Since its introduction to the general public in the late 20s, the Theremin has been evocative in image and tone. Even eyes that had seen such wonders as pictures flying through the air widened at the sight of a musician producing sound using only a conductor's gestures. And its pure tones, able to stand out without distortion against even the full fortissimo of a symphony orchestra, were like nothing anyone had ever heard before.
Was it a hit? You bet, theremin concerts were SRO in halls where audiences were ordinarily sparse. The place of the Theremin in a "modern” orchestra was a given for such maestros as Leopold Stokowski, who used one or more in numerous concerts of the Philadelphia Orchestra during the late ‘30s. RCA thought that every cultured home would have one, but for a lot of reasons things didn’t work out quite like that.
Theremax employs the same heterodyneing principles as the original Theremins and produces the classic sound while adding embellishments made possible by the economy of transistors and Integrated Circuits. It can function as a stand-alone instrument or as a gesture-sensing controller for other musical instruments or in performance art applications.
Manual contents:
The PAiA Theremax Assembly and Using Manual (Instruction Manual, User Manual, Assembly Instructions) contains easy-to-follow, Step-by-Step Instructions for the assembly of http://www.paia.com Order Items (product model numbers) 9505K (Electronics Kit) and 9505C (Lectern Case Kit) for a Do-It-Yourself (DIY), Easy-to-Build, theremin, a 'classic' electronic music instrument, using only basic electronics assembly tools and supplies. Included in the manual are Schematics, Illustrations and Diagrams, a Parts List (List of Parts, BOM, Bill of Materials), views of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) and its Printed Circuit Traces (Printed Circuit Layout) overlaid with the Parts Placement Designators (Silk-screened parts designations), and details for calibration (tuning) by ear, set-up, and use (operating instructions).
It is shown Theremax* (or a custom unit with perhaps the 9505FPA Front-Panel and Antennae set) has controls for Trim (fine-tuning) of Pitch and Volume, amounts of Pitch, Volume, and Velocity Control Voltages (CV) that are Output (and introduced to associated circuit sections), and Timbre (from pure to rich in harmonics). A switch can be connected for Mute of the audio output. Other connection or patch points include CV and Triggering (Gate / Moog Switch-Trigger (S-Trigger, Open Collector)) for remote control of external devices such as Voltage-controlled Synthesizers and their VCO, VCF, and VCA sections, or VCF and VCA modules functioning as signal processors for other, external audio sources such as electronic or mic'ed instruments or recorded tracks. Use as a theremin only requires connecting its 12VDC power source to the wall outlet and the 1/4" phone jack/socket Audio Output to an amplifier, driving a set of headphones or a loudspeaker, via a cable with the appropriate plugs at each end.
Referencing the Design Analysis you can investigate Theory of Operation and the way the Integrated Circuit (IC), Transistor (Silicon), Diode (Germanium, Silicon, Zener), Resistor, Capacitor, and 796kHz Oscillator Coil (I.F. Transformer) electronic components are used in the Radio Frequency (RF) Oscillator, Modulator (Heterodyne, Mixer), Frequency-Voltage (F-V), Wave-shaping, Mixing, Voltage-controlled Amplifier (VCA), Level-detection and Differential Amplifier sections of Theremax.
*In correspondence, Theremax has been referenced as "Tmax" (T'max), "Teremin", "Teramax", "Theramax", "Thermin", "Thereman" and "Theramin".
9505 Theremax
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