I need help with theremin!!!!!

M

MarkYee

New member
Can anyone point me in the right direction on how to make a theremin sound in Massive or Reason (massive preferably)?
 
I would say that's a tough one to pull off. There are no real intervals between notes on a theremin. You'd need to get the "glide" or portamento to be just right. And the rise from one note to another on a theremin can be sudden or slow. Plus, most theremins have a volume bar, too. I'm having trouble figuring out how to do this with a VST, and it may be the reason I haven't seen a theremin patch in any software I have. The actual instrument might be too analog to be turned into a digital sound.
 
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Im still looking for patches, I found a few but it's way too far off. I also found a few vst's but only for pc, I have mac (dammit). Thanks for the reply im going to keep looking. Nice beat btw.
 
It's almost impossible to have the same sound of a theremin inside massive. Even though you can get close, it will not sound like one. The theremin is one of those instruments that or you have it and record you playing it, or you'll need to change the whole idea of using it's sound on a song.

On a sidenote, I couldn't refrain myself from remembering the episode of Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon would sing along with his theremin!
 
Haha i remember that, good show. I notice a lot of hip hop songs with the theremin spooky type sound thats what im really trying to get.

---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 AM ----------

something like the Dr. Who Theme
 
MarkYee said:
Haha i remember that, good show. I notice a lot of hip hop songs with the theremin spooky type sound thats what im really trying to get.

---------- Post added at 10:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 AM ----------

something like the Dr. Who Theme
Click to expand...

I'm not sure which Dr Who theme you're talking about but the original was done on tape by Delia Derbyshire. If you look into what the BBC radiophonics workshop was doing at that time you can get an idea of what she was doing.

i don't know massive but if i was going for the theremin sound first i'd figure out its output.
it sounds like a nosiey sinewave and googling i found this

Theremin World - Topic: Wave-shape of Rockmore and Rosen's Theremin to see and to think

Clara_Rockmore_Theremin_Waves.JPG - element14

Lucie_Rosen_Theremin_Waves.JPG - element14

so now you know what they look like.

as i don't know massive i can't give much advise here.
if i was to try (and i will be tonight) first thing i'd look at is a little amplitude modulation to dirty up the sound. then i'd try a ring mod and then some FM with a single carrier. thing to remember is keep it simple you're trying to emulate a something that is very basic.

from there you just need a smooth modulation source, lots of glide is your friend here. i'd listen to some recordings of talanted theremin players and figure out how much glide.
 
Hey Mark,

the best way to do this is by using pitchbend. Trigger a note and then use pitchbend to "play the note like a theremin". Of course, you need to setup the pitchbend on your synth to cover one or more octaves (most Software sound generators can do this) ... +/- 2 octaves would give you 4 octaves of playing range.

When it comes to the theremin sound itself, there is a lot of different variations out there. The easiest of course would be the sine-wave theremin. Just pick any synth that can produce a sinewave, set the ADSR to soft rise with no Decay and with Sustain on full and a soft Release ... this should do the trick.

For a more vocal sound, try a rectified sine wave or a triangular wave ... or take a sample of a moog theremin and run it on a sampler (looping it could be a bit tricky) ... trial and error will get you there.

Horst (in Australia ) has a theremin for sale (Midi Theremin to buy), that sends Pitchbend messages to control a soft synth ... if you want the "real feel" of playing a theremin as well - after all, this is what the theremin is all about ! If you can't afford a "horst Theremin", then the pitch wheel will have to do.

Good luck.
 
How committed are you to getting a decent Theremin sound? I mean, financially?

Both versions (original and newer) of the Korg MiniKP Kaoss Pad have a decent Theremin sound, and your investment would only be about $150. It could be your first hardware purchase (if so) and all you'd need would be the Korg unit, some quality RCA cables, and some 1/4" adaptors. Lots of other great synth effects, drums, looping, and it's portable; a great buy.

No, I don't work for Korg. And, you're welcome. :D

GJ
 
Real Theremins aren't terribly expensive either - the Moog/Etherwave theremin goes for a little under $400 or so. Of course, learning to actually play it is another thing...
 
which synth would that be? all you included was a link to your track which if you do not give us the synth and preset, may just get deleted as being off-topic self-promo spam
 
As an original analog Theremin used a simple Sine Wave tone then it can't be difficult to find a synth plugin (Moog or similar) that can replicate it. If you set your pitchbend at two octaves either side of C3 then you can't go wrong. Difficult to control at that though. I just bought a cheap one (kitform) from Maplin and learned to play it then it recorded raw and added effect and sweeping pitch correction. Simples ;-)
 
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I need help with the

Doesn't sound like you've read the tutorial. You need to run the EXE so it INSTALLS the mapset. You don't IMPORT it.
 
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