building microphone into anglo concertina

[david_boveri]

i had to mic the concertina a few times over the st. patrick's day season, and i was not very happy with the whole experience. at one gig i did have a sound guy who was able to point two mics at the instrument without feedback, which worked great. however, i was wondering about solutions that might make one's life a little easier.

 

i was thinking about maybe modifying a headset mic to go somewhere on the inside, using a microvox, or using a tie-clip mic for something like this. however, i am thinking there are drawbacks to all of those solutions.

 

one possibility would be of course to build mics into the concertina, but that would require new ends, or bellows, or both. there are all sorts of places one could stick mics if one was starting from scratch... does anyone know of anybody who has built mics into their concertinas?

 

i think the easiest way would be to make new palm rests with the mics built in. rather than sticking a microvox onto the side of your instrument, why not stick a microphone inside the palm rests? the mic could face the buttons, and then the line out could either be out the back under the palms, or on either end of the rests. can anyone think of any issues with this solution? of course money would have to be spent and the palm rests redesigned.

 

i like the palm rest idea because there is no long-term changes to the instrument. you could change out the palm rests if there were any issues, or sell the instrument with the original rests.

[Alan Day]

David I have gone through this whole exercise and these are the problems associated with your thoughts.

 

A condenser mike inside the instrument - Poor quality sound, using the air button is almost out as the sound of air rushing in and out of the bellows is amplified. It works OK for English and Duets as they rarely use the air button. A small hole in the reed pan is all that is required for the wire to pass through, fairly easy to do and easily repairable once you need to convert back to non mike.A plug or socket to connect the mike to the amplifier is ideal. The advantages are that you can be mobile around the stage and not fixed in one position.

 

Two condenser mike's on the hand or fixed near the hand rest - Any condenser mike near to a set of reeds will amplify certain reeds not others, so the concertina sound will not be even, some bass notes will sound like a liner foghorn and others so quiet you will almost not hear them.

 

Two condenser mike's on an arm situated about eight inches above the ends - This worked the best of all the condenser mike arrangements, an even sound from all reeds. A bit difficult to get used to the arms initially and two wires trailing around your feet, but for standing up and movement around the stage this was the only really successful arrangement.

 

A good quality fixed mike about eighteen inches from each end of the concertina on stands - This is the one that produced the best quality of sound. You can stand, but you are in a fixed position between the two mike's. This is the one I finished with and the one I was happiest with.

 

I hope this helps

Al

Edited March 31, 2011 by Alan Day

[hjcjones]

I used tie-clip mics inside my anglo for several years. Details here:

 

http://www.hjcjones.freeserve.co.uk/music/concertina/mike.htm

 

The problems Alan raises were there, but as I was playihg in a large and fairly noisy band they weren't really a problem in practice. The chief reason I gave it up was that the micro jacks became unrealiable with age and I had difficulty replacing them successfully.

 

I've always been reluctant to stick velcro to my instruments. I tried microvox for a while by sticking them to the wooden hand bars rather than the metal ends but these were prone to feedback.

 

I now use a pair of AKG 416 gooseneck mics, which I attach to the handstraps using velcro cable ties. These can be quickly switched to another instrument. Unfortunately the 416 is no longer made and its replacement, the 516, has a much bulkier mounting attachment which rules them out. If you're happy to attach the mounting plates to your instrument they're fine, which is what I do on my melodeon.

[david_boveri]

David I have gone through this whole exercise and these are the problems associated with your thoughts.

 

A condenser mike inside the instrument - Poor quality sound, using the air button is almost out as the sound of air rushing in and out of the bellows is amplified. It works OK for English and Duets as they rarely use the air button. A small hole in the reed pan is all that is required for the wire to pass through, fairly easy to do and easily repairable once you need to convert back to non mike.A plug or socket to connect the mike to the amplifier is ideal. The advantages are that you can be mobile around the stage and not fixed in one position.

 

Two condenser mike's on the hand or fixed near the hand rest - Any condenser mike near to a set of reeds will amplify certain reeds not others, so the concertina sound will not be even, some bass notes will sound like a liner foghorn and others so quiet you will almost not hear them.

 

Two condenser mike's on an arm situated about eight inches above the ends - This worked the best of all the condenser mike arrangements, an even sound from all reeds. A bit difficult to get used to the arms initially and two wires trailing around your feet, but for standing up and movement around the stage this was the only really successful arrangement.

 

A good quality fixed mike about eighteen inches from each end of the concertina on stands - This is the one that produced the best quality of sound. You can stand, but you are in a fixed position between the two mike's. This is the one I finished with and the one I was happiest with.

 

I hope this helps

Al

 

evenness of sound is definitely a concern. 18" is a good number to start with... i'll mess around next time i'm mic'ed.

[Alan Day]

David I have gone through this whole exercise and these are the problems associated with your thoughts.

 

A condenser mike inside the instrument - Poor quality sound, using the air button is almost out as the sound of air rushing in and out of the bellows is amplified. It works OK for English and Duets as they rarely use the air button. A small hole in the reed pan is all that is required for the wire to pass through, fairly easy to do and easily repairable once you need to convert back to non mike.A plug or socket to connect the mike to the amplifier is ideal. The advantages are that you can be mobile around the stage and not fixed in one position.

 

Two condenser mike's on the hand or fixed near the hand rest - Any condenser mike near to a set of reeds will amplify certain reeds not others, so the concertina sound will not be even, some bass notes will sound like a liner foghorn and others so quiet you will almost not hear them.

 

Two condenser mike's on an arm situated about eight inches above the ends - This worked the best of all the condenser mike arrangements, an even sound from all reeds. A bit difficult to get used to the arms initially and two wires trailing around your feet, but for standing up and movement around the stage this was the only really successful arrangement.

 

A good quality fixed mike about eighteen inches from each end of the concertina on stands - This is the one that produced the best quality of sound. You can stand, but you are in a fixed position between the two mike's. This is the one I finished with and the one I was happiest with.

 

I hope this helps

Al

 

evenness of sound is definitely a concern. 18" is a good number to start with... i'll mess around next time i'm mic'ed.

David the distance of 18" takes into consideration the bellows extension where the push notes may be quieter than the pull.

At that distance being absolutely in lign with the mikes is not essential.

Al