Because the internal mic is so much of what the modern Zydeco sound is all about I was curious as to whom the credit should go. I ask this question because on an early video of Beau Jocque, not only was he young and skinny but he played with the old style cajun external mic clipped on to his single row. It was not what we have come to know as his sound. Did he come up with the idea to put that cajun mic inside the box to get that dirty wooshy
Zydeco sound we all love (at least I do)? If not him, who was that musical genius? Inquiring minds want to know. thanx.

Whoever it was that first thought to mic a single-row like a 3-row, is a genius.

My guess would be that it may not have been an artist, but it could have been Charlie Ortego (builder of the Master box in Lake Charles.)

For the first artist to use an internally mic a box, it would have had to been Jeffery Broussard. Zydeco Force was the first band to "brand" that crunch-and-pop sound. My second guess would be Boozoo. Either way, these two artists were the pioneers of modern zydeco. They built the riffs, textures, and beats for the surging wave of artists to follow, such as Beau, Keith, Step, and Rosie.

~R!CK

there have pretty much always been internal mics available for accordions

i think the advance to modern times came when they started to spend some money on the mic, instead of just some $2 crystal mic from lafayette electronics or allied radio

who did that first, i dunno


wle.

The first type of mic put inside a box was a crystal or carbon mic element. The fidelity is poor, but the diaphragm of the mic (the part that moves in response to the sound) wasn't so affected by the impact of the pressure change resulting from the push & pull of the bellows. These mic elements were also much less costly.

At present, dynamic mic elements, like those found in vocal and larger instrument mics, are not so expensive, and are much more reliably and ruggedly made. As a result, they can survive the high pressure fluctuations found in a single row box.

As to the sound, the crystal mics are very edgy, because their frequency response is very narrow (300 - 5000 Hz tops). This is in marked contrast to the response of decent dynamic capsule (80 - 15,000 Hz). It's like going from a telephone, to a CD in terms of sound quality. The result is a much fuller and richer sound - especially on the low end.

As to who did it first, I have no idea. But to my ears, Keith Frank is the one who has really worked on the sound quality, both live and even more so, on his recordings. His accordion sound is distinctive, and the dynamic capsule in the single row is a big reason for that.

Just my humble opinion

Joel! Big ups and maximum respect for your insights. Glad you spoke up! I think you're spot on, brutha! I love learning stuff! Great man...

R!CK

I don't remember the source, but someone told me that the original zydeco internal mics were basically the same round microphone found inside an ordinary telephone handset. Listen to John Delafose on his live recording and you'll hear that sound. It had a limited frequency range, but a lot of character. The current style of internal mic, which is basically the cartridge from a vocal mic, has too wide a frequency range for some players, leading them to use subtractive eq, seeking that old school sound. Apparently you can't easily buy old carbon telephone mics. Who would've thought that something so common as a phone handset contained a microphone that musicians would want many years after it went out of date.

When I bought my Master accordion, I asked Charlie for an internal mic. I was not well versed in these matters at that time, so I was not specific as to the type of mic. I remember being surprised at how low the extra cost was going to be - it was much less than what Mark Savoy had charged me for an external mic. Well, when I got it I found out why. It was one of those phone type mics! I hate to say it, but it really sounded like crap. I was VERY disappointed. I quickly replaced it with a Shure R-65 which was an enormous improvement.

I still have the old one, if anyone is interested.

-David

I am interested if you still have it. I have a master accordion that needs a mic installed and I'm looking for the sound that Boozoo had in his accordions along with Andre Thierry.

Does anyone has some experience in reducing the mechanical sound-racket coming mainly from te flappers hitting the deck? Had a Shure mounted once, and that was my reason why i prefer an external mic from now on.... Nout

I was wondering if piezo pickups could be any use, searched on this forum and found that Dwight was wanting to experiment with them after using them in cigar box guitars, which I have also done- any joy Dwight?

Fiddler,
Could you add some new felt to the face of the flappers to soften the slap?