Moog Music • Etherwave Theremin
The Theremin's are back! The Big Briar/Moog Music Moog Signature Series Etherwave Theremin (pictured top) and standard Etherwave Theremin allow you to create those whistling sine wave sounds using your hands, arms, elbows or head! The Theremin was designed in the earlier part of the 20th century by Leon Theremin. It's a simple oscillating circuit that produces a simple sine wave over a 5-octave pitch range. Two antenna perpendicular to each other (one is loop-shaped) create your playing field. The vertical one controls pitch and the horizontal volume. By moving your hands in the field between these you affect the capacitance within the rods and thus, the oscillators pitch and volume. This is truly a unique and difficult but masterable form of sci-fi music performance.
The models offered are virtually equal. The Moog Signature Series has Bob Moog's signature on its front panel, that's it. Both Theremins's are made of solid wood, mic-stand mountable and come with instructional videos (you may need them)! They are truly analog instruments so you get an authentic and warm sound with modern quality and specifications. A few knobs on the face plate control waveform, brightness and level.
Moog Music also offers the standard Etherwave Theremin in a build-it-yourself kit for $299. Plenty of accessories and options include the instructional video on playing the Theremin, a photo history booklet by Bob Moog, a "hot-rodding" manual for customizing your theremin, an Etherwave Gig Bag, the Moog TB-15 Theremin Amplifier (15-watt, 8 inch speaker, 3-band EQ, $99) and an Etherwave stand/tripod. It has been used by Fatboy Slim, Vangelis, Led Zeppelin, Jean-Michel Jarre and Air.
Of course it's good for sci-fi sounds but it has a lot of potential for real music if you can master it.