A Demonstration and Description of the “Stout” Theremin with Reid Welch

A video (filmed and edited by Peter Pringle) of Reid Welch demonstrating the “Stout” Theremin.

Information about this video by Reid Welch himself:

“January, 1998: am forty three years old and have just completed re-engineering this one of a kind theremin. It came from the estate sale of its builder, passing through the hands of the late Fred Geer, who fruitlessly tried to “convert” the Stout for left-handed player, Charlie Lester. Mr. Lester sent the instrument, still sight-unseen, to Robert Moog, who re-wired it for right-handed playing, and found that it had almost no potential to be made to work. Charlie lost heart, sold the Stout to me for cost (about $4,000), and Bob kindly had the instrument shipped directly from his North Carolina workshop, to our home here in Miami. Then the real work began: countless hours of redesign, with Clara’s instrument for use as a sonic touchstone, and her perfect ear to guide me toward the bit of sound sample that you hear. I wish I could play a theremin, however, like Bob, “I never could play the damned thing!”. Thereminists today -can play well-, a few of them. But, as violinist Clara noted: it is the most difficult instrument of all to truly master. If not for Peter Pringle’s visit to record this and other instruments, this series would not exist. All would have been forgotten again. Thank you, Peter! Clara would love you for all of your work, especially for this item, and for your Nickert Theremin documentation; all this video work, so professional, and all so pro-bono, per her wishes. Thank you, friend Peter, forever, from all of us to come…and go.”