LED Bulbs in studio
LED Bulbs in studio
Ive heard stories of CFL bulbs causing some interference but what about LED bulbs?
I just put four of these in my studio: http://m.homedepot.com/p/Cree-9-5-Watt- ... /203991774
They are pretty amazing. Haven't tried them with a dimmer yet but they seem to be totally silent. The best part is only 14 watts of heat for the equivalent of 240 watts of light.
I have not held up a guitar pickup to them yet to see if they are radiating much. I'll report back on that when I have a chance.
They are pretty amazing. Haven't tried them with a dimmer yet but they seem to be totally silent. The best part is only 14 watts of heat for the equivalent of 240 watts of light.
I have not held up a guitar pickup to them yet to see if they are radiating much. I'll report back on that when I have a chance.
I have one above my console, and I haven't noticed any interference, but it's more of an ambient light, I have to turn on another light to actually see things.
How do these things run, is there a little switch mode supply in there or what?
How do these things run, is there a little switch mode supply in there or what?
The previous statement is from a guy who records his own, and other projects for fun. No money is made.
- Scodiddly
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It will typically be a switching power supply in the bulb, though some cheaper bulbs will play tricks with linear supply.
LED video walls have been known to generate a lot of RF noise, but that's mostly because they can have a lot of unshielded wiring out to each LED. A bulb is self-contained and probably no worse than any compact flourescent.
LED video walls have been known to generate a lot of RF noise, but that's mostly because they can have a lot of unshielded wiring out to each LED. A bulb is self-contained and probably no worse than any compact flourescent.
- Darlington Pair
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I have a few in my studio, but my lighting wiring is separate from my outlets and I have noticed some problems with single coils and unshielded tubes, but really only in close proximity. So Where guitars and amps are just have very low wattage incandescent lights. I haven't noticed any problems in my control area.
Not all lamps are like that. I can't speak for the Cree lamps specifically, but the building I work in moved dozens of showrooms last year and offered a fantastic deal on LED lamping for their new locations. We mostly used a brand called Acculight. I would pay you cash money if you could tell me the difference between it and a halogen lamp.
20 watts, 1400 lumens, 50,000 hour lamp life. Yes, the $50 tag is steep, but it is the last lamp you'll buy.
20 watts, 1400 lumens, 50,000 hour lamp life. Yes, the $50 tag is steep, but it is the last lamp you'll buy.
I make a living as an electrician, not recording in the basement.
- Scodiddly
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There are some LED... er, not exactly bulbs. Elements? Cores? The actual working bit on a little tiny hexagonal heatsink, usually a "star" in the industry parlance. Some of those will run directly off AC, meaning that there will be a 100 or 120 Hz flicker which most people can't see. The one I used does do the guitar string strobing bit, though.
Anyway, I'd expect some commercial replacement bulbs to use that approach, hence the flickering. Others will use a DC power supply, more parts and more expensive but dead smooth.
It's not that big a deal to build your own LED fixtures using available high power LEDs, heatsinks (heatsinks are *very* important!), current-limiting controllers, etc. I power mine from old laptop power supplies since the controllers I use are pretty tolerant about input voltage.
http://www.LEDSupply.com is where I buy most of my parts.
Anyway, I'd expect some commercial replacement bulbs to use that approach, hence the flickering. Others will use a DC power supply, more parts and more expensive but dead smooth.
It's not that big a deal to build your own LED fixtures using available high power LEDs, heatsinks (heatsinks are *very* important!), current-limiting controllers, etc. I power mine from old laptop power supplies since the controllers I use are pretty tolerant about input voltage.
http://www.LEDSupply.com is where I buy most of my parts.
- losthighway
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That's so odd. A venue in town put in spot lights that are made up of a large group of LED's. I was performing on guitar and looked down, my low E seemed to be waggling so erratically I thought the string was broken and barely hanging on. It made me stumble for a moment and lean down to hear my amp clearly and voice the chord so you could almost only hear that string. 'Ooop, no problem just an optical illusion'. Weird.
I got the 9 watt "warm white" Cree bulbs and they perform almost exactly like regular incandescents. There is no detectable flicker or noise. They turns on immediately and produce nice light (in my opinion). The only way they differs is that they glows for about 1 second on turn off.
My only regret is buying the 9 watt variety instead of the 6 watt bulbs as the 9 watt bulbs are ending up brighter than I expected. I may move them to somewhere else in my house and get the 6 watters instead.
Here's a cool article and inside view of the Cree bulbs:http://www.technologyreview.com/view/51 ... ould-love/
I too have had a weird experience with LED stage spots while playing at a local club here in Portland. The club kicked on their light system about half way through a song. It was so distracting/flashy/stroby that it made me a little disoriented and dizzy.
My only regret is buying the 9 watt variety instead of the 6 watt bulbs as the 9 watt bulbs are ending up brighter than I expected. I may move them to somewhere else in my house and get the 6 watters instead.
Here's a cool article and inside view of the Cree bulbs:http://www.technologyreview.com/view/51 ... ould-love/
I too have had a weird experience with LED stage spots while playing at a local club here in Portland. The club kicked on their light system about half way through a song. It was so distracting/flashy/stroby that it made me a little disoriented and dizzy.
The glowing bit on an LED lamp is called a light engine.Scodiddly wrote:There are some LED... er, not exactly bulbs. Elements? Cores? The actual working bit on a little tiny hexagonal heatsink, usually a "star" in the industry parlance.
I make a living as an electrician, not recording in the basement.
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