Advice please ...
I want to record a melodeon solo ... for itself, and potentially as a series of samples to use to make a Kontakt instrument.

It's a decent Italian instrument, "dry tuned +4", so not the "musette" wet-tuned sound of a Honer box or a Scottish or Parisian piano accordion.

What microphone(s) to choose, and how?

I have pairs of SDC's (OM1 & CM4), LDC's (OC-18), and ribbons (LRM-2b), and a single AAM CM48-FET available.

What could/should I select ... single or pair, configuration, close or distant ... and would you use a different set-up for the treble and bass?

Hi Toby,

I've been recording melodeon over several years now, including the great English folk melodeon player, Tony Hall. Having gone through every different mic placement option (many recommended by the seemingly great and good), I found that instead of any stereo pair in front (which all sounded dismal) the best way to mic was as Tony himself suggested, but which I doubted would work. That is mics aimed pretty much at each other (slightly angled towards the player), either side of the instrument, set back enough (not least for the movement of the left/bass hand not to result in uneven volume), and not panned hard left and right: you'll need to play with that. I think this general placement is more crucial than the mic model or, even, polar pattern: on which note, I found SDC omni mics worked best, but I have been recording in a reasonable (medieval) church acoustic.

The photo should give you an idea of the variety of options I was using.

Hope this isn't a red herring for you: certainly give it a go.

Cheers,

Roland

i'd use nothing different than for recording an accordeon or bandoneon (or even grand piano): you'll want to capture the 'complete' instrument, have some control over the left and right side as well as over the ratio between dry, reflected and ambient sound...
...so use a close (directional) pair, another (omni) pair to wrap a bit of envelope around the instrument and add (at least) a pair of (distant) ambis.

pattern, distance, spacing, angling, technique depend largely on the room and of course on the results you're trying to achieve...

That's exactly how I started approaching the melodeon - which has been one the main instruments I have been focusing on over the last few years - thinking it would, should and must be the answer, but it really doesn't work too well at all (in my experience). Happy to hear some comparative recordings from others though!

Cheers,

Roland

it's how i approach literally any instrument and is based on the assumption that signals get processed (either on the way in or) when mixing; sorry i didn't mention this in my previous post...

I assumed that from your previous posts, but processing doesn't really solve the issue that with the melodeon so much sound comes from the sides, and, in my experience (and, indeed, that of a lifetime of recording by the main melodeon player I have been recording), you need to capture that with mics placed, unusually, to the sides. Anyway, I don't need to persuade anyone: I just hope Toby, like me, gives the (seemingly) unusual approach a try.

Cheers,

Roland

i'm absolutely with you that the close pair could/should be positioned on each side of the instrument: dual mono, with individual control over the lower and the upper register - since the 'balance' between theese two mics may get tilted to one side, the somewhat more distant true stereo pair can get used to even out things and to provide a less microscopic but a more 'natural' perspective; the distant ambient pair then gets used to wrap a nice envelope around the instrument.

i mostly delay the close l/r mics, use dynamic and eq processing plus a bit of early reflections (and maybe some room efx) to mimic the effect of what a bit of air between the instrument and mics usually does - without the noise penalty that comes from distant pairs.

That's really helpful... quite a set-up in quite a space Roland. Treble and bass L & R mic's is what I guessed (live I am familiar with small DPA goosenecks on each side) ... but I will experiment with the less focused "room" option in addition. I will start with the SDC omni suggestion too.
Looking up Tony Hall - vaguely familiar I associated with Maddy Prior, Martin Carthy and those timed ... I have found your recording Roland ... sounds good ... surprised at how much key click you found though ...

Ah, Toby, the recording you will have found is a video of a low key harvest festival performance, where I had to minimize intrusion on the event: since then we have been recording an album, albeit in the same church. Tony's melodeons are extremely clicky, mostly old Hohners: just had to embrace the sound😂

Cheers,

Roland

I enjoyed it ... definitely captured a man and his music ... hope the album is that and more.

The clicks surprised me as I often play next to a melodeon and never hear them (but it's an expensive modern Italian) ... and I play a nyckelharpa where it's only me that can hear the keys clatter.

Busy day today, but hope to try some mic's out soon.

The "to the sides" approach is what I'm usually asked to do by players of accordions and concertinas in live performance or recordings, and it does work well. I remember going to a Noel Hill (virtuoso Irish player of the Anglo concertina) concert in the late 1980s in Boston and he spent about 25 minutes working with the sound man to get the mics placed to his liking, and they were on either side of the concertina.