1929 RCA Theremin played by Peter Pringle

[k4kyv]

Beautiful! I'd bet it is extremely difficult to learn to play that well.  Love the close-ups of the old buzzard hollow state technology.

La Vie en Rose

Hymne à l'amour

[KD3CN]

Wow, very nice indeed.  Enjoyed it very much.
Thanks Don!

73, Karl

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Ah yes, Russian technology at its finest.

[W1UJR]

Very nice indeed Don.

A few years back Larry NE1S and I visited the radio museum of John Terry, the publisher of the Antique Radio Classifieds. John has an orignal RCA thermin in his collection, working, and allowed us to play with it. Amazing device, but clearly very hard to master.

When we visited again earlier this month, I had hoped to try it out again, but alas it was not connected.
I thought I'd have to wait until next year to hear such again, so thanks for posting.

Photos below are not John's unit, but show the simple nature of the design.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Lev Termen

[Opcom]

that was the most relaxing part of my day.

[W3NP]

Hauntingly beautiful. I listened to both selections several times last evening.

I first heard and saw a Theremin played back around 1962. It was in a wooden box that sat on a table - not sure if it was the real thing (tubes) or early transistors.

Thanks Don...

[Ed/KB1HYS]

Wow...

There's a LOT of theremin music on youtube.  Increadable.

Now I want to build one!

[wa2dtw]

I just built one.  An Australian company sells a kit for $95 US.  http://thereminkits.com/  It works, and I am doing some fine adjustment.  It is not a Moog by any means, but is fun.  It has an internal speaker, but also has a phono jack to connect to an amplifier.  I will use the phono connection on the SX42.

There are even some introductory lessons on youtube, using the more sophisticated  Moog.  (Moog kits are also available for much more money).
73
Steve WA2DTW

[k4kyv]

But it just wouldn't be the same as one of those old buzzard machines with the globe shaped tubes.

BTW Steve, I don't think those machines actually came from Russia.  The theremin was developed in Russia, but weren't those 1929 ones shown in the videos made by RCA?  I doubt the Bolsheviks would have allowed RCA to manufacture anything in Russia in 1929, just 12 years after the revolution.  Besides, the tubes look like old-style US tubes, not the weird shaped bottles with bizarrely spaced banana plug pins that were used in Europe back then.

[Ed/KB1HYS]

The instrument was patented in the USA, so I would assume that RCA manufactured them here under license.
The original ones do have a great sound. Like a cello or other string instrument.

[w8khk]

I built one with 4 transistors back in the early 60s, from an article in Popular Electronics, IIRC.  Still have the chassis and parts.  But it never had the rich sound of the hollow state RCA.  And yes, it was a challenge to make it play any music!

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Lev Termen, aslo called Leon Theremin invented the machine and helped popularize it when he lived in the USA. The decadent, corrupt, capitalist pigs at RCA stole the people's musical instrument and tried to illicitly profit from it.

[WB2YGF]

Lev Termen, aslo called Leon Theremin invented the machine and helped popularize it when he lived in the USA. The decadent, corrupt, capitalist pigs at RCA stole the people's musical instrument and tried to illicitly profit from it.

HEY NOW!! RCA treated him better than his commie "comrads".

The story of Lev Sergeivitch Termen is like some nightmarish John LeCarre novel. Prof. Theremin was born in the Russian city of St Petersberg in 1896, he would become one of the most important pioneers in the development of electronic music through his instrument the Thereminvox (commonly referred to as the Theremin). Prof. Theremin first invented a prototype Thereminvox in 1920, he worked upon his invention for the next few years, whilst also relocating from Russia to New York. A US patent was granted to Theremin for the invention of the Thereminvox in 1928.

Theremin set up a studio there catering to high society patrons from whom he would extract the moneys he used to continue his experiments. His New York studio apparently was kitted out with a variety of devices, that in the late twenties must have seemed like pure science fiction: a variety of electronic audio devices; electronic lighting shows; an electronic dance platform; even a prototype colour television system.

In 1938 Theremin was kidnapped in the New York apartment he shared with his American wife (the black ballet dancer, Iavana Williams) by the NKVD (forerunners of the KGB). He was transported back to Russia, and accused of propagating anti-Soviet propaganda by Stalin. Meanwhile reports of his execution were widely circulated in the West. In fact Theremin was not executed, but interned in Magadan, a notoriously brutal Siberian labour camp. Theremin was put to work on top secret projects by the Soviet authorities, culminating in his invention of the first "bug," a sophisticated electronic eavesdropping device. Theremin supervised the bugging of both the American embassy, and Stalin's private apartment. For this groundbreaking work he was awarded the Stalin Prize (first Class), Russia very highest honour.

After his rehabilitation Theremin took up a teaching position at the Moscow conservatory of music. However he was ejected for continuing his researches in the field of electronic music. Post war Soviet ideology decreed that modern music was pernicious. Theremin was reportedly told that electricity should be reserved for the execution of traitors. After this episode Theremin took up a technical position, and worked upon non-music related electronics . Ironically his invention the Thereminvox, was becoming vastly influential in America, a development of which he was completely unaware.
http://120years.net/machines/theremin/

WB2YGF (of David Sarnoff (RCA) Radio Club) 

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Life was better in the Soviet Union. These are facts recently release by the news agency Tass.   \


It's interesting to note a great name in USA radio and electrical engineering was named Terman.

[Opcom]

From this investigation on yourtubes, I've learned that we have lost, forever, the magnificent Telharmonium. It's invention and application resulted in the first:

1.) electronic music synthesizer
2.) cable-based subscription entertainment system (sans video which did not satisfactorily exist)

Some will claim it is merely electric. I submit that wave shaping and impedance matchning circuits classify it as electronics. Or is that still merely AC machinery? Output was some 14KW within the audio spectrum.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=telharmonium&aq=f


Added it now to the personal "objet d'art électrique le plus désiré":

Telharmonium
Theremin - had to add it after hearing the skillful playing.
Mumble Tub (see UNIVAC)
Glass Ignitron
Cyclotron
Laser pistol (small balloon-popping YAG prototype in the works)
Whimshurst machine
Induction-Repulsion motor, reversible
Repulsion Coil resonance engine (poptronic electronic experimenters handbook fall 1965)
large-size electric-powered 3-axis tourbillon (for its art value)
rail gun
Berkeley EPUT meter/counter (have one, need complete restore.)

[wa2dtw]

It is said that Lenin was so impressed with the Theremin that he took lessons, presumably from Leon's daughter.