 A-Type Plug — A domestic and semi-pro form of jack plug, also known as TS

or TRS and widely used for electric instruments, headphones and line-level
connections on semi-pro equipment. (cf. B-Type Plug)
 A-Weighting — A form of electrical filter which is designed to mimic the
relative sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies at low sound
pressure levels (notionally 40 Phons or about 30dBA SPL). Essentially, the
filter rolls-off the low frequencies below about 700Hz and the highs above
about 10kHz. This filtering is often used when making measurements of
low-level sounds, like the noise floor of a device. (See also C-Weighting and
K-Weighting)
 AC — Alternating Current (cf. DC). Audio signals are represented in the
electrical domain as currents flowing alternately forward and back in the
circuits as an analogue of the compression and rarefaction of acoustic air
pressure.
 Accent Mic — see Close Miking
 Acoustic Foam — A specific type of open-celled expanded polyurethane
foam that allows sound waves to enter and flow through the foam,
absorbing their energy and preventing them being reflected. The density
and depth of the foam affects the frequency range over which it is effective
as an absorber.
 Acoustic Treatment — A generic term embracing a range of products or
constructions intended to absorb, diffuse or reflect sound waves in a
controlled manner, with the intention of bestowing a room with an
acceptable reverberation time and overall sound character.
 Active — Describes a circuit containing transistors, ICs, tubes and other
devices that require power to operate, and which are capable of
amplification.
 Active Loudspeaker or Monitor — A loudspeaker system in which the input
signal is passed to a line-level crossover, the suitably filtered outputs of
which feed two (or more) power amplifiers, each connected directly to its
own drive unit. The line-level crossover and amplifiers are usually (but not
always) built in to the loudspeaker cabinet.
 A/D [A-D] Converter — A device which converts an analogue audio signal
into a digital representation.
 ADAT Lightpipe — A widely used eight-channel optical digital audio
interface developed by Alesis as a bespoke interface for the company's
digital eight-track tape machines in the early 1990s (Alesis Digital Audio
 Tape). The interface transfers up to eight channels of 24-bit digital audio at
base sample rates (44.1 or 48kHz) via a single fibre-optic cable. This
'lightpipe' is physically identical to that used for the TOSlink optical S/PDIF
stereo interface found on many digital consumer hi-fi devices, but while the
fibre itself can be used interchangeably for either format, the S/PDIF and
ADAT interfaces are not compatible in any other way. The interface
incorporates embedded clocking, and padding zeros are introduced
automatically if the word length is less than 24 bits.
Although not supported by all ADAT interfaces, most modern devices
employ the S/MUX (Sample Multiplexing) protocol (licensed from Sonorus)
which allows higher sample rates to be employed at the cost of fewer
channels of audio. The S/MUX2 format operates at double sample rates
(88.2 and 96kHz) but carries only four channels, while S/MUX4 operates at
quad rates (176.4 and 192kHz) with two channels. S/MUX uses a clever
technique that divides the high sample rate data across the nominal
channels in such a way that accidental level changes or dithering applied
identically to each channel in the data stream will not destroy the wanted
demultiplexed signal.
 Additive Synthesis — A system for generating audio waveforms or sounds
by combining basic waveforms or sampled sounds prior to further
processing with filters and envelope shapers. The Hammond tonewheel
organ was one of the first additive synthesizers.
 ADSR — When creating artificial waveforms in a synthesizer, changes in the
signal amplitude over time are controlled by an ‘envelope generator’ which
typically has controls to adjust the Attack, Sustain, Decay and Release
times, controlled by the pressing and subsequent release of a key on the
keyboard. The Attack phase determines the time taken for the signal to
grow to its maximum amplitude, triggered by the pressing of a key. The
envelope then immediately enters the Decay phase during which time the
signal level reduces until it reaches the Sustain level set by the user. The
signal remains at this level until the key is released, at which point the
Release phase is entered and the signal level reduces back to zero.
 Active Sensing — A system used to verify that a MIDI connection is
working. It involves the sending device sending frequent short messages to
the receiving device to reassure it that all is well. If these active sensing
messages stop for any reason the receiving device will recognise a fault
 condition and switch off all notes. Not all MIDI devices support active
sensing.
