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Miking a concertina...
In article writes:
Has anyone had any experience miking a concertina? What mike should I use (up
to uk£250) and would it be better to use two mikes: one for each end or one
better quality mike used somewhat centrally.
I've always had good results with a single mic placed centrally,
slightly above the bellows and pointed downward, about a foot away.
But what actually works depends on a lot of things. If the concertina
player is also singing, you might want to get both the voice and
instrument with a single mic. If he's playing in a band with a lot of
loud instruments, you might need the brightness that you get from
pointing mics (one on each end) directly at the ends. If the player
waves the instrument around a lot, you might want to get a good
distance away with the mic.
Also, realize that at least one end, if not both, of the instrument
moves. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but some players have
definite ideas about how to place mics on their instrument. I've seen
players who plant one end of the instrument firmly on a knee, and want
one microphone on a stand to pick up that end, then clip a tie-tack
microphone to the strap on the other end so the mic goes with where
the concertina goes.
Also, there are different types of concertina, but basically one type
plays melody on one end and chords or bass notes on the other, and the
other type has melody notes coming out of both ends. There are big
ones and small ones, high ones and low ones. Place mics accordingly
if you're not getting a balanced pickup in the middle.
I've had perfectly good results with an SM-57. Unless you don't own
any mics now, I wouldn't worry about getting a special one for this
recording. I like to use U87's because they tend to fatten up what's
normally a fairly thin and reedy (no pun intended) sound. But don't
let that lead you to picking up a large capsule Chinese mic since you
can't afford a U87.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers - )
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