Horst MIDI Wave-Theremin MWT-01 Bedienungsanleitung
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MIDI Wave-Theremin
MWT-01
Draft Only - 03 Oct 2012
© 2010 – 2012 Horst Gruhle
horst midi theremin controller / advanced theremins
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Wave Theremin – main features at a glance ….............................................. 2
Wave Theremin – where to begin ….............................................................. 4
Control panel features – at a glance …........................................................... 5
Kick-starting the Theremin:............................................................................ 8
Making the first sounds with the Wave-Theremin:........................................ 9
The Instrument and Mode Selector in more detail: ...................................... 10
Midi Theremin Operation:............................................................................ 14
Filter Operation (Resonance, Noise): ........................................................... 18
Ring Modulator Operation:........................................................................... 19
Setting up the Theremin: .............................................................................. 20
Instrument-configuration Save / Recall:....................................................... 22
Overview of Instrument Selection elements:................................................ 23
Mode Selection elements:............................................................................. 24
MIX elements (waves):................................................................................ 25
MIX elements (resonance, noise): ............................................................... 26
MIX elements (ring modulator):.................................................................. 27
MIDI messages configuration (all insruments): ........................................... 28
MODE SELECTION (Wave) MATRIX ..................................................... 29
MODE SELECTION (Modulator) MATRIX ............................................. 30
SETUP MATRIX ........................................................................................ 31
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Wave Theremin – main features at a glance …
• Stereo Theremin – play up to 3 notes at the same time with over
eight different wave forms from a perfect Sinewave to traditional
rectified Sinewave, Triangle, Squarewave and more …
• Panorama Theremin Sound – create your individual theremin sound
by using 2 additional oscillators to create ‘sub-harmonics’ and
‘overtones’ to your main oscillator. Pan the sub-harmonics and
overtones to the left / right to obtain a rich panorama theremin sound.
Adjust each oscillator volume to create the perfect harmonic balance.
• Midi Theremin – take advantage of the endless range of synthetic
sounds, sampled sounds and instruments, available on existing
keyboards, samplers and software-sound-generators. Play the sounds
like a Theremin, a touchless keyboard or like a drum with pitch-bend
and more.
• Midi Theremin controller – control a vast array of Keyboards,
computer software-sound-generators and other instruments (i.e.
Tracktion, FL7, NI Reactor etc. ) using MIDI Note-ON/OFF,
Pitchbend and 14 bit control-messages.
• Drum trigger interface - trigger midi notes and theremin sounds
from analog input, internal oscillator or trigger button and use
Theremin to modulate midi-pitch or other midi-parameters.
• Finger Drum Theremin – using our Drum Trigger Pad, you can
trigger analog and midi sounds by just lightly tapping your finger on
the pad and then control the sound with the theremin. The perfect
electronic finger drum with ultra fast response and excellent accuracy
for pitch and velocity control.
• Manual Trigger button to puls theremin sounds when output is
muted or to trigger midi-notes while playing the Theremin.
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• Theremin controlled 24dB Filter (Resonance) – Theremin
controlled self resonating ladder style 24 dB filter with individual
Low-pass, Band-pass and High-pass stereo outputs, level and pan for
each output. Use the build in oscillators (needle, square, saw) and/or
external signal to feed into the filter input.
• Theremin controlled 24dB Filter (Noise) – Theremin controlled self
resonating ladder style 24 dB filter as described above. Use the build
in noise generators (crackle, noise, white noise) and/or external signal
to feed into the filter input.
• Theremin controlled Ring Modulator (Modulate) – 3 theremin
controlled carrier waves (sine, triangle, square), each generating a
stereo output signal with volume and pan for each output. Use the
build in oscillators (needle, square, triangle) and/or external signal to
feed into the ring modulator input. The combined input signals are
then ring modulated with each carrier wave (sine, triangle, square) and
the resulting output signals are mixed together to create a rich stereo
sound.
Other features:
• Huge Theremin frequency-range from 1 Hz to over 15 KHz.
• Extreme settings for circuit-bending style operation
• Automatic antenna tuning (auto tune)
• Automatic antenna-tuning stabilisation (auto re-tune)
• Plug in your guitar, microphone, keyboard etc…
• Save and recall your settings in internal flash memory
• Stereo in and stereo out – High Quality 24 bit stereo interface codec
with 96KHz sample rate max (DAC with max 100dB SN ratio)
• Theremin made from polished or powder-coated aluminium, wooden
sides made from Australian Spotted Gum and Tasmanian Oak,
removable antenna rod.
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Wave Theremin – where to begin …
At first glance it seems overwhelming just looking at all the knobs and
buttons. Let us have a look at the overall structure of the Theremin.
The Wave-Theremin is in fact 3 Theremins in one:
(1) It can be played like a normal Wave-Theremin producing audio output
from within the Theremin itself, using a variety of build in oscillators, wave-
forms and modulators, to create a multitude of different sounds and effects.
(2) It is also a MIDI-Theremin, capable of producing a stream of midi
messages, to control some other midi-capable instrument, that in turn
produces the desired audio output or controls external filters etc….
(3) It can also be used as a theremin controlled filter/modulator, processing
signals from the audio input and sending the resulting wave forms to the
audio output. Examples of this would be the ladder-style self-resonating 24
dB filter or the Ring Modulator.
