" I'm just sick and tired of ugly little mic-stand boxes, suitcases and the like, all to save weight. "
I'm not unhappy with the appearance of the EW. It's plain for sure, but at least Moog used nice wood rather than plastic. I would pay extra for a nice cabinet though. Perhaps one I could keep the EW in, just pulling it out if I needed to travel. Call it a home docking station :)
"I spent 27 years building, repairing and tuning pianos, organs and harps. All of these are rather heavy, substantial instruments. But people still love them - they realize that the sound and features that they want cannot be put into a little portable box. An example of this is portable keyboards versus pianos. When the keyboards came in decades ago, some people thought that pianos would become outdated and even extinct. Nope. People still buy and love their big, heavy pianos." - GlassMan
I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. And my own experiences with reviewing digital piano sound generation and key action tells me why real acoustic pianos are still the thing to buy if you want the real piano experience. But even acoustic pianos aren't much heavier than they need to be. Sure, you could use more exotic metals for the frame, lighter wood or composites or something for the enclosure, but manufacturers generally don't go out of their way to actually increase the weight (nor the price) without good reason.
I guess what I'm saying is that a piano is substantial for a very good reason, but a solid state Theremin, even a pretty one with a built-in sound system, doesn't really have to be (particularly in this day of class D amplifiers and rare earth magnet speakers). When all we had were big tubes and big coils on large metal chassis, OK I kind of get the need for massive, but those days are gone. The Theremini, with it's 1" speaker and cheap plastic case, is probably cutting things too close IMO. A little bit larger speaker (say 4") in a bit larger box would give significantly more dBs and over a much wider range. I suppose Moog Inc. was trying to maximize profits as they went after the conversation piece / "dabbler" crowd - nothing wrong with that, nor with being a dabbler, it just didn't end up giving us a decently playable instrument.
So true, Dewster.
It would be downright perverse to deliberately make something heavier than it HAS to be. The end result is dependent on what you want out of it.
Obviously, portables could be made A BIT larger and still be quite manageable. You're right - going up to a little larger speaker, using the best wood or other material, and putting in the most up-to-date lightweight sound system, you could have a pretty darn good instrument WAY better than the so-called Theremini, which is more mini than theremin! If the weight got a little too much for a mic stand, you could have removeable or collapsible legs. Conceivably, a great instrument could be had that would weigh in at well under 20 pounds. And someone ought to do it! Maybe someone like you!
I appreciate your great ideas, and look forward to further conversations. As my work moves forward, I hope to be able to use any really good, useful suggestions that folks might have for self-contained theremins. You will find that I am pretty easy to communicate with, and I'm sure no snob! Just a common guy who loves to create. And I hope that some of you will take up projects of your own along similar lines, so that we can compare notes. This thread IS about self-contained instruments, so I hope that only people who are genuinely interested in this topic will take part. On the other hand, folks who dive in ONLY to criticize should look elsewhere for their amusement. I'm sure that those individuals are not interested anyway...
Jon
Jocala, Great idea about a "docking station" for your EW. It could contain its own sound system and even some effect pedals, with all of the cords and cables out of sight. The biggest hurdle would be the antennas, which would need to be able to slide down into slots in the larger casework. The pitch antenna is too short for that at the elbow, as it is now. It would require modification - probably a bit of added "plumbing" in the form of a short length of straight pipe to carry the elbow out far enough for it to slide into a slot in the outer case and still clear the wood where it makes its upward bend. Very do-able, actually. It might be a challenge to find the chromed brass to match, though...
I can help anyone out with cabinetry and other aspects of "self-contained." I've got beautiful hardwoods and a full shop of machinery and stuff. I also have a degree in fine art, with skills in sculpture and design, and I'm pretty good at problem-solving. I'm also not greedy. I don't really need money very much, so I would just charge the minimum for material and labor.
Everywhere you look, you will find things that can be more or less improved. It is often possible to do this yourself, and making a difference feels very gratifying. Whenever we come up against the frustration of not being able to find just exactly what we are looking for in something, that's the perfect time to apply ourselves to making it the way we would like it to be. I grew up so poor that as a child I had to make many of my own things. I would go out and look very carefully at something I dreamed of having, then I'd go home and try my darnedest to make my own. I often succeeded, more or less. So my motto became: if you cannot find it or afford it, MAKE it!
