Looking for a way to make your music more demonic and creepy? Well, it's time to start learning the Theremin, as there's no instrument out there more unsettling than this baby's head Theremin that's currently for sale on eBay. Its red eyes light up when you play it! Holy crap, is it awesome. So scrape a few benjamins together and head over to eBay, before it's too late. There's always time to learn how to play it after you buy it. [eBay via Boing Boing Gadgets]
Dismembered Baby's Head Theremin is One Badass Musical Instrument
10:33 AM on Wed Jan 2 2008
By Adam Frucci
2,376 views
23 comments









Comments
Just imagine how much more creepy this would be if it was implemented into a modded speak 'n spell?
Must...obey...
Creepy doesn't even begin to describe this unholy union of plastic baby head and questionable musical instrument.
@johnnyabnormal: That would be awesome!
Buy It Now is my friend!
:: scores ::
The best part is, this will be a business expense for me.
This must be played in the dark, positioned on top a a ouija board during the Winter Solstice.
-Or you can change it to a Richard Simmons head.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.
I will resist the buy. This product is still in its infancy.
It's staring into my soul.
It's judging me.
I want to run but I can't!
Oh god, help me!
Nice work Jaylake. You lucky b'tard.
@92BUICKLESABRE
I'm a trained professional. Don't try this at home!
(I'll also be reporting the unboxing and deployment on my blog.)
@bms74:That doesn't sound the least bit creepy, but that's just my opinion.
Ok complete moron/n00b/fill-in-the-blank here but........Theremin? (forgive my lack of baby's head musical insterment history)
@scarbrtj:HAHA good one. That's actually funny because there's a baby head on it.
@Out2gtcha: It's a musical instrument that changes pitch and volume based on where you place your hand. Hit Youtube and enter Theramin to see one in action
@Out2gtcha: Wiki is your friend:
[en.wikipedia.org]
@Out2gtcha: Theremins almost always sound as creepy as this one looks. They are effortless to play (all you do is move your hand around in space and the pitch changes), but virtually impossible to master (to be able to control individual pitches). There are a few theremin virtuosos out there making recordings like human stupid pet tricks, but for the most part players just wave their hand around and make sound effects like a slide whistle gone postal. Think the sound of a ghost in a cartoon.
Whenever I've seen one with a band, it's some guy waving his hand around and you either can't hear it or it sounds like a slide whistle which I guess he could've played instead but it would have looked a million times less cool.
They're definitely fun to play, but it's easy to get bored of them after you realize it's almost impossible to control pitches and play decent melodies.
While Moog makes the gold standard, what looks particularly compelling about this one is that the thereminy sound it makes is just the sort of thing you would expect to hear from a dismembered baby's head. Which, come to think of it, makes me a little worried that the designer is cutting corners and not actually producing theramins, but sending actual dismembered baby's heads which would make pretty much the same sound, and the customer wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
@johnnyabnormal:
PLAY WITH ME!
I got mine from dollheadproducts. Good quality. I'm not sure if these are from the same folks.
@frigg: No shit, huh? I tried one once and it took me a few minutes to control pitches, but it sure wasn't easy. Especially since you're controlling volume at the same time. I'd say to grab one if you're going to be doing old sci-fi scores or joining a Portishead cover band! Either way, there are many ways to emulate one if you're a sine wave wizard and have the right software.
@jcraig: SAY WHAT?
@johnnyabnormal: Fun fact: the 'theremin' on Mysterons is actually just an SH101. Adrian from P'head admitted as much in an interview (at
[www.soundonsound.com], next-to-last segment in the article).
Also, can you actually call something a theremin if it just uses a light sensor instead of antennae? I mean, you can call it whatever you want, but I don't think it really is. Anyway the samples don't sound anything like one.
@frigg:
TY, I now know for sure how NOT to utilize my amazing musical talent........So far I have yet to master whistling let alone an actual interment.
The Icelandic band TRABANT (trabant.is) was using one of these during a new years performance on Icelandic television.
@formicae: I've heard all sorts of interesting things about the way they've done their stuff. It's sort of hard to miss the compression. I heard they slammed everything into 78 rpm vinyl compression to get that sound. Or who knows...maybe it was a rumor. I remember when their first album came out and I was finishing up my music engineering education: My teachers were stressing dynamics and I was listening to squashed audio. :)
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?