Note: For the sake of simplicity, only the most important functions are
marked on the front panel. When setting up the Theremin, it is necessary to
have the ‘MODE SELECTION MATRIX’ and the ‘SETUP MODE
MATRIX’ handy or use the ‘user-manual’ as a guide.
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Control panel features – at a glance …
• Instrument-select knob ( 12 positions – INSTRUMENTS, SETUP)
When switching from waves (black) to modulators (blue) or setup (red) , the
parameter knobs (P1, P2, P3) are disabled until the Mode selector knob has been
moved (!) This is to avoid unintended adjusting of parameters.
• Mode-select knob ( 12 positions – GLOBAL, MIX, MIDI )
Also used to unlock parameter knobs (P1, P2, P3) .
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• Trigger / accept button ( momentary )
• Red Status LED ( ON, OFF, flash )
• Auto re-tune ON/OFF switch (UP position is ON)
• Wave A/B toggle switch and wave A/B indicator LED
• Theremin mute switch ( mute audio and midi output )
DOWN position is MUTE
• Parameter knobs ( P1 - volume, P2 - tone, P3 – octave )
Note: When changing the Instrument-knob position or the Mode-knob
position, the Parameter-knobs are kind of disconnected from the actual
parameters (ignored) until they are moved a little (unlocked). When a
parameter has been unlocked, the parameter will first “align itself” with the
current position of the Parameter-knob and then follow the movement of the
Parameter-knob.
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• Stereo audio out
• Stereo audio in (wave / Trigger audio in )
• MIDI out
• DC external power 12 Volt / 400 mA (regulated)
• Connector for removable antenna
• Boom mount 3/8” (needs converter 3/8” to 5/8” for standard boom)
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Kick-starting the Theremin:
Connect Leads: Connect a mono or stereo lead from the Theremin output to the
Amplifier or Mixing Desk etc… This is important – it provides a ground path for
the Theremin ! Hook up midi and external trigger (input) as required.
Connect Power: Use the 12 VDC (400 mA) power supply (as supplied) and
connect it to the 12 Volt D/C input of the Theremin first. Only then (!) connect the
switch-mode power supply to your power point.
Connect Antenna: If you have not plugged in the antenna yet, the antenna LED’s
(blue) will be flashing until the antenna has been plugged in. You will also notice
the red status LED flashing slowly, waiting for you to initiate the auto-tune
process.
Start Antenna Auto Tune: After the Theremin has been setup where you intend
to play it (preferably away from any metal objects and noisy electrical equipment)
and the antenna has been plugged in, push the trigger button next to the red
status LED, to start the antenna auto tune procedure. The red status LED now
stays ON (no flashing) until the auto-tune cycle is completed.
Wait until Completed: Once auto-tune has been started, you have one second to
move away from the antenna. The antenna LED’s will turn ON and after a few
seconds the status LED will turn OFF, indicating that tuning has been completed
successfully. (NOTE: If the instrument select knob is set to ‘SETUP’ (!) the LED
will flash fast after the tuning has been completed successfully).
Auto Retune: The Theremin may need some time to stabilize after the initial
antenna tuning. We recommend to have the Auto Retune switch turned ON (UP
position) and to allow the Theremin to settle in for 5 minutes or as required.
(Ideally move away from the antenna for a while, to allow the Theremin to check
for drift etc…)
Unsuccessful Tuning: If the LED is still flashing slowly – the antenna could not
be tuned correctly. Check if the correct antenna has been inserted fully into the
antenna socket, maybe rotate the antenna in the socket once or twice, in case some
corrosion has build up on the antenna or the connector. Check for any interfering
objects etc… Push trigger button again.
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Making the first sounds with the Wave-Theremin:
Initial Setup:
• Make sure the amp is working
• Point the Wave-select knob (INSTRUMENT) to ‘Sine’ and
• Set the Mode-knob (GLOBAL) to position ‘Main’.
• Make sure the ‘Mute’ switch is in the UP position (audio on) and
• the ‘Auto-Retune’ switch is in the UP position too.
• Turn all 3 potentiometer knobs (Volume,Tone,Octave) to 12 o’clock
(you need to actually move the knobs to “unlock” them)
• You should be hearing some sound when approaching the Theremin
antenna (20 … 30 cm).
• If not, try to push the ‘Trigger’ button next to the LED
• make sure the “Gate” is disabled (see Gate)
No sound yet ? If you can’t hear anything yet, try to use the build in tuner
to generate a sound (Sine-wave at approx 440 Hz) :
• Point the Wave-select knob (INSTRUMENT) to ‘SETUP’
• The red status LED is now flashing fast.
• Set the Mode-knob to position ‘Pitch’ (MIX).
• Adjust the volume of the tuner.
• You should be hearing a sine-wave 440 Hz
• You can ‘fine-tune’ the oscillator frequency with the ‘Tone’ knob
Still no sound yet ? Is the Amp turned ON ? Audio lead buggered ?
Antenna Retune: To retune the antenna during use
• Point the Wave-select knob (INSTRUMENT) to ‘SETUP’
• The red status LED is now flashing fast.
• Set the Mode-knob to position ‘Auto-Tune’ (GLOBAL).
• Push the red ‘Trigger’ button next to the LED
• Step back and wait for tuning to finish
• Check tuning (you should hear a sine wave when approaching the
Theremin antenna (20 … 30 cm).
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