 AES — Acronym for Audio Engineering Society, one of the industry's
professional audio associations. (www.aes.org)
 AES3 — A digital audio interface which passes two digital audio channels,
plus embedded clocking data, with up to 24 bits per sample and sample
rates up to 384kHz. Developed by the Audio Engineering Society and the
European Broadcasting Union, it is often known as the AES-EBU interface.
Standard AES3 is connected using 3-pin XLRs with a balanced cable of
nominal 110 Ohm impedance and with a signal voltage of up to 7V pk-pk.
The related AES3-id format uses BNC connectors with unbalanced 75 Ohm
coaxial cables and a 1V pk-pk signal. In both cases the datastream is
structured identically to S/PDIF, although some of the Channel status codes
are used differently.
 AES10 — An AES standard which defines the MADI interface (serial
Multichannel Audio Digital Interface). MADi can convey either 56 or 64
channels via single coaxial or optical connections.
 AES11 — An AES standard that defines the use of a specific form of AES3
signal for clocking purposes. Also known as DARS (Digital Audio Reference
Signal).
 AES17 – And AES standard that defines a method of evaluating the dynamic
range performance of A-D and D-A converters.
 AES42 — An AES standard which defines the connectivity, powering,
remote control and audio format of ‘digital microphones.’ The audio
information is conveyed as AES3 data, while a bespoke modulated 10V
phantom power supply conveys remote control and clocking information.
 AES59 — An AES standard which defines the use and pin-outs of 25-pin D-
sub connectors for eight-channel balanced analogue audio and bi-
directional eight-channel digital interfacing. It conforms fully with the
established Tascam interface standard.
 AFL — After Fade listen. A system used within mixing consoles to allow
specific signals to be monitored at the level set by their fader. Aux sends
are generally monitored AFL rather than PFL (see PFL).
 Aftertouch — A means of generating a control signal in a synthesizer based
on how much pressure is applied to the keys of a MIDI keyboard. Most
instruments that support this do not have independent pressure sensing for
all keys, but rather detect the overall pressure by means of a sensing strip
 running beneath the keys. Aftertouch may be used to control such
functions as vibrato depth, filter brightness, loudness and so on.
 Algorithm — A sequence of instructions describing how to perform a
specific task. Algorithms are often implemented in a computer language
and compiled into a computer program. In the context of effects units,
algorithms usually describe a software building block designed to create a
specific effect or combination of effects.
 Aliasing — When an analogue signal is sampled for conversion into a digital
data stream, the sampling frequency must be at least twice that of the
highest frequency component of the input signal. If this rule is disobeyed
the sampling process becomes ambiguous as there are insufficient points to
define each cycle of the waveform, resulting in unwanted enharmonic
frequencies being added to the audible signal.
 Ambience — The result of sound reflections in a confined space being
added to the original sound. Ambience may also be created electronically
by some digital reverb units. The main difference between ambience and
reverberation is that ambience doesn't have the characteristic long delay
time of reverberation; the reflections mainly give the sound a sense of
space.
 Amp (Ampere) — Unit of electrical current (A).
 Amp/Amplifier — An Amplifier is an electrical device that typically
increases the voltage or power of an electrical signal. The amount of
amplification can be specified as a multiplication factor (eg. x10) or in
decibels (eg. 20dB).
 Amplitude — The waveform signal level. It can refer to acoustic sound
levels or electrical signal levels.
 Analogue (cf. Digital) — The origin of the term is that the electrical audio
signal inside a piece of equipment can be thought of as being ‘analogous’ to
the original acoustic signal. Analogue circuitry uses a continually changing
voltage or current to represent the audio signal.
 Analogue Synthesis — A system for synthesizing sounds by means of
analogue circuitry, usually by filtering simple repeating waveforms.
 Anti-alias Filter — A very steep low-pass filter used to limit the frequency
range of an analogue signal prior to A/D conversion so that the maximum
frequency does not exceed half the sampling rate.
 Application (App) — Alternative term for computer program.
 Arming — Arming a track or channel on a recording device places it in a
condition where it is ready to record audio when the system is placed in
record mode. Unarmed tracks won’t record audio even if the system is in
record mode. When a track is armed the system monitoring usually
auditions the input signal throughout the recording, whereas unarmed
tracks usually replay any previously recorded audio.
