Handmade “optical theremin”

Music Technology
Handmade “optical theremin”
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Michael Una makes and sells these cool hand-held “Beep-It” synthesizers:

Beep-it Deluxe is a handmade optical theremin, housed in a handsome laser-cut bamboo case and featuring a big chrome button and 2nd oscillator for enhanced modulation.Beep-it Deluxe emits a square-wave tone reminiscent of 8-bit video game music. A light sensor determines the overall pitch of the instrument, while a knob on the side can be adjusted to induce a warble into the tone for all of your sci-fi and rhythmic needs.

Check the vid for action sights and sounds. Shown above is the Beep-It Deluxe; Michael also offers a basic model with the same functionality but a less flashy enclosure.

2 thoughts on “Handmade “optical theremin”

  1. ThereminWorld says:

    Cross-posted to ThereminWorld.com. I especially liked the advanced techniques you show in the demo video – really shows off what Beep-it is capable of.

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I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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