Post #168295 by freddiefreelance on Mon, Jun 27, 2005 11:27 AM

On 2005-06-25 09:00, martiki wrote:
BTW, techy question: They showed some footage of the Smile concert in London, and during Good Vibrations, the theremin sounds were coming from something I didn't recognize- the musician had his hand on a small lever and was sliding it back and forth- it still sounded like a theremin, though. I was thinking it might have been some kind manual device attached to a theremin to try and generate the tones more accurately. Does anyone here know? If that's the case, I cry foul! And I call upon Robby Virus to show them how it's done!

The intrument is a mechanically controlled Theremin called an Electro-Theremin, created by noted Jazz trombonist Paul Tanner & Actor/Inventor Dr. Robert Whitsell. Paul Tanner loved the sound of the Theremin, but had trouble with creating the sounds he wanted with the accuracy & speed of note placement that he wanted. Some of you might have Dr. Tanner's famous album Music for Heavenly Bodies:

And I'm certain you remember the sound of it from many movies & TV shows, espescially from when Uncle Martin would raise his antennae on "My Favorite Martian."

The actual instrument that is being used on the Smile Tour is called a Tannerin and is custom-made by intrument maker Tom Polk, the instrument was made to Dr. Tanner's specifications for his original Electro-Theremin, nicknamed "Paul's Box."

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

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2005-06-27 11:29 ]