Claravox Stand "Set Screw" broken by design?

Posted: 3/4/2023 6:26:34 PM
simon

Joined: 3/4/2023

Hello

Today I received my Claravox Theremin + Stand and I'm really really confused...

Is anybody able to tighten the stand with the set screw?

I searched the forum, found a lot about the Theremin itself but nothing about the stand.
I discovered http://aetherwellen-musik.de/Theremin-Instrumente-Instruments/Claravox-Centennial-CV-C-Theremin-Review-Improvement and can confirm nearly 1600 units later that the legs keep shrinking and are flimsy (ok I can fix that with the rubber hack), the feet are still hardplastic (ok I can fix that) but the set screw can never ever work (at least at my unit).

This is the bottom, you can see the little plastic inlay which will be pressed against the post to secure it:

The Problem with that thing is: The screw is to short.
Plastic cover removed shows that fully screwed in that thing is pressing ~ 0,5 mm deep. The tolerance between the post and the stand/holder let alone is ~ 1mm...

To better see the that I flipped around the plastic inlay. Screw fully turned in does exactly nothing to clamp the post.

Did I miss anything?
Am I the only one with that problem?

Greetings from a confused new user who just feels a little bit screwed over by thinking about the price point of that thing... (sorry for the pun ;-))

Posted: 3/4/2023 7:22:16 PM
Martel

From: Russia

Joined: 9/8/2016

Yes, a mystery. I could not figure out how with such a length of screw it is possible to securely tighten and fix the rack.

It seems that marriage, or not a native clamping screw.

I just don't understand where this detail came from?

Posted: 3/5/2023 11:25:54 AM
simon

Joined: 3/4/2023

The lip holds the screw and screw socket in place.
You usually can't see it so flipped the plastic cover around to measure the distance of the screw:

To fix this I guess you need to change the screw (I have nothing fitting here) or extend it somehow.
The extension can't be anything big because the plastic cover leaves nearly no space to add something inside.

So my fix which works for now is adding a small little neodym magnet on top of the screw, extending it 1,2mm which is enough for this whole thing to fix the post.
Of course you need to be careful not to tighten it to much, which might be the initial intention of Moog...

Posted: 3/5/2023 3:42:35 PM
Martel

From: Russia

Joined: 9/8/2016

This is some kind of quest)) Puzzle.
I already think for the completeness of the presentation of the problem, you need to see the pipe itself, the rack, the pin.
Maybe looking at it, there will be some kind of clue, an idea.
(I hope you looked online for reviews of these devices and if this is an initial defect, then you should not be the only one to note this and ask questions)

-----------------------------
(assumption) If the stand, at the bottom, had a thickening (under the diameter of the bed visible in the photo, in the shape of a bottle, for example), then the logic of its clamping is quite correct.
And this thickening is just in the logic of such a clamping, fixing screw.
Then everything converges and should be workable. Please take a picture of the rack, pin, pipe.

Posted: 3/11/2023 12:07:49 PM
simon

Joined: 3/4/2023

The shop I ordered the stand from did a replacement and now look at that:

The legs a also a lot stiffer and don't wiggle around if inserted to the top.

So I guess the first one was really a faulty one...

Finally

Posted: 3/11/2023 2:25:26 PM
Martel

From: Russia

Joined: 9/8/2016

It's a shame, but it's good that the problem is solved.

Posted: 3/11/2023 2:40:41 PM
dewster

From: Northern NJ, USA

Joined: 2/17/2012

Glad you got it resolved simon!

Moog must be taking a bath on all the Cvox returns, especially the international ones.

Posted: 3/11/2023 5:09:43 PM
DreadVox

From: The East of the Netherlands

Joined: 6/18/2019

I've noticed that the price for the Claravox has been dropping lately to 1500 Euro at Thomann and Bax Music.

Posted: 3/11/2023 5:10:54 PM
Martel

From: Russia

Joined: 9/8/2016

Moog must be taking a bath on all the Cvox returns, especially the international ones.

Or, perhaps, these screws are not mixed up everywhere. And maybe other kits contain the correct fixing screw.

And the short one went to the other counter.

Posted: 3/16/2023 10:15:52 AM
simon

Joined: 3/4/2023

Moog must be taking a bath on all the Cvox returns, especially the international ones.

I'm not so sure about this.
People seem to be lucky with the stand in general. 

I did order mine at Thomann and they checked if they had increased return numbers on it, they don't.
Replacement was no problem at all (as always with Thomann).

The problem with the legs can be fixed by adding a small part of rubber to increase the fit (as shown by Aetherwellen), which I was prepared to do.
Guess I'm lucky that my current model is fine.

In the end it comes done to people who just don't care about the stand. They use one they already own or buy something like the KM 252 (which is currently available for ~ 65 Euro...). Most of the time I'm on this side... ;-) 

If you want a stand which really fits the Claravox, with the same walnut finish for the legs, etc. you will buy the stand because it is most likely the only option. Even from a DIY perspective you will have a hard time getting comparable parts if you not already have access to dried wood or tooling for the metal parts.

Still a little bit surprised to see that happen at this price point...

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