Moog Etherwave Theremin

The instrument itself is easy to use, in the sense that you should be able to have it set up and making sounds within a few minutes of opening the box.

Theremins are easy to get sound out of, but very hard to play well. That's a fact of life with theremin's, so my score doesn't reflect that.

The manual does a poor job explaining how to calibrate pitch and volume, but once figured out, those are easy things to do.

My big complaints are (1) that the instrument does NOT provide even spacing between pitches throughout its range, and (2) the tuning changes, apparently randomly, while the unit is on, even if you are careful to avoid anything besides yourself coming near the unit. These aren't inherent features of theremins, and are the main reason behind my scoring.

Theremins aren't feature-rich instruments. In addition to the pitch and volume calibration knobs, there are knobs for tone and waveform -- neither of which have much effect on the sound.

This is my biggest disappointment. The Etherwave just doesn't have all that great a theremin sound. It sounds kind of like a cheap synth with the portamento knob turned full bore. Nowhere close to the old RCA models.

The unit feels solidly built.

However, its pitch problems would discourage me from ever using it live.

No opinion about customer support.

I've had this instrument for several months. I bought the assembled instrument, not the kit. I've had occasional exposure to theremins in the past, and plenty of experience with electronic instruments generally. As much as I want to be impressed and happy with a Moog product, this just isn't a very great instrument. If it were stolen, I'd be inclined to look into one of the (few) other theremin options rather than replace this one.

This instrument is anything but easy to play. But lets face it folks its a Theremin. I have yet to encounter on that is easy to play.

I myself purchased the kit, and as far as the ease of assembly, I'd have to say that this is one of the more well put together kits. Big Briar goes into very down to earth detail on how to assemble this Theremin. Not only was it easy to assemble but they also took the time to explain in detail a few different methods of how to finish the wood case. I never knew how to finish wood before I built this kit. So I think, this is a kit that give pocitive results to even the most idiotic kit builder;)

The features on this Theremin, would intially appear limited. There are four controls on this unit. Two of them adjust the sensitivity of the antennas, the other two shape tonal control.

However I feel that because you CAN adjust it to get a very clean tone, you can easily shape the sound using other effects. Also the main citcuit board has been designed so the experimenter can add on to the board his/her own effects.

I'm very pleased with teh versitility of this unit. Again I feel this is because of the extensive documentation provided with the kit form of this unit.

This instrument is truely in a class of its own. The very fact that it responds directly to the movments within its vicinity, is a testiment to its experessivness. I'll admit when it comes to theremins this is the only REAL one I've played with. I have managed to get a tonal response from it at a distance of almost 5 feet away from the antenna.

Trying to get a theremin to play a scale of notes is near impossible for the beginner, if I might qualify as such.

Reliability depends on the assembler. Because I purchased this unit in kit form I got to see first hand the type of construction used. The unit is put together pretty sturdy, but like most other instruments, one good earth shattering drop is all it takes to make things go bad. Put it together with love and care. Mount it on a tripod mic stand no more then 3 or 4 feet off the floor and your theremin will reward you with many sessions of rich, tonal, harmony.

For almost a week I had mixed feelings on the Customer Support provided for Big Briar products. I'll try and lay it down plain and simple.

I called Big Briar up and ordered the EtherWave Kit. I was greeted by a very nice lady. I even had the pleasure of speaking with her aside from business. I asked her if I might have a UPS tracking number, so that I might track my package. She informed me that it wasn't possible until they were ready to ship it, and that today was her last day of working there. She let me know that she would attach a note to the order to send the UPS information via E-mail.

Days came and went. Often I found myself dancing a little nervous jig wondering if my Theremin was lost in the mail and perhapes making sweet music with a UPS worker.

I called Big Brair back and requested a UPS tracking number. A different lady answered. Still very nice, and eager to please. She told me that she seen the note on my order and that the unit had not shipped yet. I told her that I was eager and impatient, and she gave a giggle of sympathy.

Again I waited. One day, Two day, Three days. MY ELUSIVE THEREMIN!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!?!

Once again I called Big Briar back and this time a gentlemen answered. Again very polite and eager to help. I preached my case to him with the best "poor me" voice I could conjure. Before I even ended the story he was ready to rattle off my UPS tracking number to me. The next day my theremin arrived.

