After reading the posts on miking a flute, I am looking at a Shure to serve as my microphone. Also noted that an acoustic amplifier is the preferred type. Does anyone have a recommended amp?
Thanks,
Tom
Yes:
Bose’s personal system.
But i’m not rich, so here’s what i use:
100W in a very small package, very loud, sturdy, really kicks butt. Great for voice/flute and guitar. Battery power available (i don’t have it). Can go to 140W if you buy a couple extra speakers.
It’s a little expensive: mine cost $340. But it’s professional quality. I dropped mine into a deep puddle of water, facedown, right before a gig, and it still worked perfectly.
Thanks Glauber!
Will take a hard look at your recommendations. All I have now are electric bass amps.
tom
Glauber… think about that. 
There are plenty of compact systems for half the price that could still get the job done.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=live/search/detail/base_pid/632200/
Be sure and get one that will go up to 11.
The Crate amp I tried sounded great, exceptional tone for any acoustic type flute/whistle/pipe/fiddle. Some on board acoustic treatments such as sustain and reverb that give you just enough to flesh out your tone if you’re playing a dead room.
http://www.crateamps.com/html/product.cfm?pid=11
I loved the one I tried out anyway…
I suggest the Carvin StageMate. 100 watts of either AC or battery power. Full range system/will drive a twin slave speaker. The price is fair and the unit is incredibly durable. We use it for small venues, and I truly do not know what we would do without it.
Check out at www.carvin.com
Best.
Byll
There are, but i haven’t used them, so i can’t recommend. When i got the hotspot i had some money burning to be spent, and so it did. 
If it were today i probably wouldn’t have bought it, pricewise. But i like it. I bought it because i was playing in a loud band, and i never could hear myself, so i decided to get it to use as my own personal monitor. I plug the flute there, and use the “out” in the back to feed the mixer, through a direct box. I wanted something small, because being in a band, i already had plenty of other big speakers to lug around.
But you’re right, i heard good things about these portable mixer/speaker systems. You can go to your local Guitar Center and test drive one before you buy.
i use a martin mouse amp, i believe they stoped making it though. look at at the “fender can” amp in the elderly instruments cat. i have never heard one but it is under $300. and might be just what you want.
I have a very good feeling about that Bose system. If i had a preofessional band right now, i’d consider that seriously. I’m hoping i can book one of the test rooms they have to try it out with my band someday.
I think the idea is pretty sound: play like it were acoustic, each musician can take care of his own levels.
Alternatively, another thing i’d like to try is what many bluegrass bands do, use one microphone for the whole band (cluster around it). Maybe a second microphone for the bass, but that’s it.
Most of the trouble i have these days is from overactive sound engineers and from stage sound that doesn’t match what the audience is hearing.
But this is probably out of the scope for this discussion.
Glaluber: We use both tube and solid state condenser mics on stage. They are placed a good distance from instrument clusters. The first stage of the ‘mixing’ is done by the players and the air space around us. The final stage is done by our engineer. We use as few mics as possible, and no stage monitors.
We graduated to this methodology after going the close-mic routine for a lot of years. We now hear each other better, and the audience gets a ‘reinforced’ acoustic sound, rather than an ‘amplified’ electric sound.
A by-product is that our dynamic range has increased, dramatically. Soft is soft and loud is loud, with discernable gradations, in-between. So often, with close micing and monitors, everyone is trying to play louder than everyone else…
Best.
Byll