Etherwave Plus Factory Upgrade Review

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EricK
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Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 2:09 pm

Etherwave Plus Factory Upgrade Review

Post by EricK » Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:32 pm

The ups man left here a few hours ago, and I began to leave Moog purgatory behind as I opened the Box and checked out what was my factory Upgraded Etherwave Plus.

Image
I had sent the unit in on March 24th and it came today, April 3rd safe and sound. A very fast turnaround!


To answer 2 questions from another thread in this forum, Yes I got my Etherwave and No they did not include the original metalwork they replaced.

As I took it out of the Box, the first thing that I noticed was that they included a power supply that is different from the one that I sent. Mine had a much thicker gauge cord and was in brand new condition. Im not necessarily bothered by this persay but i thought that Id throw that out there FYI.



Upon removing the Theremin from its case, I noticed that the metalwork was not smoothe like the Ringmod and other Foogers or the Original Standard metalwork. It had a rough pourus type of surface exactly like that of the Freq Box. I guess they prefer this type of metalwork for their newer products. I think that it doesn't show fingerprints as easily.

Image

Upon further inspection, they drilled large holes in the bottom for the CV jacks. The connections were really solid and the nuts were exactly like the ones featured on the back of the MoogerFoogers.

Image


THe power LED is a very nice feature, Instant confirmation of the power status. Prior to that I had to remember which one was off O or I. No more guessing games.


Finally, I got to do what I had long awaited....controlling the Voyagers pitch via cv. I noticed that when approaching the zero beat on the pitch antenna, there was a distinct zippering effect from the Voyager's Oscillators. (This test was done on a Select Model (digital brain) so the OS would probably respond differently.) I tried attenuating the Pitch CV signal to see if I could get the Voyager to track an interval and this proved to be very difficult. Im sure with more time I could perfect this. I also connected the gate output to the S&H Gate input of the Cp251 and ran that S&H back to the Voyager's Pitch. It was very interesting.

I also ran the Theremin's Audio through the delay and Controlled the Feedback and the Time with the Volume CV and it was very nice and interesting to have that sort of control over the effects.

Overall I was very nicely satisfied with the job that they did and Im sure that these new controls will take awhile for me to grow accostomed to using.


Id like to see someone from Moog really chime in with some types of patches to familiarize us with the interface with the Voyager.

My only real question that ill try to answer is this:

What is the relationship between the Pitch and Volume pots to the Cv's versus how the Theremin responds to changes in the settings of those?

I think knowing this versus being really familliar with the interfacing possibillities will make this instruments new abillities second nature.

Eric
Last edited by EricK on Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:22 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Voltor07
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Post by Voltor07 » Fri Apr 03, 2009 6:07 pm

EricK, it's not O or I, it's 0 or 1...as in, binary. 1 being on and 0 being off. :lol:
Minitaur, CP-251, EHX #1 Echo, EHX Space Drums/Crash Pads, QSC GX-3, Pyramid stereo power amp, Miracle Pianos, Walking Stick ribbon controller, Synthutron.com, 1983 Hammond organ, dot com modular.

tubeampguy
Posts: 97
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Re: Etherwave Pro Factory Upgrade Review

Post by tubeampguy » Fri Apr 03, 2009 11:47 pm

EricK wrote:The ups man left here a few hours ago, and I began to leave Moog purgatory behind as I opened the Box and checked out what was my factory Upgraded Etherwave Plus.

Image
I had sent the unit in on March 24th and it came today, April 3rd safe and sound. A very fast turnaround!


To answer 2 questions from another thread in this forum, Yes I got my Etherwave and No they did not include the original metalwork they replaced.

As I took it out of the Box, the first thing that I noticed was that they included a power supply that is different from the one that I sent. Mine had a much thicker gauge cord and was in brand new condition. Im not necessarily bothered by this persay but i thought that Id throw that out there FYI.



Upon removing the Theremin from its case, I noticed that the metalwork was not smoothe like the Ringmod and other Foogers or the Original Standard metalwork. It had a rough pourus type of surface exactly like that of the Freq Box. I guess they prefer this type of metalwork for their newer products. I think that it doesn't show fingerprints as easily.

Image

Upon further inspection, they drilled large holes in the bottom for the CV jacks. The connections were really solid and the nuts were exactly like the ones featured on the back of the MoogerFoogers.

Image


THe power LED is a very nice feature, Instant confirmation of the power status. Prior to that I had to remember which one was off O or I. No more guessing games.