 Arpeggiator — A device (or software) that allows a MIDI instrument to
sequence around any notes currently being played. Most arpeggiators also
allows the sound to be sequenced over several octaves, so that holding
down a simple chord can result in an impressive repeating sequence of
notes.
 ASCII — American Standard Code for Information Interchange. An
internationally recognised code used to represent computer keyboard
characters.
 Attack — The time taken for a sound to achieve its maximum amplitude.
Drums have a fast attack, whereas bowed strings have a slow attack. In
compressors and gates, the attack time equates to how quickly the
processor can reduce the signal level.
 Attenuate — To reduce the signal amplitude or level.
 Audio Data Reduction — A system used to reduce the amount of data
needed to represent some information such as an audio signal. Lossless
audio data reduction systems, (eg. FLAC and ALAC) can fully and precisely
reconstruct the original audio data with bit-accuracy, but the amount of
data reduction is rarely much more than 2:1. Lossy data audio reduction
systems (eg. MPeg. AAC, AC3 and others) permanently discard audio
information that is deemed to have been 'masked' by more prominent
sounds. The original data can never be retrieved, but the reduction in total
data can be considerable (12:1 is common).
 Audio Frequency — Signals in the range of human audio audibility.
Nominally 20Hz to 20kHz.
 Audio Interface — A device which acts as the physical bridge between the
computer’s workstation software and the recording environment. An audio
interface may be connected to the computer (via FireWire, USB,
Thunderbolt, Dante, AVB or other current communication protocols) to
pass audio and MIDI data to and from the computer. Audio Interfaces are
available with a wide variety of different facilities including microphone
preamps, DI inputs, analogue line inputs, ADAT or S/PDIF digital inputs,
 analogue line and digital outputs, headphone outputs, and so on. The
smallest audio interfaces provide just two channels in and out, while the
largest may offer 30 or more.
 Autolocator — A common facility on tape machines or other recording
devices that enables specific time points to be stored and recalled. For
example, you may store the start of a verse as a locate point so that you
can get the tape machine or DAW to automatically relocate the start of the
verse after you've recorded an overdub.
 Auxiliary Sends (Auxes) – A separate output signal derived from an input
channel on a mixing console, usually with the option to select a pre- or
post-fader source and to adjust the level. Corresponding auxiliary sends
from all channels are bussed together before being made available to feed
an internal signal processor or external physical output. Sometimes also
called effects or cue sends.
 Aux Return — Dedicated mixer inputs used to add effects to the mix. Aux
return channels usually have fewer facilities than normal mixer inputs, such
as no EQ and access to fewer aux sends. (cf. Effects Return)
 Azimuth — the alignment of a tape head which references the head gap to
the true vertical relative to the tape path. (cf. Wrap and Zenith).

 B-Type Plug — A professional form of jack plug derived from the

telecommunications industry and also known as the PO316. Widely used
for balanced mic and line-level connections on professional patch bays. (cf.
A-Type Plug)
 Backup — A safety copy of software or other digital data. A popular saying
is that unless data exists in three physically separate locations at the same
time, it hasn’t been backed up properly!
 Back Electret — A form of electrostatic or capacitor microphone. Instead of
creating an electrostatic charge within the capacitor capsule with an
external DC voltage, an electret microphone employs a special dielectric
material which permanently stores a static-electric charge. A PTFE film is
normally used, and where this is attached to the back plate of the capsule
the device is called a ‘back electret’. Some very early electret microphones
used the dielectric film as the diaphragm but these sounded very poor,
which is why later and better designs which used the back electret
configuration were specifically denoted as such. Designs which attach the
 PTFE film to the diaphragm are known as Front Electrets. Modern electret
capsules compare directly in quality with traditional DC-biased capacitor
capsules, and are available in the same range of configurations — large,
medium and small diaphragm sizes, single and dual membrane, fixed or
multi-pattern, and so on.
 Balance — This word has several meanings in recording. It may refer to the
relative levels of the left and right channels of a stereo recording (eg.
Balance Control), or it may be used to describe the relative levels of the
various instruments and voices within a mix (ie. Mix balance).
