I’ve got hold of a Hohner Crystal Mic (it’s vintage and looks quite old). I could not get it to sound though on connecting the mic to an amplifier, it does make a scratch sound. Anyone can help with this please ?
Thanks.
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You probably need to get the right cable. Unlike the current Hohner Harp Blaster HB52 mic, which needs a standard cable like a vocal mic, the earlier Blues Blaster / Hohner Astatic model was wired differently and doesn’t work with a regular microphone lead. I think you just need to swop the hot and cold pins.
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Hi Steve,
It’s Upendra from Pune, India.
I got this mic from an old friend. It’s not the one, the details and schematic of which, you have sent me. I attach herewith a few snaps and hope you can help me out with this. The wiring and all is original.
Thank you. Kind Regards
Upendra
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Hi Upendra
Nice to hear from you, now I understand. Haven’t seen one of these in a long time, they stopped making them in the 1970s I believe.
I suspect that if there’s no signal then the element is probably broken, or there may be a broken contact somewhere. Crystal elements are notoriously delicate. The examples of this mic which I’ve personally tried all worked when plugged into any suitable amp with a 1/4“ jack socket.
Personally I never liked either the sound or the handling of these mics, it’s fiddly to change harps and not very comfortable to hold, and wasn’t really built to withstand serious use. It was replaced by the Hohner version of the Astatic JT30 in the 1980s, I believe, until the Astatic Corporation stopped manufacturing the crystal elements. The new HB52 Harp Blaster is much better for an electric sound and for a natural sound it’s hard to beat a vocal mic.
I’ll ask the Service Dept. if they have any info and will let you know.
Hope all is well otherwise,
regards
Steve
Sorry, the Service Dept. has no information on this microphone, it was discontinued many years ago.