Matryomin: a matrioshke with a theremin inside

The Matryomin is artist Masami Takeuchi's theremin built into a matrioshke doll. They're bulk-produced and offered for sale.

It hold form of Matrioshka perfectly, moreover, performing five octaves range. The distance of 1 octave at Low-Middle range is equal to Etherwavetheremin of Moog Music Inc. If you have acquired the basic technique to play theremin by Etherwavetheremin, you can enjoy playing Matryomin by same way. Matryomin is only pitch controlled theremin.

Mandarin Electron, a company directed by Masami Takeuchi, started manufacturing Matryomin on a commercial basis in 2003. Now, Matryomin is going on 2nd generation model. Selled over 1,600 till now in Japan

Matryomin (via Red Ferret)

• [neurolux]

  I’d want to play “The Night the Lights went out in Georgia.”

• [hassan-i-sabbah]

  I have a friend who has a serious phobia about Matrioshka dolls.(recuring childhood dreams about being the smallest one,trapped inside various layers of , well,larger versions of himself)He always turns my set to face away from him when he visits.Ooh what fun if the started an eerie otherworldly tone at his approach……oooowwwwooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!

• [WA]

  I saw a video of this being played on Youtube a while ago, and thought it was an interesting gimmick. However, the way it is being advertised as a proper theremin and compared to a Moog Etherwave is absurd. This has two Etherwaves being played, and still doesn’t compare to the best theremin players, like Rockmore, Kavina, and Eyck.

  And as much as I should be comfortable with pitch-only instruments, considering that I’ve played the harpsichord for years, I really think that the matryomin has nothing to compensate for its lack of volume control.

  Unfortunately, the theremin is given a bad name by the numerous similar, but much less serious instruments that are described as such, like the number of optical ‘theremins’ that sound hideous, and the vast number of very horrible players who nevertheless try to present themselves as being decent. The theremin is extremely difficult to play, and I’ve seen many cases where horrible players, after practising for a short period of time, play it poorly and thus turn people off to an instrument that can actually be played well. I’m not even particularly fond of Takeuchi’s ability, from what I’ve heard of his playing.

• [Robbo]

  I waaaaant one!

  Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any info on where or how to purchase them, although they say they’ve sold over 1,600. Does anyone know more on how to get one of these cuties?

  Cheers.

• [kaiza]

  This is cute and all, but surely there are more ironic objects you could put a theremin in? A guitar? A car aerial (hooked up to the horn, of course)?

• [MarlboroTestMonkey7]

  What about inside a bust of Vincent Price?

• [Anonymous]

  looks like one can be yours for $699 american from this site (which also has more pics of it):

  http://www.kilian-nakamura.com/catalog/matryomin-theremin-matryoshka-p-178.html

• [Jerril]

  … The amount of russianness jamned into this object is kind of funny. And then I find out the artist is Japanese. There’s something about this that’s pretty damned funny.

• [Beanolini]

  #7, Robbo:

  You could try here. Does that really convert to $420? You could get a real etherwave (with volume control too) for not much more.

  The pictures above make it look tiny, but it looks about a foot tall, judging by the pictures in the link.

• [sicklecell]

  I’m so in to this

• [Æ’low]

  And then when you open it up you find a smaller SICKLECELL which is also into it, but just a little less and then when you open it up you find a smaller…

• [johnnyuber]

  so Quasiriffic!

• [A New Challenger]

  I want to play Tetris music on one.

  Yes, that’s the extent of my knowledge of Russian culture.