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gordon k

Joined: 26/05/05
Posts: 23

Lights in Studio and hum
#1013671 - 15/10/12 05:37 AM

Just bought a flat with a nice big room for my studio.

The previous owners were using the studio room as a lounge (I know, bizarre!

) and it currently has a dimmer switch controlling the main lights.

I know these aren't recommended for use in studios, cos if they use rapid pulsing to control the light level they can generate significant hum in the studio's electrics.

Couple of questions:

* Should switching the dimmer lights on full (or off) remove the relevant hum?
* Are dimmer lights in other rooms likely to affect the studio room too?
* Are energy-saving bulbs - being fluourescent - a problem?

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Gary_W

Joined: 18/10/06
Posts: 377

Re: Lights in Studio and hum new

[Re: gordon k]
#1013677 - 15/10/12 07:54 AM

The severity seems to depend on the dimmer. Our drummer has dimmers installed in his practice room - they are the standard 'two plastic knobs on a white plastic panel' and they drive the bass player's pickups absolutely nuts.

I have a dimmer in my studio at home. It's a touch dimmer inside a metal wallbox with an earthed metal faceplate on it. it is nowhere near as much of an issue as others I've encountered but it still causes enough of an issue that I leave it off.

I'd leave fluorescents alone if I were you - they can be noisey...... And you cannot use them with a dimmer switch anyway.

Above my desk these days I have spotlights with LED bulbs. They stay on whenever I'm in there. Perfect lighting for my needs, cost less to run for the whole lot than a single fluorescent and no noise at all.

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gordon k

Joined: 26/05/05
Posts: 23

Re: Lights in Studio and hum new

[Re: Gary_W]
#1014135 - 17/10/12 12:11 PM

Quote Gary_W:

I have a dimmer in my studio at home. It's a touch dimmer inside a metal wallbox with an earthed metal faceplate on it. it is nowhere near as much of an issue as others I've encountered but it still causes enough of an issue that I leave it off.

Does turning the dimmer off remove the hum completely?

Thing is, the flat I've moved into has almost industrial-scale lighting. Banks of little halogen lights in the ceilings of most rooms and the hall, nearly all controlled by dimmers. Tempted to remove them, but it would be a lot of hassle, and then the ceilings would need redone to cover up all the holes.

That's why I'm wondering whether lights from other rooms might affect the studio room. I could test all this myself once the studio's assembled - but the problem is, if I'm going to need to get all these things stripped out, I'd want to get it done now, before all the studio and furniture gets moved in...

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Folderol

Joined: 15/11/08
Posts: 2599
Loc: Rochester, UK

Re: Lights in Studio and hum new

[Re: gordon k]
#1014186 - 17/10/12 05:05 PM

If they are conventional wall-plate dimmers, why not just replace them with ordinary on/off switches? It will be the dimmers that are the cause of the problem, not the lamps themselves.

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