[SOLVED] Accordian Saxophone Vocal Studio Mic ........any suggetstions

saxlessons

New member
In the process of setting up home studio. I'm using ableton 10 , any advice on mic suitable for
sax accordion and vocal mic. As per usual working on a budget but will need reasonable quality.
Thanks all
 
Solved?

Budget? $100, $1000? Do you have the interface, boom mic stand, pop filter for vocals?

I've never mic'd an accordion - they all seem to come with plugs around here to go into an amp. I'd imagine they can be a bit challenging because of movement, so I'd consider sticking with a cardioid (vs. hyper- or super-cardioid) pattern. Maybe something as simple as the venerable SM58 or competitors like the Sennheiser e835 if you are in the $100 end of your range. At $1k, I'd look at something else, of course.
 
Real accordions are either wonderfull to record, or they wheeze and creak really badly. They also move quite a bit with bellows expansion, and the felt pads on the right keys often clack badly if the player is a hard hitter, and the ones on the left side make a sort of kerthump. stereo can work, but emphasises movement which may/may not be what you want. Brighter generally from the keyboard side and more bass from the left. Treat it a little like a vibraphone/marimba type instrument that physically moves. It has a defined left and right difference, that closes up as the bellows close. The idea of a 57 or 58 to start with isn't a bad start till you hear the instrument, when replacement with condensers could be good, if it's bright and in decent condition.
 
Recording an accordion can be a lot of work and for the reasons outlined by Rob earlier. I know the OP has flown away but somebody might learn something from this.

A real accordion player will most likely have an instrument that is in good shape. This will include no air leakage to speak of and a bellows that keeps the mechanical noises to a minimum. There's nothing you can do about the key clack.....hopefully the player understands this and plays in time.

There is definitely a Left/Right sound signature to an accordion, especially a full sized one. The smaller 'squeeze-box' styled one won't have as much internal baffling for separation so you can get by with a mono set-up.

On the big accordions I use an X/Y out about three feet and a mic pre that will allow low noise gain. Cardioid/hyper cardioid patterns. A mono overhead L.D. centered as best possible completes this setup.

I've gotten good results from a ribbon out in front at various distances . I've also recorded one in the vocal booth. It turned out very nice with a close intimate kind of sound. That one was a single U87 in the booth.

One thing to be sure of, is the accordion has been tuned recently before recording. Those reeds can get just a little out with temperature changes and jostling around in transport.

Enjoy.
 
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