Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 16:22:50 -0700 From: Kurt Dwight Bleach To: amorel Cc: analogue heaven! Subject: Re: [AH] Theremin amorel wrote: > I'd like to know if its any use to get the paia theremax, is it any good > and all that? So it is difficult to play it, I wonder how difficult. Do u > need to learn it for years like a piano? I guess it wouldnt be that > difficult, as u dont need to learn to coordinate your fingers in a certain > way et all. > If you're at all interested in the Theremin, I'd highly recommend the Theremax. First of all, it's very inexpensive and it's quite easy to put together -- it was my first electronics kits and I had it working perfectly on the very first try. And unlike some of the other Paia kits (Vocoder and Fatman), the instructions are very easy to understand and assume almost no prior electronics experience. In addition to price, one major advantage of the Theremax is that it has control voltage outputs for both antannae. Theoretically one is for control of pitch and the other for volume, but as they're regular control voltages, you can use them anyway you choose. For example, I like to use them to modulate the LPF and HPF of an MS-20, so I "play" the HPF with my left hand and "play" the LPF with my right hand. If you intend to become a "serious" theremin player, though, you should probably investigate the Big Briar models, as their tone is much more authentic, and the antennae are much more sturdy. As far as how difficult they are to play, I'd say that depends a lot on how you intend to play it and what kind of results you're expecting. It's true that a theremin doesn't require a lot of intricate finger movements, but if you intend to play clean, precise classical melodies ala Clara Rockmore, you'd better have an EXCEPTIONAL ear and be willing to put a lot of time into developing a technique. Conversely, if you run it through some effects, you can get pretty amazing results pretty quickly. In either case, the main thing is to have a good ear -- as there are no frets or keys to guide you, you have to pitch every note by ear (like a violin). Of course, if you get the Theremax and have some modular/semi-modular gear, you can have a lot of fun simply using it as a cv source, without having to put any effort at all into learing the technique.