My studio has recessed lights in the typical "cans" in the ceiling. Last week a couple of bulbs went out, and I decided to change from the traditional incandescent flood light bulbs to dimmable LED floods. I did this primarily because I wanted a white "daylight" type of light instead of the yellow light incandescents throw off; the fact that the bulbs last for 22 years and use 1/5 the electricity of the old type of bulbs was sort of a bonus.
What I discovered is that there is another benefit to these bulbs: they don't rattle like traditional bulbs when you play your amp! You know that ringy sound you sometimes get when you turn the amp up a little? Doesn't happen with these. Sure, you can still shake stuff in the room if you want, but the light bulbs aren't part of that deal now.
This is actually useful because I generally record my amp with a ribbon mic, and they are figure-of-eight patterns, which means they pick up a lot of room tones. Rattling light fixtures can be a problem. Now they aren't. A vocalist sometimes can also cause fixtures to rattle when hitting certain notes, so now I can use an omni pattern on my mics, too.
Another benefit: LEDs need a different dimmer. An LED compatible dimmer is a 22 buck item, no biggie. My old dimmer sometimes caused electromagnetic interference that makes pickups buzz. The LED compatible dimmer uses a somewhat different circuit, and it doesn't cause nearly the buzzing in single coil settings.
So these bulbs, while initially expensive (I think they were about 21 bucks each), will never have to be replaced during the rest of my lifetime, use 1/5 the power, I like the light better, and they don't make noise like the old ones. Very nice!
What I discovered is that there is another benefit to these bulbs: they don't rattle like traditional bulbs when you play your amp! You know that ringy sound you sometimes get when you turn the amp up a little? Doesn't happen with these. Sure, you can still shake stuff in the room if you want, but the light bulbs aren't part of that deal now.
This is actually useful because I generally record my amp with a ribbon mic, and they are figure-of-eight patterns, which means they pick up a lot of room tones. Rattling light fixtures can be a problem. Now they aren't. A vocalist sometimes can also cause fixtures to rattle when hitting certain notes, so now I can use an omni pattern on my mics, too.
Another benefit: LEDs need a different dimmer. An LED compatible dimmer is a 22 buck item, no biggie. My old dimmer sometimes caused electromagnetic interference that makes pickups buzz. The LED compatible dimmer uses a somewhat different circuit, and it doesn't cause nearly the buzzing in single coil settings.
So these bulbs, while initially expensive (I think they were about 21 bucks each), will never have to be replaced during the rest of my lifetime, use 1/5 the power, I like the light better, and they don't make noise like the old ones. Very nice!
