Turboharp ELX User Manual

®

rev. 12.12.15

USER’S GUIDE 5.3

AntakaMatics, Inc.

Pittsburgh, PA

Standard Version

electric harmonica

Harmonicas of the Future™

www.turboharp.com

pg. 2

Congratulations and THANKS for your

purchase of the TurboHarp/ELX, the

world’s first and only truly electronic
harmonica. It is the result of over 25
years of blood, sweat and tears. I hope
you enjoy it. Please tell your friends!.

US Patent 6,326,532

Prof. Turbodog

dra

w

blow

DRAW

REED

BLOW

REED

BLOW

REEDPLATE

SENSOR

DRAW

REEDPLATE

COMB

SENSOR

HARMONICA BODY

(STANDARD)

UPPER

SENSOR BOARD

(BLOW NOTES)

UPPER

HOUSING

LOWER

HOUSING

LOWER

SENSOR BOARD

(DRAW NOTES)

draw blow

SENSOR

UPPER

(BLOW)

SENSOR

BOARD

HARMONICA

BODY

SENSOR

LOWER

(DRAW)

SENSOR

BOARD

The operation of the TurboHarp/ELX is similar to an electric
guitar. It transforms the vibration of the reeds of the harmonica
to electrical signals that are transmitted to the amplifier, mixer,
or effects box. Unlike a guitar, however, which uses
electromagnetic pickups, the ELX relies on optical sensors
which detect motion by reflection off the reed surface. Each
reed has its own sensor, for a total of twenty.

pg. 3

Disclaimers

1. Remember our famous no-questions-asked satisfaction
guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied, you are welcome
to return it within 30-days without any obligations.

2. The unadulterated output of the ELX is kind of boring... like an
electric guitar without an amplifier. We strongly urge you to use
some sort of electronics effects (stomp box, guitar pedal, etc.) to
get the most out of it.

3. When connected directly to an amplifier, there may be some

noticeable “idling noise” or hiss. This is an intrinsic, unavoidable

feature of the optical sensors. It is not detectable while playing,
and can be mitigated by any electronic noise gate, or multi­effects box, or our own dynamic-noise-reduction belt pack.

4. The loudness (volume) of the reeds might not be perfectly

balanced from low to high end. This is partly a result of the key
of the harp body, and partly due to our own perception of
loudness, which varies with pitch. It is however easy to adjust
by incorporating a bit of equalization (EQ) in the chain.

5. These harmonicas may show minor flaws of hand assembly.
Because they are assembled by hand. But the good news is
that, like you, no two are exactly alike!

6. We greatly value your feedback and constructive criticism. In
particular we encourage your suggestions regarding the choice
of effects that might work best with the ELX.

7. We would be even more grateful if you could send us a
recording, or upload a video that we can post on our website.

8. If we introduce any improvements within 6 months of your
purchase of the harp, we will provide them to you free of
charge.

Sincere thanks for your interest and encouragement!

Although the ELX has gone through many MANY revisions and improvements
over the past 15 years, we admit that it is still not perfect. We ask that you please
keep the following points in mind:

“before you begin”

(if that’s even possible)

make sure you have everything

DNR – dynamic noise reduction circuitry

There are several configurations of the ELX. Yours should include some
combination of the following components:

BELT PACK

(9V BATT. INCL.)

24” CABLE

COMPACT

GIG CASE

ELX MODULE

ELX Belt Pack

pg. 5

Dynamic Noise
Reduction
in: bright; out: Filtered

ELX INPUT

(1/8” (3.5mm )

on/off
volume
control

HEADPHONE JACK
(optional)

LINE OUT
(1/4” PHONE)

9-12V input
(center negative*)

The belt pack provides power (including an AC adapter option), volume
control, and dynamic noise reduction.

It is included standard equipment with the economy version. So we
are offering it as an optional item. They are still made one at a time by
hand so there will be additional lead time if you place and order.

These are still made one at a time by hand so there may be additional
lead time if you place and order.

In the Super Awesome bundle, this is replaced by the Pandora
effects box, which already has noise reduction built-in.
However, it is available separately if you would like more battery
life, a volume control and extra noise reduction, or if you prefer to
play your ELX without the Pandora effects unit.

pg. 6

Getting to Know your ELX

•Acoustic Harp Body – an ordinary Special-20 sized harp, with cover plates removed.

•Light Sensors – convert reed vibration to electrical signal, one per reed

•Magnetic Latch - holds the case closed, allows harp body to be changed quickly.

•Flex Cable – connects the draw board to the blow board.

