Most suitable stand alone mic for an accordion

[Mockie]

I wish to amplify my accordion for certain events using just a stand alone mic.
What the best type mic to use in order to pick up treble and bass side with equal sound balance.

 

[ColoRodney]

You probably know this already, but the best solution is an internal mic set up where you can set the left and right sides separately. Second best would be two microphones, one aimed at the treble grille, the other aimed at the bass. But be aware that the left side is going to wander in and out of the mic’s field. With one microphone, aim it towards the middle of the instrument, I guess, and do the best you can. Expect not a lot of volume before feedback.

 

[Mockie]

You probably know this already, but the best solution is an internal mic set up where you can set the left and right sides separately. Second best would be two microphones, one aimed at the treble grille, the other aimed at the bass. But be aware that the left side is going to wander in and out of the mic’s field. With one microphone, aim it towards the middle of the instrument, I guess, and do the best you can. Expect not a lot of volume before feedback.

Yes I agree internal mics are the best option. I do have internal mics and midi on another musette tuned 37/96 Burini, yes very happy with that.
The stand alone mic option is for an old Excelsior with double octave tuning which I used for tangos etc.

 

[debra]

The only single-mic solution that kinda works is a single microphone inside the accordion. In the past accordions were sometimes delivered with a mic capsule screwed onto one of the treble-side reed blocks. This is great for allowing a lot of amplification with zero feedback. But it is very bad for producing a representative sound of the accordion as heard by the player of an audience listening to an acoustic accordion without amplification.
The best mic setup is always a compromise between being close enough to the sound source to avoid feedback from speakers positioned nearby and far enough to avoid the mics being saturated/clipping, thereby distorting the sound.
In a large theatre the two external mic setup may work when the speakers are far away and not pointing towards the player. In a smaller venue, or when also using "monitor speakers" aimed at the player you need mics on or in the accordion and positioned such that they pick up the sound of the whole accordion (from lowest to highest notes) and not pick up sound of the environment (including speakers).
I have used mostly the Microvox system which is a bar with 4 mic capsules mounted on a bar on the outside of the grille (with velcro or on a bracket) and 1 mic capsule on the bass side (attached with velcro, over one of the openings). The nice thing about this system is that it is not fixed inside the accordion and therefore can be easily moved between instruments. Sadly Microvox no longer exists.

 

[jozz]

depends on the situation on stage
but any common cardoid dynamic eg. sm57 will get you a long way

 

[Pipemajor]

Sadly Microvox no longer exists.

Apparently not true as MicroVox's website is still up and running and taking orders.

 

[Ventura]

I wish to amplify my accordion for certain events using just a stand alone mic.
What the best type mic to use in order to pick up treble and bass side with equal sound balance.

now that you have added the purpose of the Tango and the Excelsior..

if you research old threads, you will find some discussions
of mounting a Dynamic mic in the bass mech chamber
(the Green Bullet element from Shure) and adding volume and
tone controls, an output jack, and then hanging a wireless transmitter off
your Bass handstrap

this gives you access to thunderingly powerful feed-back free Bass which you
process separately through the PA/Audio system, while using a Dynamic
Stage mic on a Mic Stand for the treble side. This is easily affordable and
easily implemented and will give you the sound control you need for the Tango
up to and including a Gig with Dancing with the Stars

 

[debra]

Apparently not true as MicroVox's website is still up and running and taking orders.

That is very good news. There was a period where I couldn't find them at all, but now it does look like they exist again.
Interestingly on the news page (called "changes") nothing was posted since 2001...
The list of "shops" links to websites that either do no longer exist or do exist but find nothing for "microvox".
The link to the on-line order form goes to a page that does not exist...
For a site that is "still up and running and taking orders" there appear to be quite a few alarm bells raised...

 

[ColoRodney]

I used one of the velcro-on MicroVoxes for a while, and it worked pretty well, though the wobbliness was a little concerning. But the first time I used an accordion with internal mics (my Tyrolean III came with MusiTek micrphones installed), I gave the MicroVox away and installed internal microphones in every accordion that I use for amplified performances. It's that much of an improvement. I tend to alternate between playing piano and playing accordion, so I put the instrument down and pick it up a lot. Probably my best buy was a coiled Vox instrument mic cable... so that if I pick up the accordion while accidentally standing on the cable, it doesn't get pulled out!

 

[debra]

I used one of the velcro-on MicroVoxes for a while, and it worked pretty well, though the wobbliness was a little concerning. But the first time I used an accordion with internal mics (my Tyrolean III came with MusiTek micrphones installed), I gave the MicroVox away and installed internal microphones in every accordion that I use for amplified performances. It's that much of an improvement. I tend to alternate between playing piano and playing accordion, so I put the instrument down and pick it up a lot. Probably my best buy was a coiled Vox instrument mic cable... so that if I pick up the accordion while accidentally standing on the cable, it doesn't get pulled out!

With the Microvox I used an aluminium long bracket (held in place with the bolts that also hold the grille in place) and with the mic bar attached to the bracket the wobbliness issue was solved. I did have some mishaps with the cables though. (Luckily I know enough about soldering and electronics to fix the issues.) I agree that an internal mic is more convenient when you can have one installed in each accordion that needs it. (It can become expensive though.) As for the cable being pulled out I use a cable with an angled plug and I secure the cable with the bottom bellows strap and since I did that I had no more cable mishaps. (On one occasion in a distant past I did have a mishap where I stood on the cable and not only did it get pulled out, it also broke.)

 

[BigC]

Mr De Bra, might you be able to post some photos illustrating the described aluminum bar for holding the Microvox microphone bar? Sounds like a great idea and I would like to try copying it. Thanks!

 

[BigC]

Mr De Bra, might you be able to post some photos illustrating the described aluminum bar for holding the Microvox microphone bar? Sounds like a great idea and I would like to try copying it. Thanks!

Ah never mind, I found a previous post from you that has a photo. Thanks for sharing!