On a scale of 1 to 10, just how awful would a ceiling fan be?

[DrewPeterson7]

I live in the top floor of a 3 story condo building, and since it's Boston I don't have central air, and instead use window units in the summer. In my living room and bedroom, I've installed ceiling fans, which actually make a really big difference in the summer.

I'm tempted to do the same for the second bedroom I use as a studio - if I'm recording acoustics or anything quiet, I'd need to shut off the AC unit and potentially take it out of the window so I can cut outside noise (admittedly, this is FAR from ideal :lol. I've toyed with installing a ceiling fan in here, thinking that it'd be a lot quieter than an AC and would at least keep the room a bit more pleasant while tracking. However, I'm thinking the flutter this could cause would be absolutely atrocious, and probably way more trouble than it's worth.

Idunno, thoughts? Anyone tried tracking or mixing under a ceiling fan who can comment on how much it changes when it's on and off? This is one of those things that's almost certainly a horrible idea, but I figured I'd at least ask.

 

[c7sus]

It will cause some wobble if you are tracking right under it doing vox or acoustic guitar, even on low speed.

I have a fan right over my listening position that runs pretty much 24/7 on low unless I am tracking or doing really critical listening, so I reckon I'm used to it and don't notice it while listening to streams or playing synth. If I sit here playing an acoustic guitar I can hear the wobble without the guitar being miked and the fan on low.

Installing a fan isn't too difficult if you already have a ceiling light fixture. Be sure and buy a ceiling fan box to fasten the fan to, because a stock light box isn't rated for supporting a fan, especially the brown or blue plastic boxes. You can also get remote-controlled fans that you can switch on/change speeds with a little clicker.

 

[mjbphotos]

Run the a/c to get the room real cold before tracking, shut it off, and drape a moving blanket over it to muffle any exterior noise coming in. If you've got some, use extra bass traps you can move around to block some sounds. If using a cardioid mic, put the 'null' aiming towards the window.

 

[DrewPeterson7]

For now I've been doing the "crank the AC and then hope it goes well" thing.

Actually scratch that. For now it's winter in Boston. :lol: I'll see how it goes in the summer, maybe I should just suck it up and go with central air. I think for any serious tracking I'd just pull the unit and close the windows, but then again when I was tracking acoustics for my album I went out to my parents' place because they have a library room that just has an awesome "live" sound to it. And, I guess at the pace I write doing serious production only when I don't need an AC unit isn't the end of the world...

 

[mjbphotos]

I'm out 'in the country', but near a busy road. Yanking the ac out of the window, closing all windows and turning off the fans is how I do it in the summer. I try to get everything set up and track as quickly as I can - headphones get brutal after 30 minutes in the humidity!

 

[DrewPeterson7]

Yep. :lol: I'm in the middle of everything in Somerville, but thankfully on a fairly quiet one-way street considering my proximity to the nearest major square, so that helps a bit. Still, if getting a great acoustic recording were ever absolutely critical, I'd just move my gear out to my parents' place for a weekend and track there, where it IS dead quiet.

 

[Supercreep]

I live in the top floor of a 3 story condo building, and since it's Boston I don't have central air, and instead use window units in the summer. In my living room and bedroom, I've installed ceiling fans, which actually make a really big difference in the summer.

I'm tempted to do the same for the second bedroom I use as a studio - if I'm recording acoustics or anything quiet, I'd need to shut off the AC unit and potentially take it out of the window so I can cut outside noise (admittedly, this is FAR from ideal :lol. I've toyed with installing a ceiling fan in here, thinking that it'd be a lot quieter than an AC and would at least keep the room a bit more pleasant while tracking. However, I'm thinking the flutter this could cause would be absolutely atrocious, and probably way more trouble than it's worth.

Idunno, thoughts? Anyone tried tracking or mixing under a ceiling fan who can comment on how much it changes when it's on and off? This is one of those things that's almost certainly a horrible idea, but I figured I'd at least ask.

Maybe a really large fan with a low voltage setting to move more air at lower speed?