Jon
"Conceivably, a great instrument could be had that would weigh in at well under 20 pounds. And someone ought to do it! Maybe someone like you!" - GlassMan
Ya, I'm working on it. Not sure if I'll put an amp / speaker on it, though I'm a big fan of self-contained units, even if the sound is thin.
"I grew up so poor that as a child I had to make many of my own things."
Same here. And I watched a lot of SF so I was always building panels of switches and blinking lights - UI design actually.
Dew,
I'm glad to hear that you are interested in self-contained theremins, and that you are doing work along these lines. There is a need for smaller SCs (self-contained) that are still pretty portable as well as attractive. I plan on developing my own compact SC along the way, although my current work is on the larger scale. Like you, I've always loved good SciFi. Growing up, I loved to watch Star Trek, and I loved the books even more! It was so mind-broadening, and helped people to think beyond this little planet Earth and its human race. There were some really fantastic inventions, too - some of which have actually been made since then. They really should have had an episode about theremins...Spock's harp could have been a wonderful polyphonic one.......!
Ilya, you made me laugh! So very, very true! I think that perfectionism is a blessing in my own case, but many folks consider it a curse! You would LOVE to see me work - I think that you would find it very entertaining, especially when I do something over and over even when it was probably okay the first time. Do you do that?
Really though, it is actually a very good thing to never be quite satisfied with ANY of our inventions. We move forward in technology, science and everything else because we recognize that our journey is NEVER really finished. Everything and everyone is moving forward into the future, evolving as they go. As soon as we think that we are done, all that will remain is stagnation and DE-volution!
Just finished my hand controller glove. It works well. Looks home-made because it is! But I can imagine a sophisticated commercial version - even a wireless one! I'll have to leave THAT to one of you micro-circuit geniuses, if any one ever gets interested. If you're worried about being "wired" to your theremin, it actually doesn't feel like you are. The cable is very streamlined and light as a feather. There is a soft loop that slips over the elbow and rests just above it. The cable cannot be seen is use, because it goes under the arm. You can't even feel this thing when you have it on, and there is no restriction of hand or arm movement. The whole cable plugs into three video jack sockets on the side of the case, and the theremin plays fine with or without it. So it is an optional attachment. It is really fun to use. You can do things with it that would normally require reaching around with one your hands and stopping the flow of music. With the glove, you can make deft, instant changes.
Moving on the the speaker mounting next. Then I'll be finishing up.
Jon
Welcome Bob!
Your design looks really promising. Looks like dual speakers with chorus in the amp. What size speakers? Looks like you'll also have a standby function and some up-to-date features like controlled voltage out. You have circuits for wave form, skew and shift, and a distortion circuit. If there are control knobs for these functions, you can have a good range of sound manipulation - such as your "resonance." I'll want to hear it when it's working. I'll be reading these posts, and looking forward to whatever pictures and sound files you can include. I foresee a potential for interchange not only of ideas, but of hardware. I will consider purchasing promising circuit-work from you or anyone else, to incorporate into my cabinets. I can also build cabinets and surrounds if anyone needs that, as well as tube systems for people who want more options in the earlier-type theremins.
What are you planning for the casework? How large and what materials? I'd love to hear more about your plans.
I see that some of you serious theremin techs are indeed thinking along the same lines that I am. This doesn't surprise me in the least. Feel welcome here to share your ideas.
I get the feeling that I'm not alone in desiring more options in theremins. While all of us want and need our travel-sized instruments, we would like to see something along the lines of at least some compact SC's (I will be referring to self-contained theremins as "SC's" to avoid fatigue!) for our homes and studios, with everything contained neatly within the cabinet.
We've got more options now than ever before. We can go with solid-state, tube, or hybrids. It is a perfect time to put our creative powers to work.
Jon
Well I disassembled an older Hammond organ and am tempted to make a lectern style box out of it.
I have the Leslie speaker and some other 4", 6", 8" and 12" speakers that I might use. I got a 3 channel
amplifier board off ebay that does 18 watts for 2 channels and 36 watts for the Subwoofer. This is going
to be a one off just for personal use.
I just picked up several Behringer DR100 reverbs off Ebay for $25 - $30. They are stereo in and out and
you can mod them to get chorus, slapback and other fun stuff. I'll incorporate one or more of these into my
build too.
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