Question about Microphones for recording various instruments

FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"] Hello, I am pretty new at recording, so I'm not familiar with all of the good microphones..

Anyway, I'm thinking of purchasing the AKG Perception 200 (large diaphragm condenser microphone) http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/AKG-Perception-200-LargeDiaphragm-Condenser-Microphone?sku=271243

I know it is great for recording vocals, but I also play the flute and piano... Would that work for that as well, or do I need to get something different for those 2 instruments?[/font]

I am not familiar with that microphone at all.

That said, there's many microphones that can be used for many many different instruments. Many large diaphragm condensers, for instance, are often used for multiple things, including vocals, drum overheads, bass cabinets, guitar cabinets, acoustic guitars, tambourines, percussion, flutes, violins, cellos, etc.

Many dynamics are used for multiple things, including vocals, snare, guitar cabinets, bass cabinets, and percussion.

the perception 200 is a nice mic, should work fine for flute and piano. just keep in mid if you dont like the sound you get move the mic around until you find the "sweet spot"

Except for some extreme cases like trying to use SM57's to record a classical orchestra a mic generally works on anything that makes a sound.

What the best mic for a particular source is depends on many things from the source itself to the room to what kind of sound you are after.

More than likely if you have to ask the question then any decent mic will perform adaquately on most sources.

I haven't used the AKG 200 but if that's the one that is calling to you buy it and try it out on everything. Just keep in mind if you are new at this recording thing that if the sound quality is lacking in some way then it is likely that skills are more the factor than the gear. For stuff to sound truly good you have to know what you are doing with mic placement, and often eq and dynamics control too.