 Balanced Wiring — Where protection from electromagnetic interference
and freedom from earth references are required, a balanced interface is
used. The term ‘balanced’ refers to identical (balanced) impedances to
ground from each of two signal carrying conductors which are enclosed,
again, within an all-embracing overall screen. This screen is grounded (to
catch and remove unwanted RFI), but plays no part in passing the audio
signal or providing its voltage reference. Instead, the two signal wires
provide the reference voltage for each other — the signal is conveyed
‘differentially’ and the receiver detects the voltage difference between the
two signal wires. Any interference instils the same voltage on each wire
(common mode) because the impedance to ground is identical for each,
and as there is therefore no voltage difference between the signal wires,
the interference is ignored completely by the receiver.
Signals conveyed over the balanced interface may appear as equal half-
level voltages with opposite polarities on each signal wire — the most
commonly described technique. However, modern systems are increasingly
using a single-sided approach where one wire carries the entire signal
voltage and the other a ground reference for it. Some advantages of this
technique include less complicated balanced driver stages, and connection
to an unbalanced destination still provides the correct signal level, yet the
interference rejection properties are unaffected. Effective interference
rejection requires both the sending and receiving devices to have balanced
output and input stages respectively.
 Band-pass Filter (BPF) — A filter that removes or attenuates frequencies
above and below the centre frequency at which it is set, and only passes a
specific range of frequencies. Band-pass filters are often used in
synthesizers as tone shaping elements.
 Bandwidth — The range of frequencies passed by an electronic circuit such
as an amplifier, mixer or filter. The frequency range is usually measured at
the points where the level drops by 3dB relative to the maximum. (See also
Q)
 Bank — A specific configuration of sounds or other parameters stored in
memory and accessed manually or via MIDI commands.
 Bass Response — The frequency response of a loudspeaker system at the
lower end of the spectrum. The physical size and design of a loudspeaker
cabinet and the bass driver (woofer) determine the low frequency
extension (the lowest frequency the speaker can reproduce at normal level)
and the how quickly the signal level falls below that frequency.
 Bass Tip-up — see Proximity Effect.
 Bass Trap — A special type of acoustic absorber which is optimised to
absorb low frequency sound waves.
 Bantam Plug — Also known as TT or Tiny Telephone Plugs. A professional
form of miniature jack plug derived from the telecommunications industry
and widely used for balanced mic and line-level connections on
professional patch bays. (cf. B-Type Plug)
 Beta Version — Software which is not fully tested and may include bugs.
 Bias — A high-frequency signal used in analogue recording to improve the
accuracy of the recorded signal and to drive the erase head. Bias is
generated by a bias oscillator.
 Binary — A counting system based on only two states: 1s and 0s. It is ideal
for electronic equipment where it can be represented as high and low
voltages, light on/off, N-S or S-N magnetic domains, etc.
 BIOS — Part of a computer operating system (basic input-output system)
held on ROM rather than on disk. This handles basic routines such as
accessing the disk drive.
 Bit — A contraction of Binary digit, which may either be 1 or 0.
 Bit Rate (see also Sample Rate) — The number of data bits replayed or
transferred in a given period of time (normally one second). Normally
expressed in terms of kb/s (kilo bits per second) or Mb/s (mega bits per
second). For example, the bit rate of a standard CD is (2 channels x 16 bits
per sample x 44.1 thousand samples per second) = 1411.2 kilobits/second.
Popular MP3 file format bit rates range from 128kb/s to 320kb/s, while the
Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack on a DVD-Video typically ranges
between 384 and 448kb/s.
 Bi-Timbral — A synthesizer than can generate two different sounds
simultaneously (see multi-timbral).
 Blumlein Array — A stereo coincident microphone technique devices by
Alan Blumlein in the early 1930s, employing a pair of microphones with
figure-eight polar patterns, mounted at 90 degrees to each other with the
two diaphragms vertically aligned.
 BNC — A type of bayonet-locking, two-terminal connector used for
professional video and digital audio connections. (See AES3-id)
 Boom — A mechanical means of supporting a microphone above a sound
source. Many microphone stands are supplied with a ‘boom arm’ affixed to
the top of the stand’s main vertical mast. The term may also be applied to
larger, remotely controlled microphone supports used in film and TV
studios, or even to the handheld ‘fishpoles’ used by film and TV sound
recordists.
