Best mic for flute

W

walkinbass

New member
I need to record a flute. I'd certainly appreciate any suggestions from folks who have had experice recording this instrument.

1. Suggest a mic.... all I have now is 58's and 57's
I'm not sure I can spend much more than 4 or 5 hundred

2. Mic placement...

3. Any rules of thumb on eq? starting place (other than flat)?

4. any other thoughts or experiences with this instrument?

Thanks!!!
 
Nothing wrong with a 57, though it wouldn't be my first choice. Try it out. Quick setup would be to point something cardioid a foot or so away, pointed at the joint between the mouthpiece and footpiece. Angle it toward the mouthpiece if you want some more breath, toward the body for some more tone...

If you really need another mic, how about one of the many many many many LD cardioid condensers out there? Look around here for a bit and you're sure to find stuff plenty of options. Besides those...how about a nice Beyer ribbon? They're well within your price range...

If it's a good performance in a good room, can't imagine touching the EQ, unless you're using a more colorful mic with an exaggerated high end.

Solo? In a group?
 
i just recorded a native indian flute with a octava mc012 and it sounded great. i just added a hint of top end otherwise i didnt touch the eq.
 
What They said!

I record flutes -tin whistles-recorders etc.all they time (I record a lot of Celtic music) mainly with a mid size condensor from above 18" to 2ft. and it works great. The closer you get to the flute you get a harsher sound (more suited for that overblown rock sound) the further you get away it sounds more natural and you don't get as much flopping sounds from the pads opening and closing.
I don't use any EQ but some times just a db or two of compression.

tmix
 
I might get smacked in the head for saying this, but flute is one of the easiest instruments as far as mic choice: almost anything will work if you take a few moments to experiment with positioning.

I've made killer flute tracks with an AKG 414b/uls, a Royer 121, an Audio Technica 4060, a Lawson L47, and a Shure KSM 32, among others. While some of those are "expensive" mics, the Shure is affordable for most home studios. I'm confident that a number of even cheaper mics would work as well, it's just that I've not had the chance to try them.
 
I support Littledog's suggestion of AKG C414, but unfortunately, it's out of the stated price range. Actually, I've had very good results mic'ing flute and penny whistle with, of all things, an AKG C2000B. I think this is a (relatively) cheap mic that a lot of people haven't given a good listen to because its larger cousin, the C3000B was so over-rated and over-hyped. Most folks just figured if a 3000B sucked, then a 2000B must suck more. I have found just the opposite, at least with the ones I've tried. The 3000 never made it out of the store, and the 2000 has become one of my mics of choice for woodwinds, and occasionally, vocals.-Richie
 
Thank you to all.... I'll do some research on prices and availability of the suggested mics.

I've been trying the Sures that I have... and some how think i like the 57 better than the 58 but don't know if I can say exactly why....

I've probably tried to mic a little too close (based on the suggestions made here).... I'll try a bit more distance... but I'll have to say with the Sures I'm afraid to get too far away, they start dropping off pretty quick....

I am doing both some celtic things and classical. On the celtic stuff the flute is very much "out front" (if you know what I mean) when it is being used. And on the classical stuff, it's only a quartet .... so it's still easy to keep it from being buried.

Any more suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
I have achieved excellent results by using 2 mics, a ribbon and a large diaphragm condenser, then mixing the 2 tracks. The ribbon gives a smooth round sound and the condenser gives the flute edge sound. If you don't have a ribbon a good dynamic will do.
Dave
 
but I'll have to say with the Sures I'm afraid to get too far away, they start dropping off pretty quick....
Click to expand...

That's what the "gain" knob is for. Too many times, because of the proximity effect of dynamic mics, that when we back away they seem to die. I reality, if you can hear it with your ear, the mic can hear it too. You just have to increase the gain. The only drawback to playing farther from the mic, is that the room's charecteristics have a bigger effect. In most cases, mic placement is as important or more than what mic is used.

Blessings, Terry
 
I was just doing a search and someone mentioned the V77 (by Marshall Electronics) is the best mic they have ever heard on a flute. Just passing that on. It is supposed to be a very nice mic also. Moost people in that thread said they preferred it to a TLM103. Search V77 and flute and you'll probably find the thread.

