VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Hallelujah!

The source of that annoying electric hum in my recordings (especially with my RE 20) has been identified as......the fluorescent light unit in my recording booth.....aside from the obvious alternatives,....

....any suggestions from others who have encountered this signal chain bugaboo?

Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Never had that problem, but I suggest go LED. It's green and low consumption. Check out a company called Optiled..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tnlh370c0Mk
Smile

Deirdre · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 9:02 am Post subject:

Dang— fluorescent lights are such a no-no that I think no one even suspected there might be one in your studio.

for the record:

Do not use fluorescent lighting near your recording gear!!
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

yeah, I know....duh!

But then again, it is the light that came with my #$%@***!!! expensive whisper room----I figured if they were using it it must be okay.

I could just go to Home Depot and get a light to set on my stacked bass traps, I guess.

Or is it worth it to order one of these wall-mount LED units that I have heard about?

This is actually a great thing though...........the electric hum was most noticeable on my RE 20 for some reason, and I was thinking about getting rid of it until I experimented with turning the light on and off......lesson-----check signal chain before blaming problems on the mic

It wqs the noticeable hum in the RE 20 that first alerted me, but upon closer listening the hum was also showing up, though less so, in my condenser mics as well.

KaraEdwards · Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:59 am Post subject:

I have a fluorescent bulb where I record and I have NEVER turned it on! (The Whisper room came with one? Crazy!) Too noisy those things. LED all the way. I have a clip LED light attached to my copy stand, and then an LED lamp behind me for some overall light.

Other annoyances- ceiling fans (mine has to be off) and pool pumps (again, it has to be off). SO glad you figured out the problem- what a relief! And, the best news is that it's a cheap and easy fix!
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

georgethetech · Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 7:16 pm Post subject:

Love Whisper Room, HATE the cheesy fluorescent it comes with.
I immediately swap it out for incandescent or LED. Have had good luck with CFL, believe it or not, even though I know it is fluorescent.
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jrkaiser · Guest

I've got several CFL's in the studio and have no problems at all. All my audio gear is on a different circuit so that may be one of the reasons.

Bruce · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:21 am Post subject:

I have a CFL bulb on all the time and it's never made a sound through my wiring, but as I wrote earlier I had one go bad and make an acoustical humming/grinding noise. Living in the desert I have to skip using my incandescent track lighting during summer.

B
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Hey Rob, Did you recognize the voice on the Optiled vid? Not the old timey 1st part but the narration? Wink

Also the LED puts out no heat!

Gregory Best · Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:32 pm Post subject:

I have 3 CFL's in my work area and no noise issue from them.

"CFL" in that context sounds wierd to me. 'CFl was WCFL Chicago in the 60's and 70's that gave WLS a run for their money (ratings).
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