The Hoge Moogs
The Hoge Bio
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Currently there are three
theremins in the Salon, all by Bob Moog (which like Hoge rhymes with Vogue), in my humble opinion the very best
available.
The EtherWave Pro is an astounding musical instrument and it's a true
pity it is going out of production in 2007. Bob Moog refined his various
designs yet again to give serious players an expressive, extremely playable and practical instrument
packing many features and a beautiful sound into a stunning design.
The EtherWave Standard remains, well, the standard and is a solid and musical
theremin; the most portable and popular of the Moog designs.
It has been in continuous production longer than any other theremin.
All of my theremins have pitch preview added. Though fully playable, and
often I do play, without pitch preview. I have come to find it valuable and
a professionally responsible feature when playing in public and
with other musicians.
The EtherWave Pros both also have a modification to the volume circuit
which is detailed below and both also have under gone extensive adjustments
of all the user accessible controls to fine tune them to my playing
style
and requirements. I've also put marks on the wood knobs as a visual position reference.
And have darkened the light maple face and arm on both.
Moog EtherWave Pro
[2004 Original Edition]
[2007 Final Walnut Edition]
Moog EtherWave Standard
[2004 Limited Cherry Edition]
Modifications
Pitch Preview
[All]
Changes the tuner output on the EWPro, and on my Standard added a jack and a volume knob,
to be identical to the main output but without
volume control.
EWStandard with preview jack and volume knob mod. by Ryan Cox, Moog Music
Volume Modification
[EtherWave Pros Only]
Smoothes out the initial attack of the sound envelope easing the
“snap”
which in the original volume circuit came from the circuit having a more
exponential response to your linear hand-movement away from the volume antenna.
The modification uses a network of diodes and resistors to create a resistance
that varies as the pitch voltage changes, in a way that makes the volume
circuit response more linear with respect to your hand movement away from
the antenna.
EWPwo 1 post mod-s.
Adjustments
[EtherWave Pros Only]
Tiny Adjustment Screws
Volume
The one for volume on the side under the antenna sets the distance away from
the volume antenna at which complete silence is obtained. It is extremely sensitive and
requires the most fractional turn. It doesn’t have
very much range, but you should notice the instrument going silent a little
bit closer or farther away from the loop depending on where this is set.
It may also slightly reduce or increase the overall main output.
Adjusted the tiny volume screw to set to about three fingers from the loop,
with a slight increase on the front panel volume response.
Pitch
The pitch adjustment screw on the underside of the arm changes the width of the “zero-beat”
zone at the boundary of the pitch field. When you move back to the distance at which
the pitch drops to zero and the theremin is silent, if you move farther back a certain distance the
pitch will start to sound and rise again. There is a band in which the pitch remains
at zero; you should be able to make this band wider or narrower with the
pitch adjustment screw. Again, it probably won’t have a huge effect but
that’s what it should be changing.
Front Panel Screws
Volume Response
increases the speed of the response and will also decrease the distance of the field
from the antenna slightly.
Pitch Response
It basically adjusts the spacing of the lowest notes and the width of zero beat.
Adjusted it on the second instrument
to expand zero beat a hair to match the first.
Matched both to the closest common output level.
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