Beezoboy
 
I've got a recording that I did of a choir with a pair of ECM8000's and the flute playing in the room (a church) and a V63 closer to the flute for the wind sound.. It's mixed a little louder than the chorus b/c for some reason the ECM's picked the flute up better than the Choir.. bummer.. the V63 is mixed VERY low in the final mix but I still have that individual track on file too..this did not turn out good for me because the flute was too lound inthe mix.. but maybe good for you for auditioning the mic.. the ecm's were placed about 14 ft from the floutist.. ( There's a pretty heavy reverb on the final mix due to customer demand)
Lemme know if anyone whats that sound file.

-Brent
 
mic/preamp combo for flute?

still4given said:
That's what the "gain" knob is for. Too many times, because of the proximity effect of dynamic mics, that when we back away they seem to die. I reality, if you can hear it with your ear, the mic can hear it too. You just have to increase the gain. The only drawback to playing farther from the mic, is that the room's charecteristics have a bigger effect. In most cases, mic placement is as important or more than what mic is used.

Blessings, Terry
Click to expand...

Terry,

Thanks for this great bit of insight...can you suggest a possible preamp/mic combo for getting a heavy, rockish kinda sound along the lines of Jethro Tull?

I'm shopping for a mic (this thread is very helpful) and I want to run the mic through a preamp (assuming that's going to boost the sound of the flute and let me play with its sound) and probably go straight to a board or someone else's amp.

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

-Jason
 
My first choice for flute will be a Neumann tube mic, but that's far away from your budget.

The MXL V77 is a tube mic as well and it really comes close to the Neumann sound, but this mic isn't cheap either.

That brings me to the MXL V69, which sound a bit bigger than the V77.

But....if you want cheap and good quality you should try the SP B1.

It will surprise you.

Forget about the 57.
 
I've never miced a flute, but a guy I know whose wife plays the flute has tried just about everything on them and says that the AEA R84 ribbon blew him away. It's outside the pricerange though.
 
What I used to use before dentures made me give up the flute was a Barcus-Berry pickup. It goes in the head joint and replaces the tuning cork. You then plug it into a preamp and go from there. It doesn't pickup any pad noise and, since it is part of the flute, you can move around all you want and the volume stays where you set it. Also, it won't pickup anything except the flute, no "outside" sounds. I have no idea what one would cost today because I got mine back in 1978 for $85 and haven't checked one out since then. I still have it, btw, in my Gehmeinhardt flute which is in my closet because I just haven't been able to get rid of it.

Tom
 
my, my, my - my wife runs a flute studio, so i have made a million flute recordings. i started with a pair of royer r-121s and a pair of tlm103s. as mentioned above, the combination of a ribbon and a large condenser can be very effective, though it isnt going to sound like a classical flute (think james galway) - so i kept going - went to a pair of km184s in NOS (not too bad), fooled around with several other LDs like SP C1s, Rode NTKs (pretty nice mics!), but kept coming back to SD condensers. picked up a pair of schoeps cmc64s - perfect. next i tried some akg c480s - also perfect, very smooth. i would stay away from most newer mics that have a hyped top end - look for something with a flat response curve. km84s are excellent on flute - km54s are even better. the only dynamic i have tried on flute was a EV re20, which did an admirable job for the price, but dynamics are just not my flavor. do not underestimate the importance of a good room - it wont matter what mic you use on flute if the room is no good. if the room is great, you can get away with almost any decent mic.
 
Has anyone had any phasing problems with recording flutes/woodwinds. I'm finding any mic you use close up to the instrument must be unidirectional to avoid phasing problems - I think because the sound is coming out of several places at one time and the mics varrying proximity to these places causing phasing problems....I suppose the idea is a unidirectional mic only pics up sound from one place on the instrument if placed correctly. Does this make sense?? Just now I'm using a 57 close up and Rode NT2 about 4ft away.

Has anyone tried the SD system pic-ups for live/studion use ?
 
whistule said:
Has anyone had any phasing problems with recording flutes/woodwinds. I'm finding any mic you use close up to the instrument must be unidirectional to avoid phasing problems - I think because the sound is coming out of several places at one time and the mics varrying proximity to these places causing phasing problems....I suppose the idea is a unidirectional mic only pics up sound from one place on the instrument if placed correctly. Does this make sense?? Just now I'm using a 57 close up and Rode NT2 about 4ft away.

Has anyone tried the SD system pic-ups for live/studion use ?
Click to expand...

Doesn't make any sense to me.

As far as I know you can't get phasing problems using one mic. I recorded clarinet with an omni mic (18") with no problems. If you are using two mics, one close and one distant, that's your phasing issue.
 
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