Hi! a member of this Forum has drawn my attention concerning an auction in Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=380109111352

It is a microphone to replace the cork assembly and record from the inside of the headjoint. This could be useful in noisy environments, I suppose.

Has anybody seen such a device before?

Note that the auction ends in about four hours, in case you may be interested...

I meant: "A strange micro..", sorry

I've seen them before, but these have several issues (in my mind).

First, you are tethered to the recorder/amp/whatever. Even if the cord is long enough to allow you to move freely when playing, the cord/mike adds extra weight to the headjoint end and makes the flute unbalanced. Plus there's always the danger that you will forget about the cord, start to walk away, and then the flute gets pulled out of your hands.

On the other hand these are better than the ones that require drilling a hole in the headjoint.

Another disadvantage is that it can only be used on a flute. You'd still have to buy another mike if you want to record another instrument other than a flute.

I don't know anything about the sound quality.

I would also mention that you'd maybe want to have a flute head joint dedicated to that microphone / cork assy. because I would not trust the old cork to fit properly again once it's been removed.

<Added>

There are also Clamp-on mics that do about the same service.
I believe that Patrick mentioned using one.
These are also generally used by jazz musicians.
Not so often by classical flutists. FOr recording sessions or studio work, a good separate mic is more ofthen the preferred way because of the fidelity of a bigger unit and the chance that something attached to the flute may pickup too many extra sounds like keys or mouth sounds.

Hi Micron,
I enjoy that term "oscillating air pressure".
Without getting into that whole ball of wax regarding the stopper and what's behind it relative to what the performer thinks that they are producing for the audience, I wold say that this sort of device has a representative equivalent to adding electronic pickups to an acoustic guitar. Similar to the tone but not quite the same as a good standing mic. for live performance.

See Anderson's section on the Amplified flute.
http://www.j-tull.com/musicians/iananderson/equipment.html

"There have been some attempts to manufacture contact mics for the flute, but they suffer from the bugbear of transmitting the considerable mechanical noise of the key mechanism and unevenly "hearing" the different notes in the three octaves of the instrument."

well as far as Anderson's flutes goes, I'd think that the beefier the better probably for his situation. Titanium throughout may last for a few gigs....or not.

I signalled that item in Ebay as a curious device. But after following the posts it generated, the subject has triggered my own curiosity.

This simple question below probably has no simple answer. Let's see:

Where does the sound of the flute come from? (front edge of the embouchure hole, tone holes open on the body joint, end of the foot joint, all together, other creative ideas...)

So, being a multipoint sound source, Anderson is right in that the only way to accurately record a flute is from a certain distance (he says 6 feet.

He mentions electret microphones requiring power to operate and this is right, but not because of the electret element itself (it is self-polarized, in contrast to condenser microphones), but because of the internal electronics needed to adapt impedance to something practical for normal recording equipment.

Micron is correct about the sound sources but the various fingers produce different qualities of sound depending upon different locations. I have not experimentd enouch to this end but with my mic positions, I can get different dynamics from different locations. For example with my typical setup
AKG 120 Right at about 3m and
AKG 100 left side at about 1m
and equal balance settings on all pots.
Certain notes may sound louder on one side or the other depending upon the pitch. Of course to be somewhat objective or scientific, one could assume that different fingering/pitches may cause different support/embouchure issues but I spend some time daily trying to control these things. The difference can be considerable in the record levels and I'd say that for this reason, a bit of distance, where the room acoustics can allow for somewhat of a leveling of issues can help for a better recording as long as background noises don't get too appreciably high. Of course some microphones can't do well under these circumstances and their distance will also effect their recording tone quality.

<Added>

various fingers= various fingerings

I have noticed that some notes in my flute (D2 sharp for example) seem to sound worst for me (in my position of player) than they sound to other people listening from a greater distance.

This setup of two microphones you have tested, located at relatively large distances from the flute seem to be the recommended way to do this (not only by Anderson...).

I am posting in a Forum about studio/home recording and they suggested me recording in stereo with two overhead cardioid microphones to solve the problem of the chamber group. It looked smart, only that I need two micros (+ phantom powers and ancillary) instead of just one.

My recording solution is very low-tech. I have a good miniature clip-on mic(forget type - has a small battery in it). I filed down and polished (yay Dremel!) the teeth on the clip for it(the last couple of "teeth are rounded off and clip onto the end "ring" around the end opening. It's stuck on the end of my flute just about 1/4 of an inch beyond the end.

I tried almost everything but only this worked - or of course, having a good vocal mic pointed at the flute, but then that meant I had to stay in a very small area while playing/remain almost motionless.