best kit to build your own theremin

Could anyone suggest the best kit to build a Theremin - I am interested in the BEST Musical instrument, not for demonstration of the principle. I used to play an original Theremin in Theremin's lab in Moscow and would like to build something close to that rich musical sound. I am not capable of building it myself, but have someone with background in physics who has offered help. Any suggestions (details, parts, kits) would be greatly appreciated.
Olga

Hi Olga,

Is there a particular reason you're looking for a kit instead of a fully manufactured instrument? I ask because from what I've been able to tell, none of the available kits have anything like the richness of sound or playability you would be used to from an original model Theremin instrument.

If what you want is richness of sound, I'd like to point you in the direction of the Moog Music instruments, particularly the Etherwave Pro. I think the kits are better for novices who just want an instrument to tinker with, or people who just enjoy making things, or people who really can't afford a quality instrument.

If budget is your problem, well, let us know and I'm sure a number of people will make suggestions.

Tom

Tom, thanks for your reply. You are right - budget is a problem. Any suggestions on how to proceed on a budget are greatly appreciated.
Olga

It's amazing (but not surprising) how often this question is asked. Personally, I'm still waiting for Lamborghini to release a Diablo kit for about $10,000 USD. (But, then everyone would have one!)

We thereminists are still waitng for that one. I don't believe it is really possible. An exceptional instrument requires a great design and quality parts. This is not a recipe for economy.

Still, there may be hope. Remember, the word on the street is there is a "Thereminmaker" working on a new theremin design with the possibility of it being available in kit form. Only time will tell.

Olga, I'm going to make the possibly incorrect assumption that you're in the US, but this information is relatively correct even if you aren't.

The most popular kits for an instrument which offers both pitch and volume control are the Jaycar kit and the PAIA Theremax.

The Theremax kit, with both the kit for the electronics and the kit for the case, costs about $200 US. Add an amplifier, and you've spent $300 US. Others can better discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Theremax than myself.

Jaycar makes three kits. The cheaper one sells for about $50 US, but when you add shipping from Australia, it's about $75 US. It will require extensive modification to improve it to being an instrument someone might want to play, and even then it's still not going to measure up to the cheapest model from Moog. Also, you'll have to get someone to construct a custom case for it, because the case that comes with it is really much too small. (It's about as wide as my hand is long.) You'll also need to buy a power supply and an amplifier. You'll have spent at least $175, and you'll have an inferior instrument. (I'm not saying it's garbage, I'm making one myself, but it's not as good as the others on the market.)

The second Jaycar kit is their advanced theremin kit. It costs $150 US, plus shipping... let's guess it will come to $200 total, but I might be wrong, it might be more. Then you'll also need to have a larger case made for it, and you'll also need a power supply and an amplifier. You'll have spent over $300. I haven't heard from anyone who has completed the kit, so I can't comment on its quality.

The third Jaycar kit is a MIDI theremin, which is really a different beast altogether. I'm working on one of those too. It could be interesting, but I can't comment until I'm done. The expenses will be at least as much as the more expensive Jaycar kit, plus you'll need to use it with a computer.

So, even a kit isn't cheap. Buying the cheapest model Moog theremin, which is generally regarded as superior to any of the kits, is about $550 including the instrument, amplifier, stand, and audio cable. Yes, that's almost twice as much. However, I recomment you give it consideration: if you wait long enough to put together the money to buy the Moog instrument, you may be much happier with it.

If you decide to go with the cheaper kit from Jaycar, please contact me privately so I can give you additional materials on improving the kit, for the use of the person who assembles it for you. I can be reached via my web site at tomfarrell.org .

Thank you, Tom!
Yes, I am in US and I am actually a former Leo Theremin's student. It means that I met Theremin back in Moscow in 1979 and was spending time in his shop in an attic of the Department of Physics and observed him building the Theremins including the most complicated one, which to the best of my knowledge, has never been finished. It was a platform where the player could move his whole body instead of waving a hand in front of an antenna. Lev Theremin was the one who taught me to play his instrument including more complicated version that could play simple chords (two tones at a time by opening and closing a palm in addition to your hand movements). All his complicated Theremins were built using parts from the toy department (Detskii Mir) in Moscow and at at that time nobody in Moscow was interested in his work. He actually slept in his lab in the attic and had a pet mice which he trained to come out to the certain tone of the Theremin!
See, for me it is more of nostalgia to build something unique and similar that I used to play rather then going with manufactured version. of course, I am not into electronic devices since I am only a molecular biologist who can tear apart and compose molecules only, not electronic devices, but I have an engineer friend who is willing to help with this project. His idea is even to go with an original tube design, for more mellow sound. So, we may want to go building one from a scratch instead of a kit. What is your opinion about such possibility? Do you know anyone who has done that?
Thanks again for all your advices,
Olga

Another possibility is to build a theremin from scratch. Art has a tube theremin for those brave enough to play around with higher voltages:
The 126 Vacuum Tube Theremin (http://home.att.net/~theremin1/126/126.htm)

[This is my first post. I'm a physics teacher. I've built some analog synth modules completely from scratch, and would like to build some theremins. I'll probably start with the Theremax, but I have a lot of old electronic books with theremin circuits in them that I'd like to try.]

Parsa

Thanks!
The sound of the tube instrument you had on a webpage is really wonderful and sounded very much like the old Theremin (termen-voix) I used to play. I think I am convinced that this is a way to go. Will see what will be the engineer's response. Does anyone know what additional device Lev Theremin was using to make not monophnic sound, but simple two-tone chords? It looked like some metal (?) plate he used to hold in his left hand and when pressing on it with his fingers, he was able to produce chords once in a while in a melodious passage. I know that did not really like it since it was not working properly (difficult to synchronize?)but was hoping to improve it with time. Was this feature ever further developed and used in any of the modern Theremins?
Olga

Almost nothing is known about the multi-voice Theremin, other than that he was working on one and that he told Clara Rockmore he needed her help with it, and there is a very brief audio recording of it. Frankly, your brief description of it probably just doubled the available knowledge about it.

However, there are plenty of devices available which can create a "chorus" effect to your sound, if you wanted to try using a Theremin with one.

Some people use light sensitive photo cells for controllers. I suppose you could have one in your hand that somehow controlled the Q on a filter or the frequency of a low frequency oscillator or something else. Then you could also move your hand up and down to change the volume on a volume plate (or loop) while holding the optical one in your hand. The coordination involved would be crazy though. That's not polyphony, but I thought about it when the hand unit was mentioned. It would be interesting to speculate on how this polyphonic stuff worked.