This was my first custom Theremin - I still have it (never can let that first one go!). I was doing alot of electronics work and came across this company, PAIA that makes some DIY electronics kits, including the Theremax theremin. All of their kits are great - good design, relatively easy to assemble and great manuals. I put the circuit board together in a matter of a day or so, but was unsatisfied with the optional housing they offered. One day I was walking around in the Haight and came across one of those doorstep junque sales - and there it was, the perfect housing! This great little 13" TV that they sold me for $12. I gutted it (always dispose of internal parts properly - bring them to a hazardous waste facility!) and painted it. Mounting the electronics was a pain in the arse, as the PAIA theremin kit has not only audio output, but pitch, velocity and volume CV, as well as a gate and mute - so running all the wiring was difficult, to say the least. After everything was in place, I assembled it all, using the back for the CV and audio outputs. The cool retro knobs I bought at Radio Shack and I used 2 of the original pots from the TV for the volume and pitch centering controls, as they had the same rating as the ones that came with the kit (and they work great, I might add..). The theremin itself sounds great and goes down WAY low if you set the pitch oscillators properly - defintely speaker blowing material. It is very finicky, though - the pitch drifts a bit (though I think it could be remedied with some better oscillators) and the range/pitch center is always a bit different from one playing to the next. They're all pretty minor complaints for such a cool sounding piece!

I sell most of my custom Theremins - please email me if you would like a quote or want one built from your own design...