[Igotsoul4u]

I think large condenser mic's work the best. The flute doesn't have a definitive bell like the trumpet so you need larger pattern and some space between the mic and the player. I think 2 feet is appropriate. I like putting the mic a little above head height facing down and aimed at the center of the flute. I have used u87's, tlm170's, and u89's and they all sounded pretty good to me. I imagine a brauner would be the ultimate for something like a flute. I typically used a millennia HV3d as a pre for nice clean sound and lots of headroom. If you are doing something non-classical you could use a neve or whatever but coloring of the sound will occur which may or may not please the player.