Micing Accordian

[Devlars]

Hello all,

I hope to find someone who might be so kind as to give some general guidelines on the best way to mic an accordian.

I may be recording this instrument soon and if I can have a bit of shared knowledge under my belt to help things move along without myself coming across a total idiot then I would certainly appreciate it.

Thanks much in advance for any advice given

Devlars

[zarcharius]

I recorded accordion with a Ukrainian band a few months back and found that micing it in stereo with a pair of KM 184's really brought out a nice sound that worked well.

[Devlars]

Right in front of or above the player? Though I suppose the answer would be prefaced with, "Well, it depends on the tonal quality, ammount of room ambience add naseum of variables that your looking for in the sound" But aside from all of that, where did you place the pair?

[zarcharius]

Just slightly above and in front of seemed to be the best place for the mics, for this particular player, with this particular accordion, in this particular room, etc....

[joel hamilton]

I used an ML52 and a C12. The C12 over the shoulder, and the ML52 (ribbon) about a foot back from the "business" end of the instrument.

That worked really well. The instrument was super rich, but sat nicely when I would mess with the balance between tube mic and roomier ribbon (obviously Fig8). The phase was a little funky, but as long as one mic was truly dominant, and the other was tucked in, it sounded relly full, and warm, and dark (ish), and not like a giant harmonica fighting a harmonium.....

[drmorbius]

I'm an accordion player who has been miked many different times, many different ways.

The main issue is to keep in mind that the reeds in the left hand are constantly in motion. If the player is using the left hand, you will have to either mic from a distance, use an omni, or plan to compress heavily later. Messing up the way the left hand sounds is the big way you will be likely to screw up. The result is the sound of a divebombing accordion circling overhead--very unsettling.

Even if he is using just the right hand, you may have to compress some anyway just to compensate for the varying volume levels as the bellows pump, especially as the player changes directions, and especially if he is not actually a trained accordion player who knows how to be consistent in his or her pumping.

Accordions have a natural musette, ie, slightly out of tune reeds that provide a nice natural chorus that is characteristic of the instrument. Using a mic setup that will result in a stereo image emphasizes this sound, and I will go so far as saying that without it, the instrument will never sound right. But since I'm a player, I am fairly opinionated.

As far as type of mic, I'd go for the one that provides as accurate representation as possible, probably a wide diaphragm condenser. The accordion sounds weird as it is, but I think it sounds even weirder when colored in any way by something without flat response. Again, my opinion. Hope this helps.

[howiemarx]

i had pleasant results with an akg414 set to cardioid about 3 to 4ft. in front. like you said many factors will come into play. room, style, preference.

[Devlars]

A haha an ML52! Good I own one and love it (especially for micing up bass amps) Thanks everyone for the advice and specifics of placement. I will take all of these things into consideration and tell you how it all turns out after the session actually happens.

This is great by the way. I've recieved more helpful information on this subject within an hour or so than I have with weeks of searching the "Net". Should have joined this message board sooner.