•Standoff Screw – adjusts distance between sensor and reeds. Should not require adjustment.

•Trimmers – adjust the gain and gate cutoff, see below.

FLEX
CABLE

STANDOFF

SCREW

PICKUPS
(BLOW REEDS)

TRIMMERS

-gate levels

-bias current

ACOUSTIC HARP BODY
(S-20 shown)

MAGNET
LATCH

POWER
SWITCH

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with some of the main components of the ELX harp.

Gate Level
(Blow)

Bias Level
(Blow)

Gate Level
(Draw)

increase

off

POWER
SOURCE

BATT

phantom 9V

•Gate Level – adjustment for built-in noise gate. Rotate completely clockwise disables the gate.

•Bias Level – adjustment for gain of each sensor board. Draw sensor adjustment on other board.

•Power Source – switch left (towards battery) for remote phantom power; switch right for battery

power. (Note: there is no auto-shutoff, so don’t forget to turn it off when you’re done!)

pg. 7

WIRING DIAGRAM

=Options=

*appearance may vary

if yours is a stereo system,
then you need to add a stereo­mono adapter on this cable
(should be included in your
package)

effects box

amplifier

(optional)

headphones

(optional)

¼” patch cord

(any length)

belt pack

for extended battery life and
dynamic noise reduction

Extremely highly recommended.
Our favorite is the Pandora Stomp Box –
which we ship pre-programmed with

some of the best effects we’ve found for

the ELX

pg. 8

WIRING DIAGRAM

=Stereo=

*appearance may vary

draw notes

Stereo patch cord

(comes in different

varieties, see next page)

belt pack

(optional)

The Stereo option allows you
to split the blow and draw
notes into separate (right and

left) channels.

blow notes

Stereo Patch Cables

(two options)

p/n: FS-MM2

1/4" Male (Stereo)
to 1/4"Male (Mono) x2, 6ft

1/4“F(stereo)
to 1/4“M(mono)X2

p/n: 4MS-4MM2x6

STEREO OUTPUT MONO OUTPUT

p/n: MS-FM

1/4“ F(stereo)
to 1/4” F(mono)

p/n: FS-MM2

p/n: FS-MM

1/4“F(stereo) to 1/4“M(mono)

1/4" Male (Stereo)
to 1/4"Male (Stereo), 6ft

1/4“F(stereo)
to 1/4“M(mono)X2

p/n: 4MS-4MSx6

STEREO OUTPUT

MONO OUTPUT

=OR =

pg. 10

Replacing the Harmonica Body

Step 1: Place the assembly in your left hand (for right handed players). Holding

the lower lid between thumb and index finger, flip open the upper lid.
Step 2: Remove the harmonica body, noting the orientation: blow reeds on top.)
Step 3: Replace the harmonica body, close lid, and you’re good to go!

•The ELX is designed to accept any Special-20 harmonica body. It
can also be used with similarly sized harmonicas, including Marine

Band, etc, but may require extra shims to assure a proper fit.

•You can also purchase replacement harmonica bodies from
TurboHarp at a discount.

•Technical Note: the spacing between the sensor and the reeds is critical to the proper

operation of the ELX. This gap has been adjusted at the factory using a “standard” harp

body. If, after replacing harp bodies you detect a change in the loudness of any of the
reeds, it might indicate incorrect gapping. And if this happens, please contact us for
instructions.

pg. 12

Troubleshooting Guide

No sound

Weak battery Not meant to insult your intelligence!

Sometimes a weak battery is just strong enough
to light the little red LED, but too weak to power
the sensors.

If not... then something
else is the culprit.

Check for something disconnected or switched
off between ELX and speaker: power strip, amp,
effects box, mixer. “Divide and conquer.”

Loudness
uneven
amongst
reeds

If all blow reeds or all
draw reeds affected.

This most commonly occurs with the Stereo
setup. If you forget the stereo-mono adapter,
you will only get one channel .

Otherwise… contact us for instructions.

If only one or two
reeds affected.

If too weak: Check for corrosion or tarnish on
respective reed. If too loud: adjust trim pot for
that particular read

Volume

seems to

drop out
when
bending low
notes

This is not supposed to

happen, but if it does,

its due to improper
offset.

First test by playing the harp with one of the lids

slightly pried open (about one fingernail

thickness.) If this solves the problem, then one
of the boards is too close to the reedplate and
the respective standoff screw needs loosened.

If it does not solve the problem – call TurboHarp

Hiss when
idling

There is normally a
small amount of
unavoidable hiss due

to the “idling” of the

optical pickups.

