The Theremin makes it possible to create the music of an alternate universe that we were destined to be part of, a time and place that is sadly out of reach, for now.

We got lost back in the 1930's, during the second world war, when RCA Victor turned all the thousands of new mass produced home Theremins over to the government for conversion into materials which were turned into machines of mass destruction, thereby causing the virtual extinction of a beautiful and truly progressive musical instrument at a time crucial to the development of modern music. This turned us from the path we were intended to follow.

After the war came rock and roll, which changed the world (it changed mine anyway) and if I had never heard of the Theremin I may never have realised that something was wrong, but I did. I saw a film with someone called Clara Rockmore playing a strange and wonderful electronic instrument with a virtuosity that made my heart swell. I suddenly realised, guitars shouldn't be in every in dorm-room, Theremin's should be, and instead of people sitting around camp fires playing guitars they should really be playing portable Theremins.

It should have been a Theremin that Jimi Hendrix played with his teeth in Montreaux in 68, and he should have gone on to smash it up and set fire to it.

The big coils on either side connect to two antenna that create highly sensitive airborn control surfaces. The Series 91 is actually based on the Theremin released by RCA Victor in the 1920's, and you can see that there's a lot of copper and other materials that would have been useful for the war effort.

As you can see there are a lot of modern components which make for a lot more space than there would have been in earlier models, but the principal is the same. The extra space also helps turn it into a giant speaker cabinet, creating a sound that can be felt as well as heard.

Now get ready for a real treat. Not only do you get to see the insides of the Series 91, you also get to see its bottom:

And what a bottom it is. The no nonsense alloy panel includes a power supply, audio out and fuse sockets. This particular instrument is signed by the man himself, Mr. Robert Moog.

The Series 91 will set you back a couple of thousand dollars even if you're lucky enough to see one up for sale. David Gilmour owns a one, and I doubt he'll ever sell it, but there is a smaller, more economical version, called an Etherwave Theremin. Here what it looks like inside.

You can see the same copper coils but this time they are in miniature.

To find out more about the Etherwave Theremin go here for our review.

To contact Big Briar check out their entry in our Manufacturers department.

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