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One of the most soothing of all instrument is the flute. If you have ever sat and listened to a soloist in a quiet auditorium, then you know what am talking about. Recording a flutist in a home studio is an equally pleasant experience.

Flute recordings can be made without a Lot of trouble, it's one of the easiest instruments to capture in the studio. You will need a GOOD microphone, I stress this because that is the key component to ALL recording. You can have $10,000.00 tied up in equipment, and if you have junk mics, you will have junk music.

Mic placement is the secret to good flute recordings, the flute, being a wind instrument has the disadvantage(for recording)of wind noise. This can be overcome with proper mic placement, assuming your flutist doesn't have emphysema, or a bad cold.

Use a good condenser mic with a cardioid pattern. I use the AKG C1000S, it comes with an adapter to switch the pattern. Place the mic about a foot away from the flute, above and pointing down. Try some sound checks with the flutist playing both soft and loud. Adjust the EQ to eliminate any wild peaks, if this is not possible, use a little compression, very little. You can squeeze the life out of a flute with a compressor if you are not careful. Listen very close for breath noise, and eliminate as much as possible by tweaking the mic placement.

The flute is an engineers dream instrument, and this recording technique is simple and effective. I don't believe you'll encounter any problems that you can't solve while recording the flute.

Learn more about this author, Marty Alan McGill.
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