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Create music from the ether; eerie sci-fi, psychedelic, ambient, rock, classical etc.. by moving one hand towards or away from the pitch antenna and control the volume by moving the other hand up and down over the volume loop antenna.
Believed to be the earliest electronic musical instrument developed in the 1920s, the Theremin - named after its inventor Leon Theremin, is unique in that it is played without being touched, instead it's by the players' proximity to the pitch and volume antennas.

The Lostvolts.com LV-4 theremin features a full width case and it's electronics are 100% analogue. It has a 6 octave range.
Along with the usual controls for Pitch Antenna Tuning, Volume Antenna Response and Master Volume, the LV-4 has two extra controls - Waveshape and Filter, which subtly change the timbre of the tone from pure to woodwind through to string-like.

Compact and easy to transport, the LV-4 theremin is supplied with a telescopic pitch antenna and a loop volume antenna along with a quality power adaptor (9 to 12 volt dc, 2.1mm centre positive). There's also a vintage germanium diode in the detector stage.

There is no internal speaker, so it must be used with an amplifier.
Not just to amplify but also for the theremin to work properly. Instrument amplifiers for electric guitars, keyboards etc. work well. USB audio interfaces to "desktop" computers such as Behringer's UMC range should work. Hi-fi, active computer speakers can work but may need an appropriate lead. The theremin has a MONO 1/4" (6.35mm) jack output for a standard electric guitar lead. It won't power earphones, you will need an amplifier.

For correct operation the amplifier should have a good electrical earth. An amplifier that doesn't have a mains plug with 3 metal pins (or if it's battery powered) probably won't be connected to earth. This can result in weird modulated sounds, reduced pitch and volume range and may make tuning difficult. Again, USB audio interfaces to "desktop" computers should work as they are earthed through their IEC mains cables. Laptops and tablets which have a plastic earth pin on their plugs may not work well.

The science bit: This is a transistorised, analogue Theremin, using the heterodyning principle. It generates a tone by obtaining the difference audio frequency from two radio frequency oscillators. It has coils in it's oscillators that generate the classic Theremin tone through their reactions with each other.

Because there are no keys or frets etc., the Theremin isn't the easiest instrument to play, but it has to be the most fun!

	£140 including postage
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