Members D Charles Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 Hi guys! I'm completely re-doing my studio from scratch. I built a 24' x 24' room on the back of my house and after I double walled it for soundproofing reasons, ended up with around 22' x 22'. Well, decided that the clutter was getting on my nerves so in the process of building an unparallel wall which will result in my recording space being approximately in the 'golden room' dimensions (1 X 1.6 X 2.6). Also a third of the room will be a huge closet which will keep tapes, albums, instruments, amps, floor effects, stands etc etc out of sight and out of mind until I need them. Anyway, my room has no windows so lighting is gonna set the mood. I like little bitty 15 watt and under incandescents around and about so you can walk through the room without tripping over something, but I need intense light just on my control surface and mixer and rack to make adjustments and such. What have you found that will light up just a little space and not overwhelm the mood of the room? Just realized that I've got a bunch of pin spots from the old band days, but they put like a 5" circle on something so it needs to be a tad more spread out and not quite as intense. Any ideas? PS Links to old threads I've missed are welcome. Pics are golden! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 I use a small desk lamp at the board, which is enough to let me see the keyboard and, if I swing the top of it up a bit, the board. It's enough light for me most of the time, but when it's not, I can turn on the overhead track lights in various "zones", which allows me to only illuminate the areas of the room that need it. Two Lava lamps and a mini multi-colored disco ball, and some rope lamps around the top of the Screen6 (over the mix position) complete the lighting. If I'm working alone, I usually have most of the track lights off, although if I need a bit more illumination, then I'll flip on the two recessed light fixtures at the rear of the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Music Calgary Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 Rumor has it that full spectrum lighting can have some pretty profound positive health effects for people in rooms. I often wonder about the whole vitamin D thing for engineers... Anyhow that said, LED is the way to go for everything now -- they have retrofit bulbs now which reduce power and enhance lighting. Check them out. LED lighting rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phait Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 Phil, must ask.. how do you get by with 1, 4:3 monitor? 2x 16:10 (hell 3, which I'm gonna upgrade to eventually) is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 Seriously, what the {censored} with the candles? Where does this candle impulse come from, and in what other profession does it get expressed? -steve albini **hat tip to gearmike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted October 10, 2008 Moderators Share Posted October 10, 2008 I use a couple of wall sconces on the front wall. Those are on a dimmer, which is on a whole different circuit (zero noise). Then, I use a couple of halogen tracks, one directly above the desk and one directly above the vocal area. These Ikea tracks let you easily screw on additional halogen bulbs. I keep several on hand in a drawer. If the mood requires a lot of light, I add a couple more lamps. It takes 30 seconds. Typically however, I've got one halogen shooting directly down on my position and the 2 front sconces dimmed down low. Ahhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Phil, must ask.. how do you get by with 1, 4:3 monitor? 2x 16:10 (hell 3, which I'm gonna upgrade to eventually) is awesome. Semi-flippant answer? Because I spend more time listening than I do looking. Serious answer: All three of the monitors in the top picture are connected to my main DAW - one right in front of me (17"), a duplicate over to the right (15"), and an extended desktop on the second one (15") to the right. There is also a third 15" monitor (not visible in the pics) over by the keyboards for the softsynth computer. Since Pro Tools uses only two main screens, I can see everything on that one 17" monitor that I need to see. Other stuff, like the transport, memory locations and system usage window, are usually over on the "extended" monitor, where I can grab them and drag them over to the "main" screen as needed. Sometimes I'll have my Studio Manager (software for my Yamaha boards) window over on the extended monitor, but usually it's "behind" the PT windows, or minimized, so all I have to do is hit that tab and it opens right up. And did I mention that I spend more time listening than looking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boosh Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 Hey Phil ,....someone told me once that you spend a lot more time listening than looking. Is that true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimOBrien Posted October 10, 2008 Members Share Posted October 10, 2008 I have several Par38 can lights (two for $30 at MF) with dimmers on them (the dimmers do not make any noise in my studio gear but be careful and test everything out to make sure before you record anything important...) You can always put gels in 'em, too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ernest Buckley Posted October 11, 2008 Members Share Posted October 11, 2008 I have a $12 bankers lamp purchased from Staples that sits on the left side of my desk... nothing fancy here. I have recessed lights which I also never use. For some reason, I prefer to work in darkness with just the monitor providing light. Something about very little light that makes me feel more in the groove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Lighting is very important to vibe and mood IMO. Lots of singers like to perform in the dark, or a dimly lit room for some reason... as do a lot of players. It's probably more familiar and similar to their "natural environment" - IOW, dimly lit, or "colorfully lit" stages... Vibe and mood also accounts for some of the use of candles - someone should tell Steve, although I'm not a big fan of the soot they give off into the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Hey Phil ,....someone told me once that you spend a lot more time listening than looking. Is that true? Those are vicious and unfounded rumours Booshy. Listening in a recording studio? Who would ever think to do something as crazy as that? I keep meaning to get a custom sign for the control room that says "QUIET PLEASE - LISTENING IN PROGRESS", or something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oliver Chesler Posted October 11, 2008 Members Share Posted October 11, 2008 I hope these fake windows (photo above) come to market: http://technabob.com/blog/2007/11/25/fake-window-sheds-light-on-your-cubicle/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I hope these fake windows (photo above) come to market: http://technabob.com/blog/2007/11/25/fake-window-sheds-light-on-your-cubicle/ Clever... but I think I'd rather have that same technology in a skylight version... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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