Overhead lighting

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jmiller
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Overhead lighting

Post by jmiller » Mon Mar 27, 2006 5:44 pm

For a long time I've had one of those crappy halogen "torch" lights in my studio, which I hated, but it was just a temporary solution. Today it went belly up, so I'm thinking maybe it's just time to go for a permanent solution.

I've been wanting some ceiling installed track lighting. I make my living in my tiny home studio as a programmer so I need some good, reasonably bright, functional light. I'm getting a little confused about how to do it though. How do you find the wires in the ceiling? Or perhaps I should just run a cord via conduit to an outlet since I'm renting? I was looking at the low voltage wire types but thought the transformer might not be a great idea. I'm also not sure how many lights I should put on it (is 3 enough or should I go for 5?). The room is just a standard 8x12 room with 8 ft ceilings. I will obviously not use a dimmer and can just use low light lamps for "vibe" lighting.

Anyone have experience with this?

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Post by r0ck1r0ck2 » Mon Mar 27, 2006 6:01 pm

jeezus...just hit the thrift store and get some hanging lamps...

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Post by jmiller » Tue Mar 28, 2006 12:28 am

Well, I was kinda hoping for something that doesn't have that "jeezus I just bought some ugly shit at a thrift shop" look to it. Otherwise, I might have thought of that myself.

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Post by kayagum » Tue Mar 28, 2006 5:36 am

Home Depot (or for that matter, any other superstore) has track lighting that doesn't require a junction box- has a straight cord, runs at a full 120v (no transformer), and actually has nice options for the lights, especially for the price.

You can tack it on a wall instead of a ceiling, and you'll have instant uplighting. I have some on goosenecks, and it's actually pretty handy to move around, especially when I'm working on the back of the racks.

If you can hook up a mic, you can hook up track lighting.

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Post by LeedyGuy » Tue Mar 28, 2006 2:07 pm

kayagum wrote:Home Depot (or for that matter, any other superstore) has track lighting that doesn't require a junction box- has a straight cord, runs at a full 120v (no transformer), and actually has nice options for the lights, especially for the price.

You can tack it on a wall instead of a ceiling, and you'll have instant uplighting. I have some on goosenecks, and it's actually pretty handy to move around, especially when I'm working on the back of the racks.

If you can hook up a mic, you can hook up track lighting.
Agreed. I have some of that myself in the studio. seems to not affect my sound either...which you might do if you start messing with ceiling wires.
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Post by jmiller » Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:12 pm

Ok, so I went to the home depot and found an attractive linevolt tracklight kit. There was also a seperate piece that attaches to the end with a cable (I planned to replace the cable with a custom lenght and run it through conduit) so I can plug it into a switched outlet. After a long day of trips to multiple hardware stores for shit I kept forgetting or not realizing I was going to need, I finally mounted the track to ceiling and it looked great. So I plugged it in.

The light is pretty crummy :( The light doesn't diffuse well at all, and where ever the lights point there is a harsh, almost flourescent light and then all around it is murky. There are weird shadows everywhere (I used floods). Perhaps more track/lights would help but I just don't like the light in general. I've been in several studios with track lighting that looked very nice, but this was not it. Back to home depot I go.

Quite a drag, as my dayjob is working in that room, and right now I've got no real good light. I really need something that lights the whole room up well so I can work in there comfortably for hours at a time. Any other ideas?

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Post by kayagum » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:42 pm

As far as track lighting goes, you don't use it like task lighting. Point it at the walls, let the light diffuse from the walls. It would help if the wall color is pleasing, not some crappy wood paneling from the 70s.

Shit, just go to Ikea and go through the lighting section. You need a variety of lights: task lighting, general area lighting, diffused lighting. And it's all cheap.

Otherwise, quit recording for a while and watch HGTV for a few weeks.

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Post by trodden » Wed Mar 29, 2006 11:31 pm

Or buy some cool lamps from goodwill. Decorate the shade for more fun.

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Post by blixton » Thu Apr 13, 2006 1:57 am

I've always thought studios were the coziest looking places ever. The lighting helps the mood I imagine.

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Post by MT » Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:03 pm

Dude, it sounds like you want to spend nothing on a room you spend all of your days in but still have it be groovy -- makes no sense, especially if you're staring at a monitor for hours on end.

Home Depot has some 4" recessed lighting that gives you baffles and cans for $10 per unit. You can't surround them with insulation, but they're halogen and very pleasant, plus you can rotate the bulb a bit for directional lighting. Get six, pay an electrician to install them, and your good to go. Your eyes will certainly appreciate it. How well do you know the landlord? Maybe work a deal there.

In your case, lighting=recording. You get what you pay for, IMHO.
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