What Is The Best Theremin VST?

[wagtunes]

Eh, it was worth the 19 bucks not to be hassled with the "challenge"

One man's "hassle" is another man's enjoyment.

That is very true. It came down to "do I want to futz around or get the track done?" I chose the latter.

[Teksonik]

Eh, it was worth the 19 bucks not to be hassled with the "challenge"

One man's "hassle" is another man's enjoyment.

That is very true. It came down to "do I want to futz around or get the track done?" I chose the latter.

You could have done it after the track was done. It's not an either/or proposition.

I just assumed that someone such as yourself who sells presets might be interested in the challenge of making a Theremin patch.

But if you're not up to the task then I understand why you'd shy away.

Now I don't plan on spending more than 15 or 20 minutes on the task (about the same amount of time we've spent in this thread) unless I get really close then I might tweak a little longer. I have a concept of how it could be done but whether that concept bears fruit is yet to be seen.....

[Examigan]

I had started making a preset in Icarus3 that sounds similar to what Page used for a few songs with Zeppelin on some tracks of theirs. It's just tough to get a good combination of the control you get with the hand gestures. I think I'd need to change it to use aftertouch to add a way to adjust LFO speed (here and there), and the pitch and mod wheels for the other stuff.

[CapnLockheed]

I don't know if it's the best..but it sounds good to me.
.
https://flowstoners.com/quilcom
Quilcom TERRORMIN V1.101 new GUI and 64 bit.

Thanks but there's no download link.

I clicked on the image and then it started to download.

My Chrome blocks it.

Yeah...no. I'm on Chrome too. All you have to do is click on "keep" in the download dialog. There are plenty of sites that require this.

[zerocrossing]

I am doing a song about the TV show Dark Shadows.

I used to love that show as a kid even though it's basically just a Goth soap opera.

As a fan of 50's Sci-Fi the Theremin has always held a special place in my heart.

Anyway wouldn't a Theremin plugin need to have at least one X-Y pad to be played authentically?

My grandmother used to watch it all the time, and when she was babysitting us, she used to make us go play in our rooms when it was on. We used to sneak out to try and watch it, and she'd always catch us and send us away. We built it up in our heads as some super scary show for adults. When I finally saw it as a young adult, it was a WTF moment. So silly, and the production is horrible. I remember a scene where the guy goes to close the door, and the entire wall moves because it's probably just a sheet of painted plywood with a few supports.

[vurt]

I found a Kontakt instrument by Soundiron that sounds really good.

Ok thanks, I don't think I could justify purchasing a Theremein plugin in these times but what if one took a couple of sine waves and set them up in an X-Y pad on a synth that has such a feature?

That might be a fun sound design challenge.

back in the early days, there was mysteron, which is basically this.

[Teksonik]

My grandmother used to watch it all the time, and when she was babysitting us, she used to make us go play in our rooms when it was on. We used to sneak out to try and watch it, and she'd always catch us and send us away. We built it up in our heads as some super scary show for adults. When I finally saw it as a young adult, it was a WTF moment. So silly, and the production is horrible. I remember a scene where the guy goes to close the door, and the entire wall moves because it's probably just a sheet of painted plywood with a few supports.

Yes Dark Shadows is pretty a cheesy show these days but back then there was something about it that appealed to us even though like I said it's just a Goth soap opera.

[Teksonik]

back in the early days, there was mysteron, which is basically this.

I remember Mysteron. I think I'm going to try making a Theremin patch in Rob Papen's Blue 3 since its X-Y puck motion can be recorded. I'm going for that classic oooo weeee oooo sound heard in so many Sci-Fi movies from the 50's.

It should be fun or a dismal failure but I won't know for sure until later today......

[wagtunes]

back in the early days, there was mysteron, which is basically this.

I remember Mysteron. I think I'm going to try making a Theremin patch in Rob Papen's Blue 3 since its X-Y puck motion can be recorded. I'm going for that classic oooo weeee oooo sound heard in so many Sci-Fi movies from the 50's.

It should be fun or a dismal failure but I won't know for sure until later today......

Hey good luck. Post your results.

[Teksonik]

Hey good luck. Post your results.

Thanks, I will indeed post the results whether they end up being impressive or embarrassing...

EDIT: Okay I don't know if this qualifies as a partial success or a dismal failure. I'm getting that spooky 50's SciFi vibe but it's not really a Theremin.

The problem I'm having is getting the proper tuning resolution in the X-Y pad. It's something I'll have to work on further as time permits but I'm moving on to something else today.

If anyone who owns Blue 3 wants to take it to the next level please be my guest.

Blue 3 Theremin Try 1.zip

[AcidJunkie1974]

Man, that's a tough one because the magic of a theremin is all in the performance, not the plugin itself. I've found that any simple sine wave oscillator with massive portamento and a good vibrato LFO can get you there. The real challenge is the controller; you need something for that smooth continuous pitch change. Without that expressive glide it just ends up sounding like any other synth lead.

[zerocrossing]

Man, that's a tough one because the magic of a theremin is all in the performance, not the plugin itself. I've found that any simple sine wave oscillator with massive portamento and a good vibrato LFO can get you there. The real challenge is the controller; you need something for that smooth continuous pitch change. Without that expressive glide it just ends up sounding like any other synth lead.

Using something like a Roli Rise works great, though you could use automation to get the same results, if you don't care about an actual real-time performance.

[Teksonik]

Man, that's a tough one because the magic of a theremin is all in the performance, not the plugin itself. I've found that any simple sine wave oscillator with massive portamento and a good vibrato LFO can get you there. The real challenge is the controller; you need something for that smooth continuous pitch change. Without that expressive glide it just ends up sounding like any other synth lead.

Here's what Wags used in the track he posted in this thread. It sounded pretty convincing to me and it doesn't appear to have any special control secrets but he'd be the one to say for sure.

SoundIron.png

The problem I ran into using Blue 3 is not so much the gestures using an X-Y Pad but the pitch control was not "precise" enough. That may well be my fault and with further work there could possibly be a solution. It may never be a 1:1 emulation of a Theremin but even the patch I posted above can give that spooky Sci-fi vibe even in its current state.

[Wykilla]

The controller point is really the key issue. A mouse or even MIDI keyboard will never capture the continuous, free-floating pitch feel of a real theremin. MIDI pitch bend helps, but drawing automation curves in the DAW combined with heavy portamento is probably the most practical approach for getting that smooth glide in a recording context.

[Teksonik]

If an X-Y pad with parameters controlled by each axis won't ever "capture the continuous, free-floating pitch feel of a real theremin" then drawing automation curves won't either since they aren't a spontaneous performance.

Like I said the performance isn't really the issue it's getting the pitch resolution right.

Here's a pretty crappy performance but it's not miles off. I think instead of Blue 3 it might be worth trying Zebra 2's X-Y pads but it's not something I can dedicate any time to right at this moment.

If anyone else wants to give it a shot just as a fun challenge by all means go for it.....

Blue 3 Theremin Try 1