Suggestions on lighting

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m1k3

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I'm finishing my basement and building a recording room about 16 x 16. I'm trying to achieve best sound isolation possible. I have room to build "room within a room" so that interior room walls and ceiling are completely separated (except floor) from outer room. What type of lighting would you recommend? I like recessed lighting but I assume I'm going to get horrible sound leakage thru the housing. I'm considering standard flush mount incandescent celing lights.
 
Though going "green" is in, don't use florescent energy saving lights. They can induce interference to your equipment.
 
Because there is no delete post function for double posts and the error message says you need to type ten characters.
 
I've used a lot of small, halogen track lighting in my studio, and it works really well for focused lighting without the "football stadium" vibe. What's cool about the track lights I used, is that they have glass UV filters with small wire clips to hold them in place, so I was able to cut out colored gels and stick them between the clips and and filters, and I got some nice "stage" lighting effects where I wanted them...like on my drum kit, guitars and amps...but over the mixer and rack gear I used real soft gels, just enough to take down some of the halogen starkness.

One thing though about track lights...they CAN buzz/vibrate in the track and inside the housing, since the bulbs just lay in there, they are not screwed down. It's not a big issue...but when you hit some real deep low notes on a bass or guitar, you can get some sympathetic vibrations. There are ways to dampen that, but just be aware of that with any lighting fixtures.
 
Great thought. I've been concentrating on sound passage thru the walls and ceilings I hadn't even considered the vibration of the lights in the room.
 
We're not going to have much of a choice but go to CFL's since they won't be made in a few years.
 
Great thread! Still learning about lighting. Glad i joined! :)
 
Incandescent lights will always be available. CFL's are not appropriate for every project, especially industrial and commercial applications.

They'll just become pricey to buy them.
 
LEDS are getting cheaper and brighter, there are other options like halogen as well. CFLs are just a really terrible idea overall. HAZMAT issues, plus the environmental costs of shipping them all from China in giant ships, coupled with the fact that the ACTUAL life span is nowhere near the advertised spans, and the fact that you need special ballasts to use them with special switches like dimmers and the like. And trust me, incandescents will still be around, they'll just get relabeled as "heat" lamps, and the price will probably go up to reflect the decreased production. Hell, places up north might actually benefit from the excess heat created by incandescents, at least in the winter. Once LEDs get ramped up and economically viable, they'll be all over the place, and that's probably the best case scenario, as far as longevity, heat, and environmental concerns. Not to mention the increased durability, and completely solid-state operation. Just have to convince the first and second adopters to justify the near $30 per bulb price to get the ball rolling.
 
I haven't read anything on LED lamps and their suitability in a recording environment vis-à-vis noise, etc. What thinks you?
 
Halogen track lights are a nice look.
I would suggest, if you're wiring up this space new, I'd consider running several lighting circuits. You probably want to stay away from dimmers since they tend to hum. So, have one switch that has a few lights for low ambient light- like enough to work and see what you're doing. Then another switch can have more lights- like full lighting for setup, tear down etc. Then, task lights at the main desk and maybe a few others at different "stations" (i.e. at a guitar amp / music stand / piano, etc) that you can control separately and as needed to say read sheet music or something. just my 2c...
 
DukeCC said:
I haven't read anything on LED lamps and their suitability in a recording environment vis-à-vis noise, etc. What thinks you?
Click to expand...

If I was installing anything new I'd certainly consider LEDs for a studio. All the ones I've seen have DC power supplies so, as long as you keep the transformer away from everything, they should be totally quiet in audio terms.

Bob
 
One thing about track lights that I've run into....

Because of how the housings "clip" into the track somewhat loosely, rather than being screwed down in any way, and the way the halogen bulbs just lay inside the socket, plus the glass UV filters...
...when playing loud, LF stuff, you can get some buzzing from all that, so be aware of how you mount them.

I've done some mods to the clips that hold the UV filters, by putting small pieces of heat-shrink on the ends, which helped tighten up and dampen the glass fitlers...but still working on a good way to secure the entire housing firmly.

Mind you...it's only on quite loud, low frequencies that create sympathetic vibes with the housings...might only be one note on a guitar or bass, so it's not like everything buzzes all the time.
 
Well, there is the LED option. I have no idea if they make noise in audio, though.
 
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