|
A friend of mine created a
musical instrument that within just a few months, made the most recognizable theremin
sound ever recorded, his name was Paul
Tanner. He would spend the next 50 years listening to anal people saying
"that's not a theremin" instead of giving him credit for bringing
more awareness to the theremin instrument than anyone had before. Anal
behavior is rampant in the theremin community, hope you
don't miss the point... again!
.
There
is no agreement today, even in the theremin community of what characteristics
should define a theremin. I
say un-restrain it, let it be a blend of Vietnam's Dan Bau, the classic
theremin, Paul's box, etc.
* For me it is about
a unique natural "analog" sound with character, not a whistle buried in reverb * |
My
good friend from Saigon is the grandson of Master Cao Van Lau, who is
recognized as the Father of Cai Luong music of Vietnam. Though his
grandfather passed on long ago, listen to the sound of another Master Dan
Bau musician. Visit
YouTube Do you recognize that the theremin has something in
common? Master
Musician GordonC
at Theremin
World suggested the need of a theremin
volume control with good Attack, that motivated the creation of this
webpage.
What does this graphic of popping the sound "Off"
with Attack sound like? Volume Attack
mp3 350k
Natural
"analog" sound , not that cheap digital whistle shit two
rambling engineers have stumbled over for years looking for cheap!
| If you
are using a volume
loop normally,
you could use the Popper without the CdS cell section. Set the
Popper below the volume loop so your hand on the loop allows you
to tap the red button to pop on a note. You could add a tapping extension
made with a wood dowel to place some distance between the Popper
and the loop.
Stand the Popper at
the outside of the volume field for tapping
off the sound for
an abrupt preset duration. If you hold the button down the sound
remains off. |
|
|
.
Pitch
Popper PCB
3.4" x 2.8" |
Two
fingers become a unique theremin volume
controller, still use the volume
loop and have a new experience.
Features: The
Pitch Popper
uses four basic circuits
that most budding electronic hobbyist build when first starting out. 1. A
555
switch de-bouncer or one shot, this creates the
clean musical note popping. The
"On/Off" duration is adjustable. 2.
The LM386
mini power amplifier
can drive a small speaker or use with an earphone for a Pitch
Preview. 3.
A 10k potentiometer
is on the board for quieting the line-level
drive of a hot theremin output like the EtherWave Standard, now it can
drive a guitar amplifier effectively with all of the special effects. 4.
Optical Volume Control
to be used with the pitch only
theremin setup. It uses a CdS
sensor that would mount on the outside of the enclosure about 1"
over from the push button. Let your two fingers
dance. I connect
the CdS cell to the T4 Bypass terminal.
The middle finger covers the CdS
cell for darkness which quiets the sound and the pointer finger pops-on
musical notes. These are staggered positions. This setup will
evolve! Note:
A white LED was found to work best though a green LED better
matches the wavelength of the CdS cell, it is lit from wires connected at LED-3
on the main Popper Board to shine on
the CdS cell for maximum response.
Terminals The
terminals have
a v arrow which indicates the direction the open wire side should
face. T1
This is where the battery power is connected, observe the proper polarity. T2
The push-button is
mounted through the enclosure and it's two wires go to T2,
which is labeled Button Wires. T3
This has some future applications
but for now just add a terminal. T4
The Vactrol is
off when
the power is off
and it will not pass sound. You could attach a Bypass switch across T4
so you can leave your cables plugged in and still pass sound. Two
3.5mm TRS jacks
are used, one is for the Pitch
Preview. The other
jack powers this new Pitch
Popper from my Phoenix or Dragonfly
through my specially designed J2
jack, which also
transfers the audio. Input
1/4" jack would not be used.
|
Middle Finger
Board here...
|
This
image shows a small circuit board placed next to the Red
Popper Button. In practice either method/finger can cutoff the
theremin sound with much greater attack than a volume
loop.
This is mostly due to the little movement needed to achieve the
result.
The CdS Cell/LED
setup may be all the volume quieting attack most
want.
Pass a line
level signal
through
the CdS
cell,
this could be wired
up on a generic pcb board. The LED and Cell can be placed inside a
3/16" id, 1.3" long black piece of surgical
tubing.
This gives you better control over volume shading.
This could mimic an actual volume loop sound perfectly.
I prefer no
rubber tube for the freedom it gives just tapping the sound off
with a finger blocking the LED light.
You want to use a CdS Cell
with a high off resistance, 1Meg
ohm is typical.
.
More
info on the Middle Finger board here...
|
Construction
Notes: This
Pitch Popper will add a distinct enhancement to any theremin sound because
"popping notes" just sounds good. Use
this template
for enclosure drill hole locations. No
need to drill
the three Pot holes, these can be pre-set before the box cover is screwed
down. The
main holes to drill
are for the Push
Button, the two 1/4"
jacks. Decide if
the other possible hole add anything you want to use. Switching
the battery pack off will Mute
the Popper sound. Battery
Life: In the musical note
pop-on mode they will last your lifetime because the Vactrol does not use
current. If the Pitch Preview is never used remove the LM386
from its socket to increase battery life. C3 & C5 is are
not mounted on the
board. Three jumper
wires are used around Switch
S1.
If no Switch is available you could use two shortl jumper wires. The
location of the two jumper wires on the switch indicate the side for
Popping the musical notes On. The
longer lead on the LED's is the + plus side, be careful, mount in the
proper direction. Leave the LED
leads long so they reach through the holes drilled in the lid of the
enclosure. give lead length Drill
holes in the enclosure using the template
for precision. Three holes give screwdriver access for the Pot
adjustment. Lay a
copy of the etching PDF trimmed to get
the alignment to drill the LED holes in the enclosure box lid.
Mouser
Project List (Click
Order Cart to gather all the parts, then click again to
Order Cart.)  |
PDF
etch your own board ?
Not
Available Yet |
PDF
Excel Part List
Similar
to Below |
PDF
Box Holes Template
Not
Available Yet |
If you have
interest in building let me know and I will send you some stuff at no
cost as your success is most important.
Contact
Christopher
* Support RS Theremin Research *
.
PayPal
|
