Acoustic accordions and amps?

[hummingbird]

Your biggest problem will be hearing yourself playing .
Everyone will be turning up their amplification to the max in order to hear themselves so whether you're even amplified or not may become moot?
Your best bet may simply be a good set of earphones connected to your internal microphones , so you can hear yourself play ?.

God you're not kidding! My boyfriend, who's a music photographer, was shooting the group and had a very nice photo of me leaning my head against my accordion. It's a great photo. But I explained to him that was me trying to hear my own accordion!
This is a somewhat casual group of mostly acoustic (but amplified) musicians. They play for fun, but they are all extremely good musicians who aren't competing for attention. I sure hope you're wrong about being amplified though!
That's an interesting thought about having earphones for the setup.

 

[hummingbird]

I believe the model that I have is the CODA. They are meant for use with acoustic basses, but I have used it for quite a while. I often play with a violinist who has one as well, so we both sometimes show up with our matching amps!

I talked with the guy at a shop that has always sold them and was friends with the guy who died suddenly. He said the same thing, that they were originally meant for acoustic bass. Unfortunately what they had was only part of the system.

 

[hummingbird]

if you were in the area, i would just invite you to visit the Studio..
one local girl was here today actually getting experience with MIDI
and the Rolands.. some of these things are so much easier to show and tell
than just words.. here i have literally dozens of audio combinations of
Amps and Speakers and wireless and all the accompanying stuff to choose
from for any Gig that i take, so i have the luxury of choice always, but
trying many combinations allows the "newbie" to sort of filter down
to what really would work for them

so once the Mic's are installed, just visit some local music stores and
commandeer a soundproofed room and keep asking to "try another one"
until it starts to make sense for you

in my friends case from today, she is getting closer to knowing what
Software and Hardware is going to be fruitful for her skills and desires

but it is sure easy to spend a lot of money and time down the
wrong rabbit hole !

be patient and sift through everything.. you will get there.

I think I'm on the other side of the country from you, but I appreciate the offer!

 

[Ventura]

here is one common trick to hear yourself in a group

use a Manhasset style music stand and just
angle it so that it bounces back some of your sound to your ears

btw: many Titano and PanCordions have small louvres built in that
re-direct a portion of your sound back towards you
(it was a patent item from Deffner, the parent company)
so if you get a chance to play one sometime, note the difference
as it might be your cup of tea in future

 

[debra]

Your biggest problem will be hearing yourself playing .
Everyone will be turning up their amplification to the max in order to hear themselves so whether you're even amplified or not may become moot?
Your best bet may simply be a good set of earphones connected to your internal microphones , so you can hear yourself play ?.

For professional stage performance there is *a bit* of amplification using monitors so that you can hear everyone play without it being too loud. Besides that there is then *a lot* of amplification using large speakers such that the audience in a large room can hear everyone play without the musicians themselves going deaf.
I don't think this is the kind of amplification the OP is asking for. If everyone turns up amplification on stage through speakers close to the player and you do the same as accordion player you will still hear yourself very well and you will hear the others too. You may need earplugs to prevent you from going deaf.

 

[debra]

...
btw: many Titano and PanCordions have small louvres built in that
re-direct a portion of your sound back towards you
(it was a patent item from Deffner, the parent company)
so if you get a chance to play one sometime, note the difference
as it might be your cup of tea in future

In the end that's not a great idea in general. The basic setup of an accordion is to project as much of the sound as possible towards the audience and as little as possible towards the player. You can imagine that when an accordion is loud enough to be used in a room with over 100 people without needing amplification you want as little as possible of that sound to go to the player who is very very close to the sound source.
One time we were in a parc in Rome and heard a bayan player in the distance (playing Toccata and Fugue in D minor by Bach). We went looking for the sound source and found the player maybe about 300 meters away. When the sound can be heard clearly from that distance it is imperative to project the sound away from the player and not towards him (or her).

