Ac501-plus harmonik pickups schematic

[Squeezy1]

Hi everyone looking for a schematic for a ac501-plus harmonik pickups or where I could obtain one Thankyou cheers

 

[JerryPH]

That's a proprietary commercial product, I don't think the people from Harmonic are going to share their tech schematics with many. You may want to reach out to them directly... but with schematics, one could conceivably build a copy for 10% of their cost... so not likely going to happen. That said, the technology is not black magic, one could possibly build their own sets.

Where they get really fancy is with the 5000 series. The 5001 plus, and more impressively, the 5001 FX are amazing pieces of work, but you pay exhorbitant prices.

If you are really sharp in electronics, you can likely figure out a lot just from this pic:

 

[Ventura]

Hi everyone looking for

suggest you say what it is you are really looking to do if you want help

or

simply research old threads.. we have discussed mic circuits may times..
i believe one of Caps schematics is posted in one of them

 

[Ventura]

That's a proprietary commercial product, I don't think the people from Harmonic are going to share their tech schematics with many. You may want to reach out to them directly... but with schematics, one could conceivably build a copy for 10% of their cost... so not likely going to happen. That said, the technology is not black magic, one could possibly build their own sets.

Where they get really fancy is with the 5000 series. The 5001 plus, and more impressively, the 5001 FX are amazing pieces of work, but you pay exhorbitant prices.

If you are really sharp in electronics, you can likely figure out a lot just from this pic:

actually this pic does a lot to leave me unimpressed..

chip capacitrors and resistors are great for mass production and
machine made/fluxed populated boards, but they can never beat
precision discreet components for consistency of values and
excess capacity for current and voltage handling.. you will not get
my tantalum coupling capacitors from my circuits until you can pry
them out of.... etc..

which is what makes something like the default sennheiser build last a long time

and then too it is nearly impossible, without a scematic or parts list,
to even attempt a repair on one of these

meanwhile the Op-Amp is soldered in place rather than potted !
did someone say this was a better design ? maybe for the builder,
not for the customer..

the mic elements face the sound source directly.. i prefer the angling
scheme.. you also note the open faces while senn elements have a
tiny by comparison hole for sound to enter, causing a naturally more
blended, smooth gain from each element vs: localized hot-spots
which have to be accounted for by artificial means

in other words, the physical world still rules the direction and pressure
of sound, no matter how you make your layout to pick it up

so their processing is supposedly something new and diferent..
maybe if the mic system is just doing what a mic system is
SUPPOSED TO DO it needs no fancy processing ?

if you want to impress me, just take solid, existing tech
and find a way to make your new product more affordable for everyone

 

[JerryPH]

if you want to impress me, just take solid, existing tech
and find a way to make your new product more affordable for everyone

I agree... and disagree.

I'd LOVE to be able to buy or make a GOOD mic system for a couple hundred bucks, and If I was given a chance, I would install Harmonik mics in every one of my acoustic accordions, just because.

Unfortunately, there is a huge monopoly going on with Harmonik mics. There is exactly ONE dealership for all of North America (Canada and USA), and thats Petosa. Sorry, that's just being a little too greedy and controlling and puts me off from looking that way. If I want Harmonik mics, I pay in US funds (currently +37% exchange rate), pay for duty, shipping and just to add insult to injury 15.56% local taxes.

No thanks.

But... innovations? They have.a few tricks in their hats with the AC-5001 FX like:
- the ability with ONE press to kill off 100% feedback, instantly from the accordion.
- the ability to take a dry tuned accordion and make it sound like a mussette in any amount you wish
- variable vibrato
- bass octaver (want to drop your bass an octave or more? easy!)

These are daily usable effects that enhance any acoustic accordion for the professional musician that other manufacturers don't have. Basic electronics knowledge and parts just cannot make this happen.

That's not bloody bad for an acoustic mic setup, and its not anything that any other manufacturer does on the market. On top of that, the sound quality is in the top 1-3 best internal mic setups on the market (depending on who you speak to).

I'm not wanting to toot their horn, but you cannot deny that they are doing something that no one else is. Before them, everyone else was using 20-30 year old tech and systems with straight forward singular purpose performance. Great if you never need or like the other options, but its hard to not say that they are currently top of the heap for accordion (and other insutrments) mic systems.

