New theremin player here with a few questions

Hello everyone!

I'm new here and have just begun my journey into the world of the theremin. I'm a classically trained pianist and completely fell in love with the instrument when I came across this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EcAiTE0JyE (I'm a huge Ravel fan, so that might be why!).

I first bought a Theremini, as it was recommended by some thereminists on Youtube who seemed quite experienced. However, I later found out that many people said it was not even a real theremin. I was a bit disappointed, but decided to keep it anyway, I still think it's a fun instrument to play around with.

I then bought a Lostvolts LV-4, which I really like. However, since I don't have a proper amp yet, I'm still mainly using the Theremini for now.

So, I have a couple of questions for you all:

First, do you think starting out on the Theremini could lead to bad habits or incorrect muscle memory? I am currently practicing with the Carolina Eyck method, and I am still trying to properly switch between positions 1 and 8, and 1 to 5 to 8. I am struggling a bit to rotate my hand wthout moving my arm, but I guess it's pretty common among beginners. The latest firmware for Theremini (1.1.1) includes a “classic theremin mode” and a “low latency mode,” but since a lot of people here seem to dislike the Theremini, I'm still unsure if I should keep training or not...

Second, what kind of amp would you recommend for the Lostvolts LV-4? I read that it needs to be grounded, so the amp should be IEC powered. I also came across this page: https://etheremin.com/sequiper/systeme-damplification which says that guitar and bass amps aren't ideal for theremins, and recommends using keyboard amps, studio monitors, or even hi-fi systems instead. Do you agree with that?

I was thinking about buying this one: https://www.thomann.fr/yamaha_hs_5_w.htm, but I'd like to be sure before spending money on it.

Thanks in advance for your help!

In any case, I’m really happy to be starting this theremin adventure

"First, do you think starting out on the Theremini could lead to bad habits or incorrect muscle memory?"  - reetrol

I think that depends on what "shape" the pitch field has, and how repeatable it is.  If the field can be made fairly linear, and with essentially the same sensitivity and pitch location each time you set it up to play, then that would be sufficient.  I owned a slightly used Theremini when they first hit the market, and the field calibration was awkward and all over the place, and the latency so severe that fast vibrato was getting lost, so once I analyzed it some and had a look inside I sold it.  But this was before the "Theremin mode" (!) software was released.  Nevertheless, the fields are quite weak (only a few volts at the antennas) so environmental interference will likely be an issue at one point or another.  I thought it made for a good noise maker and conversation piece, but that's about it.  However, Kip Rosser has fully embraced the Theremini as a "real" Theremin, so maybe check out some of his video tutorials before you make any decisions.

Due to their (for better or for worse) rigid physics, analog Theremins tend to have fairly repeatable fields.  That said, most players own an Open Theremin and I might suggest you get one of those to try as well?  It's an analog / digital hybrid of sorts, and fairly inexpensive.

"Second, what kind of amp would you recommend for the Lostvolts LV-4?"

For an analog Theremin, coloring the sound via outboard effects and/or amp & speaker can often help relieve the tedium of hearing the same timbres again and again.  The complex response of an open baffle speaker might pep things up.  I think reverb is almost a must, and for that I think full-range stereo amplification works best.  For anything employing a synth engine, particularly when emulating other instruments, full-range is also best IMO.  I practice and play almost exclusively with headphones, as even low-end offerings can often sound better than really good speakers, and they spare others hearing my musical noodling, caterwauling, and general fumbling around.

Hi Reetrol,

From my personal perspective and experience playing/learning on a Theremini does not negatively affect the "muscle memory" (rather the neuronal paths and connections) and can be a useful step in learning to play the theremin (as long as you turn off the pitch quantization). That said, within half a year I bought a Moog Etherwave Plus and about three years later I had a Subscope theremin built to order, which I have permanently set up ready to play.
The Etherwave is in its bag now, while I got the Theremini on a tripod to sometimes play outside in my garden for and with the birds.
I did recently get out the Etherwave for some experiments with 2 theremins into a ring modulator.

I made a playlist with the available tutorials for the Theremini I could find (including the complete series by Kip Rosser)
Theremini Tutorials and Lessons playlist on YouTube

A lot of amplifiers will work for a theremin, as long as the theremin is grounded in some way. The (in my opinion terrible) original power supply of the Theremini provides grounding through the plug, as does the USA power supply for the Moog Etherwave theremins. In contrast the 230 V (Europe and other parts of the world) power supply for the Etherwave series does not connect to ground and the grounding is expected to be from a connected amplifier.

It is mainly the Moog Etherwave theremins that have a signal level which is too hot/high for a guitar amp, especially if it is an amplifier with little headroom, which starts to distort early on (which may be a good thing for electric guitar players, depending on taste and style).
Theremins that allow you to change the output volume give more flexibility. The amplifier and the loudspeaker(s) are part of the signal chain before becoming audible sound, so in a way become a part of the instrument, including effect pedals that are in the chain.

Keyboard amplifiers, powered monitors, acoustic amplifiers, small PA systems and Hi-Fi systems are designed to not color the sound very much if at all (unless desired and set in the tone/equalizer and/or built-in effects), while guitar amps and to a lesser extent bass guitar amps are desired to get more dirty and distorted, in a desirable way at higher gain/volume settings. Tube guitar amps can usually be tamed if needed by exchanging the pre-amp tube with a compatible type with lower gain factor, giving it more clean headroom.

Something that I did notice while shopping for an acoustic amp a few years ago, was that the budget / lower priced models all tended to have some ugly resonance frequency at higher volumes that was revealed by making some tone sweeps over the theremin's range.
For theremin an amplifier that has built in reverb and/or delay can be a good thing, or a pedal between theremin and amplifier can take care of that.