Theremin Circuit

Replication of Tony van Roon's 1995 "Theremin" circuit featuring two photo resistors and a simple inverter based oscillator.
This is an easy circuit -- very few connections.
I plugged the output of T1 directly into my M-AUDIO Mobile-Pre to capture the audio, just as if it were an electric guitar. You can then tweek the sound different ways using software such as GarageBand. Great fun.
I can recommend the 1994 film "Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey".

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Theremin
• Circuit
• Electronic
• Music
• Sound
• From
• Light

[madamerotten]

The theremin was NOT used in "Good Vibrations."

[morpher44]

@madamerotten

I had read that someplace. Looked it up tonight. Wikipedia has "Good Vibrations" and mentions that Wilson used an electro-teremin.

[madamerotten]

@morpher44 Google this for some more information:

"The Paul Tanner Electro-Theremin Page"

and

"An Interview with Dr. Paul Tanner"

[meteofan1x2]

Very interesting effects.

[m3sca1]

@harpbloke the classic theramin circuit uses a beat frequency oscillator.

early metal detectors used the same system to give audio alerts to the operator through the metal affecting the frequency of a coil.

just like tuning a guitar-if one string is not quite in tune to the next-you hear the difference between them-you know that wah wah wah sound when its close but not quite on.

so if one is 440hertz and the other is 441 hertz you hear the 1 hertz between.

thats the beat frequency.

[harpbloke]

love the candle, very original

[harpbloke]

@m3sca1 do tell

[m3sca1]

cool-did you know you can do metal detection with a theramin circuit?