Make sure that dynamic noise reduction button
(DNR) is depressed.

And/or: introduce a noise gate or an effects unit
with built-in gate, such as the RP-55.

whoosh
when
playing

Typically on high blow
notes only. Usually
due to moisture on the
reed or sensor.

Open harp, and blow away moisture.

Hum/buzz 60 Hz noise could be

due to several factors:
both electrical AND
optical.

If there are fluorescent lights nearby, try
switching them off. If the ELX lid is open, it will
pick up 60Hz from any light source plugged in
the wall; but this will go away once you close the
lid. Else: look for bad connection, or cable.

Crackle, pop This is not a good

sign... please contact

us.

Contact TurboHarp for a replacement.

pg. 13

circa 1991 – original

“breadboard”

version – originally
intended for
experimentation on
physics of reed
dynamics. Two eddy

current proximity

sensors used.

circa 1996: Piezo version: flexible plastic sensors painstakingly

bonded to each reed. Wire attachment was a big problem.

circa 2001: Improved piezo version: wire attachment problem
“solved” kind-of. But still painstaking, and resulted in unacceptable
damping. Note brief venture into using Lee Oskar bodies.

Origins of the ELX

pg. 14

circa 2003: Attempt at proximity sensors integrated into the comb.

circa 2004: First optical pickup version. 4 channels: low notes blow, low
draw, high blow, high draw

Origins of the ELX

• Optical sensors (pickups)

convert reed vibration to

electrical signal.

• Used standard harmonica
body

• Required disassembly of lids
(by 2 allen screws) to swap
harmonica bodies.

RIGHT

LEFT

4 channels

from harp:

•Low blow

•Low draw

•High blow

•High draw

•Quad output: blow-draw; low-high registers

pg. 15

Origins of the ELX:

Generation-2 Optical

circa 2004

circa 2003: Demo CD

circa 2004:
refined 4-channel mixer.

•Experimented with various
effects boxes, including Line­6, POD, Pandora Box,
Digitech RP50, and RP70,
and others.

pg. 16

History of the ELX

• circa 1990 – experimental studies on harmonica reed
dynamics accidentally results in realization that reed motion
when converted to voltage, can then be translated to sound.

• circa 1996 – first piezo electric prototype

• circa 1999 – piezo model is “perfected” however has

significant drawbacks. Presented to Hohner, who expressed

no interest.

• circa 2002 – eddy current sensor

• circa 2002 – capacitive sensor

• 2003 – patent filed

• 2004 – first prototype using optical sensor using simple

passive summer circuit. Worked “ok” but gain was uneven

across reeds (very weak for the high reeds) and there was
unacceptable hiss.

• 2005 – second optical prototype designed by Tom Dragness
including on-board preamplifiers. Sensors changed from
Optek to Omron to save cost. This harp was configured as
quadraphonic: high register separated from low, draw from
blow, patched to mini quad mixer (Nobels.) Drawbacks

included complexity, difficulty to replace harp bodies

(requiring disassembly of lids), and ongoing problem of hiss.

• 2008 – retained Daedalus to re-design ELX to deal with
manufacturability issue and hiss. They redesigned the circuit,
and produced 5 prototypes, but not much was changed,
except convert from four channel to one (for sake of
simplicity, obviating 4-channel mixer.) The manufacturability
issue was never addressed.

• 2009-at wits end, Prof Turbodog decides to take matters into
his own hands, and redesigns the covers to permit easy
exchange of harp bodies. Returns to Daedalus for minor
revisions to circuit, particularly replacing sensors which had
been discontinued by Omron by Fairchild sensors. Added

pot’s to each of the reeds to balance gain; Also inverted

summation of blow and draw (based on suggestion of
Harmonica John) to prevent cancellation when bending
notes. Also added on-board connector along with other
improvements to improve manufacture, assembly, and
adjustment.

• 2011 – retained Novodyne (Burbank, CA) to produce circuit boards.

• 2011, November 7 – first 5 boards arrived. Assembled to 5-sets of rapid-prototype lids
to produce the first five “production” ELX’s.

• April 2012 – Novodyne loses lease, goes out of business; runs off with our down

payment.

• ca June 2012 – we find another supplier of circuit boards, and conduct another round of
debugging, and minor revisions.

• August 17, 2012: first set of 100 circuit boards received, full production initiated.

• January 2014: design of the Generation-5 ELX begun.

• ...and the beat goes on...

www.turboharp.com

®

Harmonicas of the Future

www.turboharp.com

®

Harmonicas of the Future