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Old 27th December 2004   #20
JTR
Lives for gear
 
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 810

Quote:
Originally posted by David Kulka
Ah yes, solid state dimmers. They were the bane of home studios and low budget outfits for many many years.

While I would never recommend them to anyone building a studio and still cringe when I see them, I'd also have to say that these critters are more common than ever these days, and rarely seem to pose much of a problem.

In general, modern analog gear is much more resistant to RF and line noise than the older gear, digital of course is immune. And the SCR dimmers themselves have improved; they radiate far less noise than the earlier models.

So -- while it pains me to say it -- I think that you can often get away with using them these days, especially in post and mix rooms. One thing's for sure, those "quiet" variac dimmers, which can easily cost $500 + to install, have largely gone the way of the dinosaur.
David -

I take it to mean by your description of "quiet" variac dimmers is that many are not actually so?
any brands to avoid or brands to get?
out of curiousity, is there an acceptable substitute for the variac type?
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