I can't say that we have been making beautiful music together, but I've made enough noise to keep a smile on my face despite pissing several neighbors off.

This instrument is one of the most unique I have ever to come in contact with. It was as much fun to build, as it is to play. I don't think I can get tired of it. There is no substitute for the rich analog tones that it creates.

The performance of this instrument blew my mind compared to a theremin I pieced togther some time back, that tuned to a popular radio station when my hand was in just the right place.

I like to think I earned this theremin through the construction of it. I like to think I know a little bit more about its creator from the documentation, videos, and actually having to solder some of the pieces.

For almost an hour I just sat and looked at the circuit board noting its contours and placment of componants. From this I gathered that this insturment is more then the sum of its parts. People put there time, there thoughts, and there care into creating this product. Buying this unit in kit form allows YOU the owner to be part of that chain of events. It lets YOU get intimate with the design.

I suggest buying this product as a kit, and its value to you will increase 10 fold.

Very nice sounding. Reasonably easy to play tonally. I wish I could afford their more expensive theremin because it has a wider range. However, I don't want all of the felgakarb they have on it. Jeez, their prices jump from $350 to $3000. Couldn't they have something in between?

Its a straight forward theremin. The output is in front, which is a stupid place for it. Why not put it in the back next to the power cable?

Doesn't sound quite as good as the Paia, but it is still nice and rich. Although it's easier to control than the Paia, it still isn't easy. My setup first has it go to an Antares ATR-1 which gets me to the right pitch. From there it goes to DOD FX-35 Octoplus. I like this because it gives not just volume control but also tone control of the octave. Makes the theremin sound even richer. Then I go to an Arion SAD-1 Analog Stereo delay. All together it sounds quite awesome.

No problem.

Great people. Every email has resulted in a reply.

It's been said in very review already: easy to use, next to impossible to master. From what I have read, it sounds like there have never been more than 5 or 6 known concert-level classical thereminists alive at any given time since its invention. I don't know, it is quite hard, but I can't imagine it being THAT hard. I was able to play simple melodies by ear with halfway decent intonation after a couple of weeks. But it is definitely NOT an easy instrument to learn, and I have barely even started. Maye in 5 or 10 years I'll be about where I was after my first year of guitar lessons.

I would recommend that anyone who wants to learn the theremin either learn how to play AT LEAST one other instrument WELL first. Or better yet, start on the theremin when you are 5 or 6 years old.

It is a theremin. A pretty good sounding and playable theremin, but just a theremin. No special features like the PAIA kit, but from what I have heard those kits do not sound very good and are not reliable.

If you MUST have Midi control, Big Briar DOES sell a top-of-the-line theremin that has midi control, a 7 octave range as opposed to the Etherwave's 5 octaves (though in both cases, you can only play 3 octaves or so without retuning - the more octaves available without retuning, the more hand control is needed to hold notes in tune; not even Clara Rokmore could deal with more than 3.5 octaves or so) and Midi ouput. It is also supposed to sound almost identical to the classic RCA tube theremins and e even more playable than the etherwave. It is big (podium-style with legs) and expensive ($2500 or so), so I have never bothered to even consider one. Maybe someday I will be independantly wealthy.

It is not an RCA, but it sounds good enought to me, even through a guitar amp (Polytone mini-brute). It sounds like a theremin, rather than sounding like a distorted sine wave, which is what some inexpensive theremins I have heard sound like.

The theremin itself is extremely reliable, but the wall wart is made from fairly brittle plastic. I dropped it a couple of feet onto a pine floor once when moving some gear, and rather than the prongs bending (as happens with most cords), whatever they were fastened to inside broke, so now they are loose. It still works, but every time I plug it in I have to struggle to get the loose prongs lined up right, and when it is unplugged there is danger that they will come off completely. A new cord is $30 - pretty steep, although I can understand it since it is a specialty item. Still, I would recommend buying a case with the theremin if you get one, and ALWAYS keeping the cord in the case when you are not playing.

Never needed it.

