How To – ‘Theremin’ on the cheap

Music Technology
How To – ‘Theremin’ on the cheap

Theremin On The Cheap

Popsci has a quick how-to on building theremin-esque device for under 20 bucks –

A full-fledged Theremin will set you back nearly $400, but with the instructions below, you can build a pocket-sized Theremin-like instrument that won’t break the bank. Unlike the real McCoy which relies on grounded variable capacitance for changing frequency and volume with the wave of a hand, our Pocket Theremin uses variations in light for producing its unearthly vibrato.

Interesting choice of enclosure – Build a Pocket Theremin on the Cheap

Related:
Howto Theremin Crop
HOW TO – Make a Theremin


Make a Theremin – Weekend Project Podcast

14 thoughts on “How To – ‘Theremin’ on the cheap

  1. samuel gamlin says:

    i wish bre would come back no offense Kip Kay but he inspired me to make things more

  2. Walenga says:

    all those ads you have in the video and then at the end were pretty bogus

  3. Collin Cunningham says:

    @Walenga – We didn’t choose that ad format – those pop-ups are put in by Blip.tv. I don’t believe they were doing this when that podcast was first posted.

    @Samuel – The current incarnation of weekend projects will keep evolving over time – and I hope some of my posts can inspire you too!

    Good to see people pay attention to those “Related” items -now how about that pocket theremin? :)

  4. swyll says:

    i just put this together on a breadboard a few days ago – its a fun, quick build. I’m still playing with different resistors and capacitor values, and trying to find a better box to put it in (that metal cage isn’t my thing). I may add another 555 controlling a couple leds, to give it a slight ‘beat’.

  5. vt-pete.livejournal.com says:

    I recognize that enclosure, I believe I got one from allelectronics (furturelec?) they just looked soo cool, I couldn’t resist popping it in the cart. Also, let’s stop calling anything with an photoresistor a ‘theremin’ okay?

  6. Anonymous says:

    What happened to Bre?

  7. Collin Cunningham says:

    I can happily spend many hours swapping part values on cimple circuits like these – good times.

    @[blank] – Bre’s @ Etsy now – you can see his new vids in their blog/news/multimedia section

    @vt-pete – agreed. I understand why the ‘theremin’ name was used in describing devices like the above in the past, but it’s time we began referring to these circuits properly.
    Perhaps ‘Light-Controlled-Oscillator’ / ‘LCO’ would be more appropriate?

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