Free reeds
Piano accordion
Free reeds: Accordions, concertinas, the bandoneon and the harmonica: air from bellows or breath sets tuned metal reeds vibrating, one reed (or set) per note.1
Also called accordion.
Part of the Free reeds family; that family's advice shows here too.
- Range
- F2–A7
- Sources
- 8 (7 independent)
Mics sources recommend
15 setups from 8 sources, 7 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.
On stage
Clip-on
- Shure MX183 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure MX185 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure SM571 independent source
- mini omni mics taped on the tone holes on each side, or on each wrist1 independent source
- one lavalier on the wrist strap, or 3 lavaliers treble side + 2 bass side inside1 independent source
Close
- Shure SM57 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- cardioid dynamic pointed at the middle of the instrument from about 8 in1 independent source
Built-in pickup
- accordion internal condenser mics (built-in)1 source, 0 independent
The 8 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Clip-on Shure SM57loud stage · stand or bracket, loud stages
Dynamic mics such as the Shure SM57 recommended for high-volume, feedback-prone stages (paraphrase of page summary).
2 - Clip-on one lavalier on the wrist strap, or 3 lavaliers treble side + 2 bass side insideclip-on / internal multi-mic
Lavalier clipped to the accordion strap; for full-size piano accordions three lavaliers on treble side, two on bass (paraphrase).
3 - Clip-on mini omni mics taped on the tone holes on each side, or on each wristclip-on, both sides (PA)
For PA, tape a mini omni mic onto the tone holes on each side (two mics total).
4 - Close Shure SM57stand, ~18 in from grille centre
The ubiquitous industry workhorse SM57 did a pretty good job.
5 - Clip-on Shure MX185clip-on, shoulder strap
Clip-on cardioid condenser clipped to the shoulder strap, bellows side or key side.
5 - Clip-on Shure MX183clip-on, taped to grille
Clip-on omni condenser duct-taped to the middle of the grille on the keys side.
5 - Built-in pickup accordion internal condenser mics (built-in)internal
Player favoured his accordion's internal mics for live performance because they are convenient (paraphrase).
5 - Close Free reeds advice cardioid dynamic pointed at the middle of the instrument from about 8 inclose, live dance
Sax, clarinet, bagpipes, accordion, concertina: point a mic at their middle from about 8 inches away and they should sound ok.
6
Studio
Close
- Neumann U 871 independent source
- Shure KSM137 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
- Shure SM811 independent source
- flat (boundary) condenser, 1 or 2 for stereo, 12-18 in out front1 independent source
- pair of cardioid mics, spaced about 18 in wider than the accordion, slightly forward1 independent source
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close flat (boundary) condenser, 1 or 2 for stereo, 12-18 in out frontclose, front
For recording, place a flat condenser mic (or two for stereo) about 12-18 inches out front (accordion, concertina).
4 - Close melody (treble) side: Shure SM81 + bass side: Shure SM81 or Neumann U 87one mic each side
The melody side is fairly easy, as it is stationary; I often use a Shure SM81 (with 10 dB pad). ... Record the bass side with the mic facing the player, about a foot away, bass section in front at half bellows. ... An SM81 will work well here, as will a Neumann U 87 if you have one.
7 - Close keyboard (treble) side: Shure KSM137 + bellows (bass) side: Shure KSM137one mic each side of the instrument
Mic about 12 in from keyboard side; two KSM137s, one each side, did the best job for recording (paraphrase). ... Second KSM137 about 4-6 in from the bellows side, used with the keyboard-side mic (paraphrase).
5 - Close 2 × pair of cardioid mics, spaced about 18 in wider than the accordion, slightly forwardboth ends, pair
I generally use a pair of cardioid-pattern mics, slightly forward of the accordion, around 18 inches further apart than its width.
8
Studio and stage
Clip-on
- DPA 40992 independent sources
- miniature lavalier (Audio-Technica models named as suitable)1 independent source
The 3 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Clip-on DPA 4099clip-on, accordion clamp
DPA makes a very nice accordion clamp design for the 4099 d:vote mic that takes out a lot of the guesswork.
7 - Clip-on miniature lavalier (Audio-Technica models named as suitable)clip-on, mounted on accordion
Various Audio-Technica mics will work well in this application (miniature lavalier mounted on the accordion).
7 - Clip-on DPA 4099clip-on, accordion clip (AC4099)
AC4099 clip for the accordion, an instrument that can prove difficult to mic live and in recordings; typically needs two mics.
9
Range
F2 to A7187.3 Hz – 3.52 kHz
Right hand of a 41-key instrument; the sounding range depends on the stops (an octave lower and higher than written). No source found for the bass side.
Written F3 to A6; the range above is sounding pitch.
- 41 treble keys: full size, with 120-140 bass buttons5
- 49 treble keys: goes higher1
- Bass side (Stradella), all reed sets: Wikipedia's register table gives the reed sets as bass C2-B2, tenor C3-B3, contralto F#3-F4, alto C4-B4, soprano C5-B5; each bass note and chord tone sounds in several octaves at once. C2-B5 overall is my reading of the table. Some (converter or extended) accordions go below E1 (citation needed on the page).10
Where the sound comes from
- treble reeds: keyboard end, the player's right; the melody side stays still7
- bass reeds: button end, the player's left; moves with the bellows: level swings and Doppler on a close mic7
- bellows wheeze and key clacks (noise): worst a very close mic5
- bellows air (noise): worst the bass side, low down2
- Each surface has its own timbre and the instrument sounds different in every direction; at about 1-2 ft the surfaces blend into one sound, while a very close mic favours the nearest one.5
Recording it
- Sources agree more on the setup than on models: two mics, one per side, about 12-18 in away.
- Don't aim a mic at the moving bass end: face the player instead, with the bass section in front of it at half bellows travel, about a foot away.
- A pair of cardioids slightly forward of the instrument, about 18 in wider than it, keeps the level steady as the bellows open; keep the stereo width narrow.5,7,8
On stage
- Clip-ons on the strap or grille, or the accordion's own internal mics, which players like for convenience.
- An SM57 on a floor stand about 18 in from the grille centre 'did a pretty good job'.
- In a band with a bass player, the button side matters less.5
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Playing level | |
|---|---|
| 70 dB(A) | at 0.5 m; a concert player asked for mezzo forte (a control condition in a pitch-bending study)11 |
Loud enough on the melody side that one engineer uses the 10 dB pad on an SM81. No peak figure found.7
Sources
- Wikipedia: Piano accordion
- McNeela Music blog: Micing an accordion
- Bobby Owsinski: 5 Techniques For Miking The Accordion
- ProSoundWeb: A Guide to Microphone Techniques for Studio Recording, page 5
- Shure: Eight Ways to Mic an Accordion
- Jeff Kaufman: Contra Dance Sound, Mic Placement
- Recording Magazine: Tough-To-Record Instruments From A to Z
- Sound On Sound: Q. How should I mic an accordion?
- Sound On Sound: DPA new d:vote mounts
- Wikipedia: Stradella bass system
- Elejalde-Garcia, Macho-Stadler and Llanos-Vazquez: Accordion acoustics, a study on pitch bending (Acoustics in Practice 2021)