Gizmodo: theremin

CD Case Features Built-In Theremin and Artistic Circuitry: Match That, BitTorrent!

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:10:00 EDT

San Francisco electro artist Moldover, like Beck before him, figured out a way to make physical music purchases superior to digital: Embrace the physical. In Moldover's case, that meant cramming an actual working theremin into the CD case.

Moldover really went all-out with this one. The CD case theremin features a headphone jack as well as a speaker, and the wiring on the theremin itself spells out the artist name, track names, and "album art," such as it is. He even includes a tiny pocket-sized version of the theremin so you're never without that odd organic screechy sound. The album costs $50, which actually seems pretty cheap considering it's packaged inside a musical instrument. [Denver Westword]

Spycraft Hits Paperback In Time for Father's Day

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:00:00 EDT

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Remember that awesome CIA gadget book, Spycraft, written by our spooky friends Bob Wallace and Keith Melton? Well, it just came out in paperback, people—$12.24 at Amazon. Go git 'em. [Amazon]

Theremin Musician Plays the Super Mario Bros. Theme

Elaine Chow — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Watching videos of NES enthusiasts playing the Super Mario Bros. theme on weird stuff is always fun, and here's one of musician Randy George on the theremin. What's a theremin? It's a Russian invention that's also one of the earliest electronic musical instruments ever created. Players move their hands around the Theremin's antennas, controlling the sound's frequency and amplitude (pitch and volume). Randy's working on recording a classical Theremin album—I wonder if it'll include his version of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy as bonus material. [Laughing Squid]

5 Reasons to Check Out the CIA Spycraft Book

Wilson Rothman — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda goes on sale in stores today. I know you think I probably milked it for all it's worth, but there's actually a ton of mind-boggling spy gear in there that I didn't have a chance to cover on Giz, such as:

• Robotic critters, from the insectothopter of the 1970s to the robofish of today

• Cigars developed to kill, confuse or humiliate Fidel Castro—not surprisingly, one would have made his beard fall out.

• The beloved skyhook—yes, the thing that yanks people from the ground up into airplanes. Learn of its origins, early animal test runs and its one successful on-record mission.

• The Soviet's most amazing spy gadget, dubbed "The Thing" by befuddled CIA agents who didn't know how on earth it worked. It was built by Theremin, inventor of that wacky musical thingy, himself a part-time Soviet agent and researcher.

• Spies, spying and spy talk. Yes, the book may be focused on hardware, but man it's full of crazy stories about spies. The most interesting tales are about the Russians who were leaking info to the US, often upon pain of death. Stories of American traitors are pretty familiar, but you rarely get to hear about what went on over on the other side of the Curtain.

Meanwhile, here's a recap of what I did cover, in case you missed it:
• My interview with the authors
• Blow-up Sex Toys as In-Car Decoys
• A Speedboat Disguised as a Junk
• Hide and Seek, CIA Style
• The Inflatable Rescue Plane
• Animal Agents, Live and Dead
• A Gallery of CIA Spy Cameras

Anyway, I enjoyed the book and the authors, and I highly recommend it for a Father's Day gift. Needless to say, I've not received anything in return for this endorsement except a copy of the book itself, which they can have back when they pry it from my cold dead hands. [CIA Spycraft; Amazon Sales Page]

DIY Pocket Theremin Out-Classes Beamz with a Wave of Your Hand

Kit Eaton — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:39:43 EDT

Forget the crapness of the Beamz laser-harp music thing with a real touchless music system: the Theremin. The guys at Popsci have a MAKE-style DIY project online that shows you how to build a pocket-sized version of the classic device. Since it uses a light-level input system, it's a little simpler to build than the RF and capacitance circuitry of the "real" instrument. This means it only costs $18.39 in parts, and about three hours of work if you're neat with a soldering iron. Shaky renditions of "Good vibrations" and the theme tune to "Dr. Who" ahoy! [Popsci]

Home-Made Synths from Tupperware Trip the Light Fan-Plastic

AddyDugdale — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:05:15 EDT

This is what you do if you think that your Tupperware boxes are too good for food, turn them into home-made synthesizers. Adachi Tomomi has made a bunch of them, including a video synthesizer and a couple of Theremins. Consisting of a simple battery-powered electronic circuit, the synths don't have perfect pitch. The Tomomin (bottom left in the gallery) even has a four-note keyboard, and was made from a bunch of Texas Instrument integrated circuits. [Adachi Tomomi via Make ]

Dismembered Baby's Head Theremin is One Badass Musical Instrument

Adam Frucci — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 10:33:21 EST

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]

Matryomin Theremin Kicks Out Some Weird Jams

Sean Fallon — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:20:34 EDT

Japanese theremin maker Mandarin Electron has embedded a pitch only theremin inside a Russian matryoshka doll dubbed "Matryomin" as a means of creating art with art. For those of you who don't know, the theremin is an old-timey electronic instrument that can be played without actually being touched. Apparently, Matryomin can be "easily manipulated" to produce sounds that seem to emanate from the doll as a singing voice. If you don't believe me, groove on the bizarre orchestra in the video above. [Mandarin Electron via Trends in Japan]

Star Trek + Theremin + Wiimote + Moog = ?

Addy Dugdale — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 10:19:38 EDT

Somehow, I can't stop watching this video. Warp 9 Craziness. – Ad Dugdale

Nintendo Wiimote Theremin with Moog Little Phatty [YouTube via Popbitch]