Everyone should own a Theremin, and in this price range there is nothing out there that even begins to compete, unless you want something non-standard or build it yourself from scratch (and know what you are doing). It is made by Bob Moog, which makes it inherently cool, as well. The finish looks nice and is very durable (not a single scratch on mine yet). The pitch antenna has hit door frames and even a ceiling fan once, withoout hurting the theremin.

It is one of my favorite pieces of musical equipment and, though I would not replace it immediately if it were to get stolen (money is tight and I do not use it often enough to justify buying another instead of, say, a new microphone) I would DEFINITELY want to replace it as soon as I had the extra cash.

As far as theremins go, this one is normal I guess. I mean when you get close to it it makes noise. Easy to play with, hard to master. once you get use to tuning the distance right, set-up is easy too.

I understand that Bob Moog wanted to create a Theremin with a classic sound. This sure is that. it sounds just like the old Theremins used in "The Day The Earth Stood Still", and other sci-fi classics. The ability to adjust waveform is something that I don't think many other pre-made theremins offer. I could be wrong about this though. If you are going to be in the market for a Theremin this one is surely the one to get. The features vs price is great.

The expressiveness is really good. You can get ultra bass notes to super high pitch squeals. The hard part is just getting used to controlling it. the sound is very clean and clear. i reccomend running it through a vocoder or distortion box to get a little dirtier raunchy sound. In my band we run it through a Digitech talker. i control the Theremin while the lead sings. Its really wild.

I haven't had any problems yet. I always take it to a gig alone. I don't have enough money to buy two. It has never failed me. Although I imagine if it did break, it wouldn't be hard to fix at all. The design is very simplistic. Bob Moog really kept to the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) principle. Big Briar will also repair them.

I ordered mine from Big City Music. (bigcitymusic.com) I paid $50 less then what they list for on the bigbriar website. I did however buy the custom carrying bag from Big Briar. They were very helpful and attentive.

A theremin is truly a unique instrument. There are many groups who use them, but so few that play them. It takes lots of patience and hard work to get even mildly comfortable with a theremin. If you don't plan on practicing all the time don't even get one. If you do decide to buy one the Big Briar Etherwave is the one to get. Bob Moog has been building this things since the fifties, so he knows what he is doing. Also, I would reccomend investing in an auto-tuner. The kind that you can run the output through to the amp. I use the Sabine STX-1100. I have it velcroed under the theremin, away from the antenna. This will allow you to see what notes you are playing so you can develop a better ear. It also helps to train your hand movements. i have from it an indespensible tool in my quest to learn the exotic instrument.

I ordered this as a "do-it-yourself" kit from Big Briar (Bob Moog's
company). Instead of doing it myself, I got a friend who's good with
electronics to do it for me. It took my friend less than six hours to
put the Etherwave kit together - he said assembly was "real easy".

I don't remember how much I paid for this, but it wasn't more than $250
Canadian (postage & customs duties included). An instructional video
& a CD (Clara Rockmore, "Art of the Theremin") were included, along
with all the documentation.

The Etherwave is very simple to operate. The VOLUME knob controls
the range/sensitivity of the volume antenna. The PITCH knob "tunes"
the pitch antenna. The BRIGHTNESS knob is a tone control, similar
to those on electric guitars. Turn the WAVEFORM knob all the way to
the right & you get a slightly modulated sound with just a bit of
tremolo/vibrato, all the way to the left & the Etherwave produces
a smoother, sine-like waveform. No headphone jack, no built-in
speaker. The 1/4" audio output plugs easily into a guitar amp or
mixer.

One antenna controls frequency, the other amplitude - what else can
you ask for from a theremin?

I bought this because it was a bit cheaper than the Paia kit & I
really didn't need the extras like midi, control voltage in/out,
headphone jack, etc.

The Etherwave satisfies all my expectations of what a theremin
can/should do. Good price -vs- features ratio.

The sound quality is excellent. No hiss, no hum, no interference,
performs flawlessly in recording situations (live ones, too). Run
through a coil reverb, the Etherwave starts to sound like an crazed
opera singer! It's not hard to get basic sci-fi/horror noises out of this thing,
but playing actual melodies on top of music is hard. There's no
fretboard, keyboard, or any other visual/tangible indication
of what note you're on, so it's very difficult to hit precise notes,
& once you've hit them, it's even harder to hold them. Definitely
not for the impatient.