Finally, I got to do what I had long awaited....controlling the Voyagers pitch via cv. I noticed that when approaching the zero beat on the pitch antenna, there was a distinct zippering effect from the Voyager's Oscillators. (This test was done on a Select Model (digital brain) so the OS would probably respond differently.) I tried attenuating the Pitch CV signal to see if I could get the Voyager to track an interval and this proved to be very difficult. Im sure with more time I could perfect this. I also connected the gate output to the S&H Gate input of the Cp251 and ran that S&H back to the Voyager's Pitch. It was very interesting.

I also ran the Theremin's Audio through the delay and Controlled the Feedback and the Time with the Volume CV and it was very nice and interesting to have that sort of control over the effects.

Overall I was very nicely satisfied with the job that they did and Im sure that these new controls will take awhile for me to grow accostomed to using.


Id like to see someone from Moog really chime in with some types of patches to familiarize us with the interface with the Voyager.

My only real question that ill try to answer is this:

What is the relationship between the Pitch and Volume pots to the Cv's versus how the Theremin responds to changes in the settings of those?

I think knowing this versus being really familiar with the interfacing possibilities will make this instruments new abilities second nature.

Eric
Hey Erick: Great to see that you finally received your Etherwave Plus. That black cabinet really looks nice too! I think I might have waited a little longer if I had know that whitewash was the next color that will be available. Blonde is a bit boring.

One thing I found is that the volume leaks signal even the controls are on zero, does your's behave this way??

I love controlling my Murf with it as well as the Ringmod. I also enjoy patching it to control the speed on the CP-251 LFO. It really opens so many possibilities!

How did you learn to play that thing in pitch?? That's what I'm working on right now. I'm determined to learn how to play it for real unlike so many people that just make noise on them.

EricK
Posts: 6009
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 2:09 pm

Post by EricK » Sat Apr 04, 2009 12:01 am

lol I never said that I could play in pitch.
I do mostly half melodic half sci-fi in a song.

I do alot better if I am accompanying something...as a solo instrument, Im flatter than flat usually.

Im not quite sure what you are talking about "Volume leaks signal when the volume is set to zero."

I don't know how much experience you have on a theremin or if you are talking about the volume CV or the theremin's audio. If you are thinking that the volume pot actually controls volume, it really controls the size if the electro-magnetic field around the volume antenna, making it responsive at a distance. All volume is controlled by the volume antenna.

If theres sound with your hand on the volume antenna, then theres something wrong, unless you have it set backwards or something.


Used to, you could set the theremin to increase in pitch/volume as you approached the antennas, but the farther clockwise the knobs were, the field would do this:

Outside of the field (zero beat) the pitch would decrease to another zero beat, then it would increase until you reached the antenna. Its almost like a figure 8 loop that totally reverses in the middle.
Support the Bob Moog Foundation:
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I think I hear the mothership coming.

tubeampguy
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Joined: Wed Dec 29, 2004 8:29 pm
Location: Long Beach,Ca
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Post by tubeampguy » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:05 pm

Erick Said "If you are thinking that the volume pot actually controls volume, it really controls the size if the electro-magnetic field around the volume antenna"


wow~! That is very interesting about the volume knob NOT controlling audio output! I really don't know a lot about playing the theremin, I'm learning that currently. I know more about the history and how the circuit works from the stand point of the originals (vacuum tube originals) I'm a vacuum tube guitar amplifier technician.
You guys and gals on here and other online theremin resources have helped me so far with the application of applied knowledge from the stand point of being players. For me learning how to play theremin and developing CV patches for my Moogerfoogers and controlling them is more challenging than collecting/playing vintage guitars and amplifers, I have been doing this for about 20 years. Thanks for filling me in on that tip.
I do like pushing my FENDER showman with Moogerfoogers and now the theremin! :D

EricK
Posts: 6009
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 2:09 pm

Post by EricK » Sun Apr 05, 2009 12:49 am

The pitch is the same way and yeah its confusing as hell.

Now Im trying to figure out if the VOlume and Pitch pots act as attenuators for the CV.

Eric
Support the Bob Moog Foundation:
https://moogfoundation.org/do-something-2/donate/

I think I hear the mothership coming.

Brad
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Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2003 12:15 pm
Location: Kentucky

Post by Brad » Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:28 pm

Thanks for the review. I'm still waiting to hear from Moog about the status of the one I dropped off a few weeks ago. Having had the chance to plaqy around with a Plus in Asheville, I can testify that hooking a Plus up to a Voyager is wicked fun!

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