Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/10/23/moog-limited-edition-theremin.html
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I don’t care how good it sounds - I’m not wearing a Methuselah truss.
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I’m not touching that.
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Great article about it here:
The links are also well worth the click too.
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A theremin with preset storage!
It sounds great, and I want one. I had already been considering a theremin controller for my modular…
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I’m not a theremin person, but that looks lovely. Moreover, can we talk about how wonderful that photograph is? The composition with the hands and red splash art in the background is outstanding. I also appreciate the more generous depth of field in the midst of today’s trend of extremely low F-stop super bokeh.
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“ it’s $1500!”
Can you really put a price on annoying all the cats in the neighborhood simultaneously.
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Looks like an iphonee with proper antenna design… and priced like one too
Moog makes an excellent product that is absolutely worth the price if you play electronic music. They really are one of those gold standard companies back in the day and then again when Robert Moog bought the company back and moved manufacture to back to Asheville. They also are deeply involved in the community there, such as regularly working with the UNC-Asheville music department, and for years they held the Moogfest there. Between Apple and Moog, I’ll pay for a Moog any day.
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A basic analog Theremin is trivial to build, spending only a few bucks for components. For a few bucks more, varied waveforms can be generated. I’m sure this pricey Moog instrument is quite good. But it’s out of my budget.
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Sure. This is not that. Theremins are of course relatively trivial. But a good playable instrument is rather different. This, and I again recommend the Peter Kirn article above, has multiple features not remotely available on an old analogue only theremin while remaining respectful of tradition. Sure 1500 is a chunk of money, but this is concert orchestra quality with extended features. Go buy a Behringer Moog clone for 350, and that’s fair enough, you wouldn’t replace this with a cheap clone. Playability is key.
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So to be clear, those are not the desirable kind of mushrooms but a close copy? Like a guitar that’s painted to look like a really nice guitar?
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But can you play Good Vibrations on it?
And yes, I fully realize Good Vibrations features an Electro-Theremin which is completely different, but still…
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Whoop! That was in the food thread mixed up post. Sorry. I’m going to edit it out.
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One more theremin thought, for the classroom music teachers un/lucky enough to be in school - for the price of one theremin you’ve now got one instrument that every student can share (taking turns), and nobody has to sanitize it!
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If this is a souped up Theremin, then it’s really something else. A Theremin is a very basic thing, the variation is in the physical design (ie tge antennas). I can’\t even imagine how “concert grade” applies to Theremins. Anyone can start souping up a Theremin, they have as much a chance as setting a standard as Moog.
That said, Moog himself built a Theremin when he was fourteen, and a few years later started a company to sell him. That was his start in electronic music.
Initially “Moog” was synonymous with “electronic music” (well except for Buchla). Not because they offered something better tgan the rest, but because it was a limited field with a limited market. Moog basically took lab work into the world, making it less expensive and accessible, in a relative fashion.
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At the essentials, a theremin is electrically very simple. As a musical instrument they are very challenging to play. I have a Gakken premium Theremin, it’s a very budget friendly but middling quality theremin. I never put in enough time to play even the most basic tune on it, it was just such a steep learning curve compared to some other instruments.
In learning the theremin, I would draw parallels with a flute or brass embouchure or a violin bow. In that it takes practice before you can play even a single good sounding note. And then a violin-family instrument or trombone, where playing a scale becomes something you earn only with practice.
My dream was to learn to play with a wah pedal, that means waving two arms and a leg while standing on one foot. My idle ambition exceeds my actual commitment unfortunately.
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