 

[Ventura]

good points

i am less affected as i have been processing my Bass mics
separately for 40 years including Octavers, and when i need
more M than one LMMM box can muster on a gig, i just take
a Roland along too.. that soft-tire dolly has room for
2 boxes and a PA head plus the suitcase of little junk

all my speaker cabs have their own wheels

so while these features may be useful and valuable for some,
to me they are just more stupid pet tricks, but then again,
i still use a flip phone.. no smart phone (or smart mic'aPhone) needed

i can distantly remember runaway feedback, but between the Sennheisers,
Shures and Panasonics in the roll my own pickups, the only possible
way that could happen now is extreme user (me) error or negligence..
and surely all you BOSE users out there, that would be a non-issue too ?

admittedly, i have been lucky, and todays younger musicians who
want access to pro level equipment have little choice besides
"pay through the nose" it seems.. i am glad these things seem to
work well for now (regardless of price) for some folks.. i nevertheless
remain confident my gear can blow Harmonic off the stage

 

[JerryPH]

I still have this crazy notion that I could make my own accordion mic system one day myself, the basics are not THAT hard, but getting a good sound is the challenge that I may one day undertake.

 

[Thomas N]

I've posted here previously when those new Harmonik mics were introduced. I watched their overview and it was impressive. Feedback isn't a big problem for me, but the ability to add tremolo and bass octaver (while not affecting the bass chord) would be welcome.

The issue is the $1000+ US price for it - plus installation. It's such a niche market that they can probably get away with it. I almost went for it but then started thinking about what I could purchase for $1200 in music equipment.

My goal is two accordions - one top of the line digital accordion (is my FR-8X it?) and modify my beloved Excelsior 960 with a new high-end mic system and have it tuned and touched up to perfection.

 

[Ventura]

I've posted here previously when those new Harmonik mics were introduced. I watched their overview and it was impressive. Feedback isn't a big problem for me, but the ability to add tremolo and bass octaver (while not affecting the bass chord) would be welcome.

The issue is the $1000+ US price for it - plus installation. It's such a niche market that they can probably get away with it. I almost went for it but then started thinking about what I could purchase for $1200 in music equipment.

My goal is two accordions - one top of the line digital accordion (is my FR-8X it?) and modify my beloved Excelsior 960 with a new high-end mic system and have it tuned and touched up to perfection.

are you any good with a soldering iron and can you figure out simple circuits ?

the best cost effective solution is a standard Sennheiser mic kit
(model name used to be Australia when Master sold them)
which is the bare circuitboards and wiring.. can still order the bare kit
from places like Musictech

recipie:

so there are 3 elements on the main board, plus one remote for the bass

look it over and you can easily figure out how to wire the remote single
bass mic board into the main one and have a 4 mics on the treble..

the 3 board mics are angled, mount the 4th one opposite angle

foam mount everything, re-inforce wiring with some judiciously placed
silicone RTV sealant.gasket material plus a dab across the foam as
a backup hold for the mics

if you really wanna get fancy, and there is room, float a strip of thin,
strong wood like a strip of walnut edge veneer oner the mic elements,
so that the air and sound must roll around and mix a bit before it
finds the curved tops of the elements

if you really wanna get even fancier, replace the 1mf electrolytic coupling
capacitors with 2 mf tantalum's

mount the volume control, the jack, decide how you prefer to do the bias/9Volts..
a simple black plastic 9 volt batterybox stuck on the lower
grill over the grillcloth like an inch, run the 2 wires through the cloth
and they are hidden.. the black box is small and not annoying at all

you could also hide a battery under your backpad
or do Debra's battery solution with aaa's under the grill

then solve the bass amplification issue as a separate matter,
no wires through the bellows, and a wireless tx velcro'd to the
bass strap.. if you use a TX with a handy volume control, then you
don't need to mount anything but the MIC Element and a jack..
suggest the Green Bullet element

this is my best bang best sound for the buck recipie

 

[JerryPH]

The issue is the $1000+ US price for it - plus installation. It's such a niche market that they can probably get away with it. I almost went for it but then started thinking about what I could purchase for $1200 in music equipment.

My goal is two accordions - one top of the line digital accordion (is my FR-8X it?) and modify my beloved Excelsior 960 with a new high-end mic system and have it tuned and touched up to perfection.

If you think $1000+ US is a lot, for me that comes to near $2000, where as if it came directly from Brazil to a Canadian dealer, would be much closer to $1500. IMHO completely unreasonable... I can get Limex mics which have a better/cleaner sound quality and antifeedback AND an EQ but no effects for $950 here OR ordered from Limex Europe for the same thing, give a few dollars.

Now, my 2 cents, Thomas... start by getting the 920 tuned to perfection, you already have a good digital accordion with the 8X (unless you have $8000US hidden away somewhere), and getting the mics at a later time might be the best path, if those are the ones that you want.