Post #140312 by freddiefreelance on Wed, Feb 9, 2005 12:42 PM

Letting my "theremin snob" side hang out: the theremin is an electronic synthesizer that uses the body's natural capacitance, as you move your hand in relation to an antenna, to detune one variable radio oscillator from another fixed oscillator, and the resulting beat frequency of the heterodyning oscillations creates the varying pitch (that means you add the two radio frequecies together and the result is an audio freqency output). A second pair of oscillators are used to electronically shift the volume control of the internal amplifier to control the output volume.

This device sounds like it's more closely related to the Electro-Theremin built by Paul Tanner & Bob Whitsell: electronic or mechanical controls are used to control pitch &/or volume. In the original Electro-Theremin the tone was created by a single sine wave generator, and in this case the tone is created by a sound chip. The "presure sensitive fretboard" sounds like a combination & extension of both the Electro-Theremin's pitch controller & Lev "Leon" Theremin's Theremin Cello. Photocell pitch control is used by several borderline-toy theremins & science project kits.

On the whole you'd probably do better to plug a real guitar or amp's effect send into a Korg Kaos Pad or several of Bob Moog's MoogerFoogers.

P.S.- Bong, where do we send our signed afidavits? :wink:

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2005-02-09 12:45 ]