 

[Dingo40]

We used to have a monthly informal Irish music group meeting at one of the pubs.
There were numbers of guitarists, fidlers, banjoists, penny whistlers, melodeonists, the occasional uilliann piper and harmonicists.
There was NO amplification.
Let me assure you, when everyone let rip on a popular tune, the accordion/s stood no chance!
It was like everyone piling on a wave at a break at the beach: everyone for himself !

 

[losthobos]

Let me assure you, when everyone let rip on a popular tune, the accordion/s stood no chance!
It was like everyone piling on a wave at a break at the beach: everyone for himself !

That's why us jazz bods trade 8s...

 

[JerryPH]

I have tried many things over the past decades... and finally settled on the Bose L1 model 2 (plus tonematch engine). Very characteristic about these amps is the "pole" with small speakers inside. When you watch performances you will often see that characteristic pole that tells you the performers are using the Bose. These poles are also used a lot in public rooms for lectures, funerals, etc.
The "model 2" has now been replaced by three products: Bose L1 pro8, pro16 and pro32, with different levels of power, for smaller or larger venued.
The typical use of this amp is to position it behind you, not in front. Because the pole with speakers projects the sound angled to the left and right the sound actually travels around you and you don't go deaf.
The tonematch engine has an "accordion" preset that does not sound great when you are standing close to the speakers, but actually for people listening from a distance it sounds more natural than the "neutral" (bypass) preset.
I have no commercial ties with Bose in any way. I'm just posting this here because this is the one and only product I know that really works!

YUP!

The Bose system is what I would also point to if you are serious about getting good quality audio from the accordion. If quality is not priority #1, you could use pretty much anything. I have a stereo Bose 802E setup as the “big” setup and for smaller gigs I use. Simple Roland Jazz Chorus 160… works fine!

 

[McSqueeze]

Like others here I have been using a Bose L1 & Tonematch for many years, to my satisfaction.
However, I recently bought a Bose S1 Pro and am very please with it. I use it with both acoustic and digital accordions.
Whilst it's not as good as the L1, it is much cheaper, much smaller, has built in reverb and runs on mains power or installed lithium battery.

 

[AccordionUprising]

So...for the first time I'm playing in a band that plays Irish music--so not exactly rock and roll, but everyone is amplified. I'm getting a pickup installed for my accordion by my accordion guy.
But what kind of amp?
I just talked to a friend of mine who plays violin, and he told me it took him almost 40 years to find the right amp that actually made his violin sound like a violin; also that most amps are made for guitars, which generally doesn't work for an acoustic instrument.
Those of you who play in an amplified situation, what kind of amps do you suggest? Weight can be an issue--I already have an accordion to deal with!

I think you're way ahead starting with your friend's advice, "Don't get a guitar amp."

They are designed to emphasize certain frequencies only. While the accordion has an extremely wide range.

So you'll do pretty well with just about anything folks are recommending here. Some kind of PA or keyboard amp that's intended to amplify a flat signal that will include everything the accordion will be putting out.

Then look at portability and your price range and what's available.

I won't even make a brand recommendation. I found a keyboard amp used that's not too heavy and it's been ok. I'm sure I could do better if I ever want perfection.

But you're headed in the right direction there.

 

[hummingbird]

here is one common trick to hear yourself in a group

use a Manhasset style music stand and just
angle it so that it bounces back some of your sound to your ears

btw: many Titano and PanCordions have small louvres built in that
re-direct a portion of your sound back towards you
(it was a patent item from Deffner, the parent company)
so if you get a chance to play one sometime, note the difference
as it might be your cup of tea in future

Wow, that's a pretty interesting idea. And I have a Manhasset music stand too. I have a Titano, a small converter accordion. Not sure that it has that louvre you're talking about though.

 

[hummingbird]

I think you're way ahead starting with your friend's advice, "Don't get a guitar amp."

They are designed to emphasize certain frequencies only. While the accordion has an extremely wide range.

So you'll do pretty well with just about anything folks are recommending here. Some kind of PA or keyboard amp that's intended to amplify a flat signal that will include everything the accordion will be putting out.

Then look at portability and your price range and what's available.