I've had this close to 3 years. No problems to date. Sure, I'd take it
to a gig without a backup (and have). The wall wart is a pain in the
ass, but hey! - aren't they always?

Big Briar handled my order just fine. Nice people.

Very easy to use, but probably among the most difficult to master. It depends on what you are going to use it for. If you into experimental soundscapes, etc., it's a snap. If you are more into playing complex classical music with it (which is done) then you will have to study your own arm movements very carefully. The range and variety of sounds you can squeeze out of this box is incredible and fun.

This model is pretty simple. On/Off switch; knobs for volume, pitch, waveform, and brightness; and 2 atennae, one for pitch and the other for volume. By twiddling with the settings you can be fairly diverse with the instrument's voice, but I would recommend running your line out through some effects. You mount this unit on a mic stand and run the line out to some kind of amp. I'm currently using an old guitar amp for amplification- a keyboard amp or PA would be best to capture the full frequency range, as with any synth.

Very expressive- There's hardly an instrument out there that could respond to such minute changes in the player. Sounds are fun. Like I said- it is versatile. Can go from Fog horn to violin to human voice sounds, and of course the 50's sci-fi wavering drone.

I just got this, but from what I hear and based on the quality I've seen in other Moog products I'm confident. I bought the preassembled signature model because I suck at soldering. This looks to be a very sturdy instrument, although I'd hate to see it hit the floor.

Very patient, helpful and insightful customer support. Since this is a pretty small company, you know that they care about their customers.

This is a great intrument, and of course I'd go buy another one if something happened to mine. I also play guitar, drums, and mess around with a moog opus 3, effects and my macintosh. Right now the theremin is my favorite toy. I'd recommend this model to anyone looking to buy a theremin. Yes, it's a little bit expensive, but definitely worth it. I just hope it doesn't become the object of a huge fad.

As far as Theremins go it's very easy to use. Playing it is another story. There are four knobs: Volume, adjusts the sensitivity of the volume antenna; Pitch, adjusts the distance that your hand must come within before a tone is produced; Waveform, adjusts the waveform of the signal; Brightness, adjusts the amount of harmonics present.

COmes assembled or as a kit which you must wire up and finish the cabinet. The cabinet is made of birch, the antennae are made of nickel plated brass and mount to the cabinet using compression fittings like used for plumbing or gas lines. The power supple is a 3 prong 14v wall wart.

Expressive is an understatement. There are very few if any musical instruments that respond to evert single slight movement you make. Especially without touching it. Using the brightness and the subtle waveform controls a wide range of sounds may be produced. Everything from a buzzy bee sound to a violin type sound to a woman singing an opera way up high. Playing it through outboard effects such as a delay pedal can produce some very weird and amazing sounds that could be good for sound effects. This a very difficult instrument to play. Even simple melodies take a lot of practice. Since there is no keyboard or fingerboard finding the correct notes is difficult. You must rely solely on your ear and your reflexes to find the correct notes quickly. Even the slightest movement of the hand can make a good pitch go bad. And holding a pitch especially whilst trying to create vibrato is extremely difficult. Definitely not an instrument for anyone who is lacking in patients.

IF you get the kit then reliability relies somewhat on your skill in soldering. IF you get the completed instrument then I wouldn't worry one bit. Just look at all those Moogs still around.

I ordered mine over the phone and I must say the girl with whom I spoke was extremely nice. She even spoke with me about things other than my credit card information. I'd feel very comfotable calling back if I ever had a question or problem.

As far as Theremins go Big Briar is as they say 'the bees knees.' The Etherwave Theremin sounds wonderful and is a very fun even if difficult instrument to play. Also worth mentioning is that included with the unit is an instructional video hosted by Robert Moog and taught by Theremin virtuoso Lydia Kavina (the cousin of theremin inventor Leon Theremin). Also included is a CD of the legendary thereminist Clara Rockmore performing pieces by Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky. The CD was produced by Robert Moogd is really incredible. For the price it is my opinion that there is no other theremin available that is as good as the Etherwave and I'd recommend it to anyone. The only thing I wish it had is a MIDI option. Imagine playing your favorite synth with a theremin. It must be pretty cool to play a Hammond organ or Mellotron without touching it!