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[Christopher K.]

There is a review here of Hohner's new external wireless accordion mic. It's a condenser mic with magnets for metal grilles and velcro for non-wooden grilles. Kinda clunky looking but if you bring differently tuned boxes to a gig, the microphone module switches easily from one box to the other.

The above linked reviewer says it has the 'modern' sound he appreciates from internal microphones. Hohner says it has a very wide dynamic range. Seems like a unique product in the market, specifically fro accordions, but it'd be nice to hear if anyone has done a side-by-side comparison with other mics not necessarily intended for accordions.

Online prices are circa $400-$500 US, not sure if it's available in Europe or not. 

[Christopher K.]

I should add that it isn't going to mic the bass side of your accordion very well. 

[Rob2Hook]

Strange that the reviewer uses the term "modern" for a practice that was abandoned in most arenas half a century ago.  Internal mics tend to sound dead/boxy and pick up all sorts of extraneous noises from the mechanisms and from his review the Hohner mic shares all these characteristics.  The clunky great box attached to the grille looks to have a pair of dynamic mics in it, which will not take kindly to the sound pressure levels that close to the reeds, the same problem as can be suffered with Microvox units if you're over energetic in your playing.

I like the channel switching options in the electronics, but I for one wouldn't consider hanging something that big on my box - especially as they haven't bothered to mic the basses.  Surely an optional plug in mic for the bass should be a minimum offering?

Rob.

[Christopher K.]

Strange that the reviewer uses the term "modern" for a practice that was abandoned in most arenas half a century ago.  Internal mics tend to sound dead/boxy and pick up all sorts of extraneous noises from the mechanisms and from his review the Hohner mic shares all these characteristics.  The clunky great box attached to the grille looks to have a pair of dynamic mics in it, which will not take kindly to the sound pressure levels that close to the reeds, the same problem as can be suffered with Microvox units if you're over energetic in your playing.

I like the channel switching options in the electronics, but I for one wouldn't consider hanging something that big on my box - especially as they haven't bothered to mic the basses.  Surely an optional plug in mic for the bass should be a minimum offering?

Rob.

I've seen several videos showing the unit being demonstrated by a player, and the microphones aren't feeding back or distorting. I'd think that if anything were ruled out during beta testing, it would have been microphones that distorted or squealed from their proximity to the sound source. Right? Otherwise the product would be completely useless. It was designed, I think, with the conjunto set in mind, a playing style that doesn't require the left hand often if at all. I like the idea of a totally noninvasive microphone that can be switched from one accordion to another in seconds. But I;m not crazy about how large it is and, yes, if you're using the bass side often, then it isn't very helpful. A bass option would have been a good feature.

[IanD]

Strange that the reviewer uses the term "modern" for a practice that was abandoned in most arenas half a century ago.  Internal mics tend to sound dead/boxy and pick up all sorts of extraneous noises from the mechanisms and from his review the Hohner mic shares all these characteristics.  The clunky great box attached to the grille looks to have a pair of dynamic mics in it, which will not take kindly to the sound pressure levels that close to the reeds, the same problem as can be suffered with Microvox units if you're over energetic in your playing.

I like the channel switching options in the electronics, but I for one wouldn't consider hanging something that big on my box - especially as they haven't bothered to mic the basses.  Surely an optional plug in mic for the bass should be a minimum offering?

Rob.

I think you might be getting confused -- dynamic mics are very difficlut to overload, after all they're just a coil of wire in a magnetic field. Condenser mics (like Microvox) are more prone to overload (unless they're specifically designed for very high SPL) because the inbuilt buffer FETs run out of current.

[Rob2Hook]

I think you might be getting confused --

No, I'm not confused - just ignorant...!

Rob.