AKG Condenser Vibration Pickup C411 Instruction Manual

AKG Condenser Vibration Pickup C411

Safety and environment

Risk of damage
Please make sure that the piece of equipment your microphone will be connected to fulfills the safety regulations in force in your country and is fitted with a ground lead.

Environment

• In case of scrapping the equipment, separate the housing, electronics and cables and dispose all the components in accordance with the appropriate waste disposal regulations.
• The packaging is recyclable. Dispose of the packaging via an appropriate collection system provided for this purpose.

Description

Introduction

Thank you for your decision to buy an AKG product. Please read the user instructions carefully, before using the unit and keep them in a safe place so that you can refer to them in the future at any time. We wish you a lot of fun!

Package content

• C411III PP or C411III L
• Adhesive compound
• Microphone bag

Check that the package contains all the parts given above. If anything is missing, please contact your AKG dealer.

Optional Accessor

• MPA V L: phantom power adapter (for C411III L)
• B23 L: battery power supply (for C411III L)

Optional accessories can be found at www.akg.com. Your dealer will be happy to advise you.

Features

• Rugged vibration pickup for instrument miking on stage.
• Frequency response tailored to acoustic guitar, banjo, zither, and bowed string instrument miking.
• Complete with adhesive compound for mounting the pickup directly on the instrument.

Brief Description

The C411III is a vibration pickup that converts the vibrations of an instrument’s soundboard into an electrical signal.
The C411III has been specifically designed for direct attachment to an acoustic guitar, banjo, zither, or bowed string instrument and ensures absolutely accurate, coloration-free reproduction.
The supplied adhesive compound for attaching the pickup will leave wooden, plastic, and metal surfaces untainted.

Version

The C 411III is available in two versions:

• For 9 to 52 V universal phantom power.
  (3-m) permanently attached connecting cable with phantom power adapter with integrated 3-pin XLR connector.

• For use with the B23 L battery power supply, MPA V L phan-tom power adapter, or AKG Wireless bodypack transmitters. 5- ft.
  (1.5-m) permanently attached connecting cable with 3-pin mini XLR connector

Interfacing

The C411III pickup is a condenser transducer and therefore needs a power supply.
Using any power supply other than those recommended by AKG may damage your pickup and will void the warranty.

Connecting to Unbalanced Inputs

You may connect any AKG phantom power supply (2) to an unbal-anced input, too.
Use a cable (3) with a female XLR connector and TS jack plug:

1. On the XLR connector (4), use a wire bridge to connect pin 1 to pin 3 and the cable shield.
2. Connect the inside wire of the cable to pin 2 on the XLR connector (4) and the tip contact of the jack plug (5).

C41 L
The optional B23 L battery supply allows you to connect the pickup to balanced or unbalanced inputs with no phantom power.

Connecting to Balanced Input

1. Connecting the cable: Push the mini XLR connector (1) on the pickup cable into one of the two mini XLR sockets on the B23 L (2) to the stop.
   The connector will lock automatically.
   Disconnecting the cable: To disconnect the cable, press the unlocking button on the mini XLR connector (1) and pull the connector (1) out of the socket.

2. To avoid damaging the cable, never try to pull out the cable itself!2) Connect the B 23 L (2) to the desired input.
   Use a commercial XLR cable (3) to connect the B23 L (2) to a balanced input.

Connecting to Unbalanced Inputs

Using the MPA V L

1. Connecting the cable:
   Push the mini XLR connector (1) on the pickup cable into the mini XLR socket (2) on the cable of the MPA V L (3) to the stop.
   The connector will lock automatically.
   Disconnecting the cable: refer to section 3.2.1.

2. Connect the MPA V L (3) to a balanced XLR microphone input with phantom power.

3. Switch the phantom power on. (Refer to the instruction manu-al of the unit to which you connected your pickup.)

4. If your mixer provides no phantom power: Connect the MPA V L (3) to an optional AKG phantom power supply (4) and use an XLR cable (5) to connect the phantom power supply (4) to the desired balanced input.

Connecting to a Bodypack Transmitter
Refer to the manual of your bodypack transmitter.

Use

Introduction
Since a soundboard vibrates differently in different places, you can get different sounds by carefully selecting the spot where you mount the pickup.
Section 4.3 describes proven techniques that you may want to use as starting points for your own experiments.

Attaching the Pickup to the Instrument
If you are going to attach the pickup to a lacquered surface, check the condition of the lacquer coat first.
If the lacquer coat is porous or cracked, the adhesive compound will lose some of its tack and may damage the lacquer coat further when you remove the pickup.

1. Remove the backing from the supplied adhesive compound.
2. Press some of the adhesive compound (just enough to cover the “footprint” of the pickup) on the underside of the pickup.
3. Press the pickup onto the bridge of your instrument or onto the soundboard, near the bridge.

Hints on Microphone Placement

Troubleshooting

Cleaning
Use a soft cloth moistened with water to clean the surface of the microphone body.

Technical data

• Type: pre-polarized condenser transducer
• Polar pattern: Figure 8
• Frequency range: 10 – 18,000 Hz
• Sensitivity: 1 mV/ms-2 (vibration pickup)
• Impedance at 1,000 Hz: 200 Ω, unbalanced
• Recommended load impedance: ≥1,000 ohms
• Max. SPL for 1%/3% THD : 96 dB / 103 dB
• Powering :
  • C411III PP: 9 to 52 V universal phantom power
  • C411III L: B 29 L battery power supply, MPA V L phantom adapter, AKG WMS bodypack transmitters
• Current consumption: approx. 2.2 mA
• Cable length/Connector:
  • C411III PP: 3 m (10 ft.) / 3-pin male XLR
  • C411III L: 1.5 m (5 ft.) / 3-pin mini XLR
• Finish: matte black
• Dimensions: 27 x 14 x 9.5 mm (1 x 0.6 x 0.4 in.).
• This product conforms to the standards listed in the Declaration of Conformity. You can request the Declaration of Conformity by e-mail from [email protected]

Technical data

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