microphone for flute

I'd almost recommend ribbons for flutes. They smoothly roll of the high end. Some cheap condensers could make flutes sound ugly because of that piercing high end they add.
 
Seafroggys said:
I'd almost recommend ribbons for flutes. They smoothly roll of the high end. Some cheap condensers could make flutes sound ugly because of that piercing high end they add.
Click to expand...

With his stated budget, he should be able to obtain a very good condenser. One other suggestion is the Beyer m201. For a dynamic, it has great detail.
 
Good topic for me as I am about to record some flute pretty soon. Another question: Supposing you are using a condenser mic, where would be the best placement of the flute itself? Near the mouthpiece, or the whole at the end of the flute? Or should the flutist stand a few feet back from the mic altogether to get a good room sound?
 
Tomm Williams said:
With his stated budget, he should be able to obtain a very good condenser..
Click to expand...

$250? I wouldn't really touch any condenser under $350. But in that price range you could get like a regular Fathead, which would be awesome on wind instruments.

EDIT: unless its Naiant
 
Last edited:
libertad said:
Good topic for me as I am about to record some flute pretty soon. Another question: Supposing you are using a condenser mic, where would be the best placement of the flute itself? Near the mouthpiece, or the whole at the end of the flute? Or should the flutist stand a few feet back from the mic altogether to get a good room sound?
Click to expand...

I'm looking for some flute recording advice myself...having watched one of my idols, the genius who stoked my interest in the flute about 40 yrs ago, Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, a flute mic should be close to the mouthpiece. Mics designed specifically for flute recording such as the Audix ADX10FLP, attach to the flute within inches of the mouthpiece. I've fooled with a flute on and off for most of those 40 yrs, no formal training, can't read music, but I feel like I have a pretty good ear for the melody of songs I enjoy listening to. Although I've been playing for a long time, my experience with recording is limited to a very inexpensive battery amplified mic, velcroed to the flute. The few recordings I've made consisted of MP3z imported into Audacity which I mixed some flute in. Very elementary, but a couple of the recordings turned out OK for a first effort. I don't yet qualify to post links, but I put one of the recordings on youtube, which can be found by searching for "Neil Young Pocahontas with some flute" if you're so inclined. I had been using the same flute for those 40 yrs, and decided it was time to invest in a better flute, an intermediate Pearl model. So I'm looking for some advice on mics, sound cards (I've been looking at the HT OMEGA Claro Halo PCI ), decent headphones and PC speakers. My health isn't too good as I approach geezerhood, so I'm not in a position to spend too extravagantly, so these items would have to be relatively inexpensive. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this...like I said, my experience with recording and mixing is remedial at best, so keep that in mind. Another inexpensive mic that I heard good things about is the Audio-Technica PRO-35 Pro Series Microphone, which could be modified and velcroed to a flute. I posed the question on Amazon, whether or not this mic could be used with a flute, and the majority of responders said it was a good mic for the price, and could be jury rigged to work with a flute. I'll also need to amplify the mic, so any suggestions of phantom battery amplification would also be welcome. I've got a decent PC, which I built myself, and have done quite a bit of research on this stuff myself, but rather than reinvent the wheel, it made sense to ask folks who are knowledgeable about home recording and the various components. My apologies for rambling, and thanks again for any and all advice you're willing to offer....Kirby
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top