What is the best instrument to double on (as i am looking for new challenge)
i play the flute, and recorder (but very badly)

Here are somesuggestions ::

Trombone or Oboe.
I suggest trombone because the embouchre is actually quite close, the mass of air requirement is similar (lots!), and my best,favorite trombone students happened to have been flute players first (go figure).

I suggest Oboe because it is still a woodwind, you can carry both together easily. You already know how to read the ledger lines. It is a challenge and sounds great when played well. And in high school and college you can get teh school to supply you an English Horn which I like even better than oboe.

Oboe - mostly because you can get a job playing it. Several times easier than flute - and the parts aren't generally as finger-bleedingly technical and fast.(when was the last time you heard of a Oboe soloist?)

I love the bassoon!

""Oboe - mostly because you can get a job playing it. Several times easier than flute - and the parts aren't generally as finger-bleedingly technical and fast.(when was the last time you heard of a Oboe soloist?)""

Pleko,heres one,,lol,,got to go about 34 minutes into the video. Its from the Proms over here.http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00csk20/
This bloke played the Mozart flute concerto no 2 k314 (orginally written for oboe) a couple of weeks ago,,that was amazing!! but that has gone now,,only on bbci player for 7 days..

I would like to double on the oboe,i quite like it,,but the flute is enought for now,,i want to be a "master" of one instrument first..lol..

the friends of mine that make the most money and get the most jobs all play flute, clarinet and sax

I played the Xylophone, Trombone ,cello , violin , piano , recorder...
My favorite instrument other then the flute was the cello. Because it was in a totally different section and it wasn't a band instrument. Plus it was challenging...different clefts tenor and bass ,shifting,and other cool stuff

True, but it's not as hard of a leap as, say, sax and flute.

That said, I also played clarinet in high school and was about as good at it as flute. It's really a matter of what you want to do. But oboes are wanted by orchestras quite a bit more than flutes, IME.(and the sound is very nice I have to admit)

Or you could just get an alto or bass flute and "double" that way - heh.

Oboe is quite different from flute in quite a lot of ways:

- Fingering is slightly different
- Obviously embouchure
- How you hold the instrument
- Breathing
- Tone
- ect. (Basic things)

I know some professionals who play pro oboe but still play flute.

And there always is the saying: Oboist and violists always have jobs!

sax has the same fingering as a flute..mostly and once you can play that, you can do clairnet and well your set, obe I think would be harder, not alot of them out there, and its hard with teh ombasure, alot differnt from the flute

if you're actually looking to double(like, play both in a group, such as an orchestra or pit orchestra), go with another woodwind. piccolo would be a logical next instrument, but also oboe/sax/clarinet would work. those four woodwinds are often grouped together in pit music.

if you're just looking for a second instrument, not for doubling purposes, pick whatever you like! learning a brass instrument will give you easier access to other brasses later, but just pick what you like the sound of or would want to play. trombone is really fun, so is bassoon (although that might be hard to learn on your own), et cetera. any instrument has great things about it.
have fun

Yeah. I agree. Don't pick an instrument on how hard it is, but rather the tone and voicing of it.

i'm thinking of trying clarinet, but how would that effect my embrochure?

Well, my flute teacher doubles as a bass guitar player... She says she wanted something different after all that hi-pitched things... but I don't know how THAT can be of any help .

well i have went ahead and got a clarinet its a bit of a challenge, but i m havin fun and it is diffinatley differant. but i think it has helped me with my flute playing (i lost my clear and crisp sound but then it came back today when i practiced about half an hour after playing my clarinet)