I won't even make a brand recommendation. I found a keyboard amp used that's not too heavy and it's been ok. I'm sure I could do better if I ever want perfection.

But you're headed in the right direction there.

Portability is kinda big, seeing as I'm already carrying my accordion.

 

[hummingbird]

The trickiest thing for me in looking for the right amp was actually being able to try them out. It seems like most of them are online. My friend had suggested trying out some at Guitar Center (they have lots of amps, though most of them aren't usable for my accordion). There is a fine acoustic music store 40 miles away that only sells Fishman acoustic amps, So I figured that was worth trying. Guitar Center amazingly does carry those--that may be the only acoustic amp they sell. So I brought my accordion, a young guy helped me, we went into the soundproof room and tried a Fishman amp. The price was quite decent and the sound quality was, to my ears, pretty clear. It's not the most powerful amp, but I don't need that--I just need something that people can hear.
You all are great with helpful advice-- I always learn a lot every time I have a question! Thanks so much!

 

[JerryPH]

I use the "Thump 15" in conjunction with an equalizer. Amps these days seem to have only 2 inputs and since I sing I need two for the accordion ( stereo output) and one for a microphone. The equalizer gives me a much better range of control using 3 inputs. The thump is not overly heavy and really produces a nice clean sound. If I were working with a group that had a dedicated sound system for vocals, I might rethink the amp issue, but given that I play only solo these days, this set up works well for me.

I have to make a comment on that because I have heard that setup in real life... the Mackie THUMP 15" seems to really do well with an acoustic accordion in Ed's case. I know he also uses a mixer with a modified EQ settings that really make it sound excellent. It's clean, completely hiss-free and his bass is clean and strong along with a nice clear top end.

 

[Ben-jammin]

I have a Fishman Loudbox performer. My buddy had bought it to do small gigs with his acoustic guitar and ended up not liking it. He was offering it for a good price and I found it really works well for me. I usually run midi for the bass side and condenser microphones on the grill on the right hand. It ended up being a nice compact package that’s plenty loud and has a full frequency response to make sure the bass notes (mic’d up reeds or midi) can be heard well.

 

[Valski]

It's a matter of preference. I also checked out the Bose L1 and just didn't want to get two of these plus I really didn't like the Tonematch mixer. Although some other forum members have disparaged my selection in the past, I still think that my Lucas Nano works great with my FR8X and BK7M and with a small mixer added. Since I no longer play large venues a lot of added power wasn't a requirement but the ability to create stereo separation was most important to me. If you don't use backing tracks or collaborate with a vocalist then a mono amplifier might work.

 

[JerryPH]

Although some other forum members have disparaged my selection in the past, I still think that my Lucas Nano works great with my FR8X and BK7M and with a small mixer added. Since I no longer play large venues a lot of added power wasn't a requirement but the ability to create stereo separation was most important to me. If you don't use backing tracks or collaborate with a vocalist then a mono amplifier might work.

I think that I would prefer a stereo image no matter what, and I tend to use a mono setup when I don't have a choice. I don't play a lot in public, but when I do, I choose stereo image each time for me. About the only time I can see that not happening would be if I was playing a bigger venue (2500+ people) in those cases stereo is pretty much useless and even if I had a stereo setup in a small venue, it means that I can "pipe" 2 mono signals in to 2 different areas, making for some very interesting options (having sound in 2 rooms or having sound inside and outside the venue and full control over both individually at all times).

I hope I wasn't one of those that was rude to you about your choices... if I was, I do apologize.

 

[hummingbird]

I have a Fishman Loudbox performer. My buddy had bought it to do small gigs with his acoustic guitar and ended up not liking it. He was offering it for a good price and I found it really works well for me. I usually run midi for the bass side and condenser microphones on the grill on the right hand. It ended up being a nice compact package that’s plenty loud and has a full frequency response to make sure the bass notes (mic’d up reeds or midi) can be heard well.

Good to hear, thanks for that feedback!

 

[Caps]

When you are looking for amps, avoid the guitar ones and look for a keyboard amp or PA amp. Generally flatter and truer response than guitar amps.