Moog Etherwave Plus Theremin

The Etherwave Plus is a professional-quality theremin. In other words, it's built well (mine has the ash upper cabinet) and made for durability and serviceability, as well as very useful tone controls (yes, you can actually get some useful variation of the sound by varying the waveform and brightness controls; waveform is a "soft distortion" on the sine wave, and brightness is a lowpass filter. In that way, the Etherwave / Etherwave Plus is far superior to the Burns B3-series theremins in that the B3 theremins have exactly one *tone* and you better like it because that's what you get, while the Etherwaves can "bend" quite a bit from almost a flute-like sinewave to something close to a viola or maybe even past that. The B3 antennas (even the new solid aluminium ones) aren't as nice as the Etherwave (chromed brasss) antennas, but I have to admit that the B3 wood cabinetry is nicer than the "functional" Moog wood casing. The two things I didn't like are trivial to fix; 1) the case screws are black oxide coated, which means they look like drywall screws; and I don't like that look. Get yourself four chrome or stainless-steel flathead 6-32 screws about 20mm (3/4") long and replace them if you're like me and don't like them. (2) the antennas are not prefilled with epoxy or polyester as Robert Moog himself recommended. That's an easy fix too. You will need a mike stand and an external amplifier for the Etherwaves. I also recommend you get a travel case; I got the premium (hardshell) MOOG-branded case and I have no regrets; the Etherwave is well built but I want to protect it in transit anyway. How easy is it to play? Let's just say it's a challenge. I've played ribbon synths and such before, so I'm no stranger to fretless electronic instruments, but the theremin gives you no physical reference at all (you don't touch it while you play). I'm still learning. A few more things: 1) go on YouTube, type in "theremin", and see what one of these puppies can really do in the hands of someone with musical skill. "Over the Rainbow" practically brought tears to my eyes. For a good technical tour-de-force, check out the "Theremin Hero" video. 2) if you have electronic skills (i.e. basic soldering) send an email to [email protected] and ask for the "Etherwave Hot-Rodding Manual". This document has complete schematics not only for the Etherwave, but for all sorts of extra things you can do to your Etherwave. It's well worth the read even if you don't plan on making modifications, because it tells WHY some things are the way they are (like, why is the pitch antenna a vertical bar, while the volume antenna is a hairpin loop - which I suspect Dr. Moog found out by asking Leon Termin himself). 3) The included DVD is boring at times - but watch it anyway. Much of it is 20 or 30 years old, so it's more interesting as history rather than howto. But the comments by Clara Rockmore on Leon Termin's life are priceless. ("Of course, Leon did not have easy parts. He had what he had, and he would make it work. It might be somebody frying pan handle. But he would make it work.")

I hate soldering. I'm no good at it, I always burn myself - and it doesn't matter how many times my electrical engineer brother teaches me. There was a point in the process of building this kit that I really regretted not paying the extra $50 for the assembled kit, but I kept reminding myself of the benefits of building it myself - not only is it more meaningful, but you get to come to a better understanding of how it works, and might even be able to repair it if anything were to ever break on it. The soldering, despite my lack of skill, was actually not as bad as I feared. I glanced over the instruction manual before starting any assembly, followed it line-by-line while assembling (without soldering anything), tested it, and then soldered everything. It probably took a total of 2 hours at the most, but keep in mind most of that was me trying to get used to soldering and the requirement that you "believe" in order for the solder to actually melt. Also, I didn't stain the cabinet at all. I like the bare/naked look...also, I just wanted to start playing with it. I've shown a few friends at work who couldn't believe that I actually had one...other co-workers just walked by as if they were hearing perfectly normal office sounds. I've been wanting a theremin since the first time I saw one at a Man or Astro-man? show back in 2001. I saved up $25 per paycheck for about 8 months or so. That's all it took. It's not easy to play, but the included DVD w/ Clara Rockmore footage is inspiring. I'm determined to learn to play proper melodies rather than flail around aimlessly on it like I've seen a lot of otherwise talented musicians do. I mean there's no "wrong" way to play it, but I'd just like to learn to play it both ways...and I've managed to get the flailing style mastered on my first try. If you've ever wanted one and you like DIY projects (even if you hate soldering), get this kit.

This is a very nice electronics kit and musical instrument, nice documentation, works without any mods, and tuning is easy with some electronics knowledge. I recommend finishing the case before tuning, I used two coats of Minwax Polycrylic, the wood looks nice and has a hydrophobic finish (Wood absorbs water in proportion to humidity, a finish helps stabilize the moisture content which helps with keeping the instrument in tune). Tuning: I place the case upside down on top of the circuit board, then place the case in position to test, a good mod might be to have the power plug on the opposite side of the circuit board, with a notch in the case to accommodate fitting.

A very interesting gadget, this instrument met my expectations. I received it on time and was very well packed, with a full set of instructions. I put it together and started practicing right away. Now I have a challenge! Should you need a different instrument to enjoy music in a special way, I recommend you to get one of these.

Assembling the theremin wasn't terribly difficult and helps you understand what exactly is going on under there. A lot of fun for any do-it-yourselfers or a great starter for anyone trying to get into the hobby. They provide all the parts you'll need (except for stain, paint, and/or lacquer for the box) and the instructions are simple enough. You will need something like a mic stand or keyboard stand because it doesn't operate very well on a table. Other than that, it's an instrument that's a lot of fun to mess around with.

If you are after the classic theremin experience this is the finest one ever designed. You could pay several thousand more but you would only have bought bragging rights, nothing more. There is a modification that can give the EtherWave Standard a sound better than that of Clara Rockmore so do a little research. The temecula designer is on the west coast.

Husband is great at putting things together. However, the instructions and customer service have not been helpful. Once assembled, we could not hear it at all. Even with a speaker. Get it assembled and avoid the hassle.

The product itself was nice and works. Arrived quickly. The only issue was, is that I got a UK power supply. I live in the US. So I had to contact Moog first hand to tell them the situation and give them product number and all that. I couldn’t do it though Amazon as I would have to return the whole thing instead of them just sending a replacement cord. Moog ended up shipping the correct power cord within a week. A little annoyed but honestly wasn’t much of a headache. Hence the 4 stars due to the mix up an inconvenience.