Technabob » theremin

Matryoshka + Theremin = Matryomin

Technabob — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 00:26:46 +0000

Ok, I’ve seen some weird musical instruments in my time, but I’m pretty sure this one takes the cake. This think may look like one of those Russian Matryoshka stacking dolls, but under the hood, it conceals a theremin. Yep, I told you it was weird.

Like a regular theremin, the Matryomin creates sounds when you adjust your hand position on the outside of it. When used properly, it can crank out tones that make this rendition of Love Me Tender sound like Elvis’ cat in heat.

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According to the guys who make this thing, it can crank out more than 5 octaves of sounds, but they still sound like strangled cats to me. If a single Matryomin wasn’t enough for you, here’s an entire Matryomin orchestra for your listening pleasure:

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Frankly, I think they should be playing the Star Trek theme. Apparently, about 3000 of these oddities were made in Japan a few years back, and this one over on eBay can be yours for the low, low price of $499 (USD).

Teletron: Mind-Controlled Theremin Makes Music With Your Thoughts

Technabob — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:37:26 +0000

If you thought that the way you play the theremin wasn’t weird enough, along comes a mod which allows you to make music with nothing more than your brain – no hands required.

Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo modded one of those Mattel Mindflex EEG games into a controller interface for an analog synthesizer. Here’s a video of Robert doing his geeky best to make music with his mind…

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The more Robert thinks, the higher the pitch. The less Robert thinks, the lower the pitch. To me, it seems like it would be pretty difficult to actually play anything resembling a song with the rig, but that’s just me.

Want to try it for yourself? Robert has been kind enough to provide this brief instructional video for you guys who want to give it a go…

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[via Pitchfork via Make:]

Theranana Theremin Banana: a Truly Musical Fruit

Technabob — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 23:15:05 +0000

I’m filing this one away in the “why?, why they heck not?” bin. This off-the-wall contraption is an optical electronic theremin stuffed inside a fake banana.

I’m reasonably certain this will not be one of the new musical instruments that ships with Rock Band 3.

[Flickr via Synthopia]

33% Guitar + 33% Mandolin + 33% Theremin = 100% Awesome

Technabob — Tue, 18 May 2010 03:12:05 +0000

The guys over at synthopia hunted up this wondrous electrical musical oddity, and I love it.

The Destroyer combines an electric guitar, mandolin and that wonderful outer-spacey-squealy instrument – the theremin – in one compact package.

Handmade by guitar artist Mark Dalzell, The Destroyer is has two necks – one for the 6-string guitar, the other for the 4-string mandolin. The third protrusion? An antennae for controlling the on-board Thermaniacs’ theremin. There’s also a full set of on-board digital effects for distortion, chorus and flanger, as well as a built-in chromatic tuner. And how about those LED fret markers and pickup indicators? All I can say is “awesome”.

Check out the full gallery of pics over at Mark’s flickr album.

[via synthopia]

Cat Plays Theremin, Humans Plug Ears

Technabob — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 01:19:33 +0000

What could be better than a cat playing keyboards? I’ll tell you what – a cat that can play the theremin, that’s what.

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Actually, I think this cat has no idea what he’s doing with that Gakken Mini-Theremin in his paw. Maybe he thinks he’s killing some sort of squealy critter.

Anyhow, if there’s anything the Internet taught us this week, standing cats are funny, cats with electronics are funny too - so this must be twice as funny, right?

[via Make:]

Your Own Mini Theremin

Technabob — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 04:02:02 +0000

The Theremin is quite possibly the strangest musical instrument ever made. Invented in 1919, it was one of the world’s first electronic instruments. The Theremin produces its otherworldly sounds without ever touching it.

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Soon, you’ll be able to get your own miniature Theremin to put on your desktop.

Japanese science kit maker Gakken has created this miniature replica of the weird instrument that’s just about 3″ wide by 5″ tall. It runs on batteries and cranks out the same science fiction wails as the original.

For some reason, I can’t get the Star Trek theme out of my head now.

The Wii-Mote Theramin

Technabob — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:26:50 +0000

Without a doubt, the theramin is one of the oddest musical instruments ever invented. Usually heard cranking out spaceship sounds in 1950′s B-movies, it’s otherworldy sounds are unmistakeable and truly quirky.

So it is with much glee that I bring you the Wii-mote powered theramin, playing the inimitable Theme from Star Trek.

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By connecting his Wii remote with a laptop and special synthesizer control software, hacker Gianni Proietti managed to control his Moog synthesizer to crank out some serious sci-fi sound effects. While it’s not truly a theramin in technical terms, it’s close enough for rock-and-roll.

[via Nintendo Wii Fanboy]