonal response unless you're planning on doing professional gigs with the instrument, in which case you'll want both.

Another thing to consider is whether your church or the other facility have sound systems you can run the theremin through. If so, then power is not a major concern since you will be heard regardless.


Also, the headphone output is not very good for an external speaker because of the fact that it disables the amp's speaker when you plug the headphones in.


For portability, you might want to consider the kind of mic stand that has three legs that fold up instead od the heavy round metal base.

Thanks for the info. Excuse me for sounding stupid. But, what exactly is the definition of tonal response? Is it the range of different tone frequencies the amp can handle or does it mean something else? What should I look for in tonal response?

I noticed that Zzounds.com does not list anything about tonal response on any of their amps. Would the Moog TB15 have the tonal response that I need?

I tested several amps awhile back at Sam Ash music. The one I fell in love with was a Vox guitar amp. I just loved the way the Theremin sounded through it.

You really should try to go to a music store and try different ones and see (or hear) which one sounds the best to you.

I just purchased a Peavey KB1. I have never tried it anywhere but my house, but it is plenty loud at volume level 1, so I think it should be loud enough to be heard from 50 feet. However, like you said, it doesn't have an external speaker out.

Why don't you test them once you have your Etherwave?

I just bought my Moog Etherwave Std and got a Behringer(Vintager AC108) tube guitar amp for it.
At certain settings it comes out sounding like a "fat" trombone. Rather like the "fat", "warm" sounds of a Moog synth! ;-)

Theremino