e-ther

Play like a Theremin, audio or MIDI out

e-ther is played with gestures in the air like a theremin and can output:

• MIDI over USB
• MIDI over TRS (a TRS-5-pin DIN lead gives MIDI over 5-pin DIN)
• audio at line or headphone level and a gain control (with optional Pimoroni PicoAudio DAC)

e-ther's sensors don't use visible light and therefore aren't affected by changes in ambient light. They measure distance very accurately (invisible, eye-safe) making e-ther very predictable and consistent.

Includes:

• Fully built and tested
• Custom firmware, written from scratch for this project.
• A good manual
• Firmware will remain in development and supported. Updating is easy

FAQs

Will it work with a MIDI -> CV converter?

Using a MIDI / CV converter is so far untested. e-ther sends messages including note on, note off, expression / modwheel. It does rely heavily on pitch bend and so the converter must also support 14-bit pitch bend messages and RPN 0 (pitch bend sensitivity).

You'll see from the planned enhancements at the end of the manual that I'm planning a second 'mode' which would be stepped like a stylophone. This would allow the device to work with devices / software that don't support the pitch bend and RPN0, at the expense of having an output that is locked to the semitone intervals and would therefore rely on the host having some kind of 'glide' feature if you still wanted a theremin-like effect.

Would you consider making the controls work in the same direction as a real Theremin?

There are no plans to do this. At first the prototype did work that way around (ie lift your left hand to raise the volume). Flipping the controls actually made things feel more natural for me (as a non-theremin player) and more importantly, solved some problems. It's not intended to emulate the playing of a theremin exactly. It is what it is - a MIDI controller with an unusual, interesting, expressive controls.

Buy one

Buy now on Tindie

Or if you prefer:

Buy now on Etsy

Or if you prefer:

Buy now on Reverb