 Boost/Cut Control — A single gain control which allows the range of
frequencies passing through a filter to be either amplified or attenuated.
The centre position is usually the 'flat' or 'no effect' position.
 Booth — See Isolation Room
 Bouncing — The process of mixing two or more recorded tracks together
and re-recording these onto another track.
 Boundary — A physical obstruction to sound waves, such as a wall, or a
large solid object. When sound waves reach a boundary they create a high
pressure area at the surface.
 Boundary Layer Microphone — A specialised microphone where the
diaphragm is placed very close to a boundary (eg. wall, floor or ceiling). In
this position the direct and reflected sound adds constructively, giving a
6dB increase in sensitivity. It also avoids the comb-filtering that can occur
when a conventionally placed microphone captures the direct sound along
with strong first reflections from nearby boundaries. Also known as PZM or
Pressure Zone Microphone.
 BPM — Beats Per Minute.
 Breath Controller — A device that converts breath pressure into MIDI
controller data.
Buffer — An electronic circuit designed to isolate the output of a source
device from loading effects due to the input impedance of destination
devices.
  Buffer Memory — A buffer is essentially a short term data storage facility
used to accommodate variable data read or write periods, temporarily
storing data in sequence until it can be processed or transferred by or to
some other part of the system.
 Bug — Slang term for a software fault or equipment design problem.
 Bus — (Also sometimes referred to as a buss) An electrical signal path along
which multiple signals may travel. A typical audio mixer contains several
(mix) busses which carry the stereo mix, subgroups, the PFL signal, the aux
sends, and so on. Power supplies are also fed along busses.
 Byte — A collection of digital data comprising eight bits.

 C-Weighting — A form of electrical filter which is designed to mimic the

relative sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies at high sound
pressure levels (notionally 100 Phons or about 87dBA SPL). Essentially, the
filter rolls-off the low frequencies below about 20Hz and the highs above
about 10kHz. This filtering is often used when making measurements of
high-level sounds, such as when calibrating loudspeaker reference levels.
(See also A-Weighting and K-Weighting)
 Cabinet — The physical construction which encloses and supports the
loudspeaker drive units. Usually built of wood or wood composites
(although other materials are often used including metal alloys and mineral
composites). Cabinets can be ‘sealed’ or ‘vented’ in various ways, the
precise design influencing the bass and time-domain characteristics.
 Cabinet Resonance — Any box-like construction will resonate at one or
more frequencies. In the case of a loudspeaker, such resonances are likely
to be undesirable as they may obscure or interfere with the wanted sound
from the drive units. Cabinets are usually braced and damped internally to
minimise resonances.
 Capacitor — A passive, two-terminal electrical component which stores
energy in the form of an electrostatic field. The terminals are attached to
conductive ‘plates’ which are separated by a non-conductive dielectric.
Capacitance is measured in Farads. If a voltage is applied across the
terminals of a capacitor a static electric field develops across the dielectric,
with positive charge collecting on one plate and negative charge on the
other. Where the applied voltage is an alternating signal, a capacitor can be
 thought of as a form of AC resistance that reduces with increasing signal
frequency. The old-fashioned term is a ‘condensor’.
 Capacitor Microphone — Also known as a 'condenser microphone'. This is
a specific form of electrostatic microphone which operates on the principle
of measuring the change in electrical voltage across a capacitor. The
capacitor is formed from two metal electrodes, one fixed (the back-plate)
and the other a thin conductive membrane that flexes in response to sound
pressure. (See also Back Electret, and RF Capacitor Microphone.)
 Capsule — An alternative term for a transducer which converts acoustic
sound waves into an electrical signal.
 Carbon Microphone — (Also known as a Carbon Button Microphone). An
obsolete form of microphone in which carbon granules are contained
between two metal contact plates, one of which acts as the diaphragm and
moves in response to sound waves. The microphone has to be biased with
a DC voltage which causes a current to pass from one metal contact plate,
through the carbon granules, to the other metal contact plate. The varying
pressure exerted on the carbon granules by the moving diaphgram causes a
varying resistance and thus a varying current which is analogous to the
sound waves. Carbon Button Microphones were used in the very early days
of sound recording and broadcasting, as well as in domestic telephones up
until the 1980s when electret capsules became more commonplace.
 Cardioid — A specific form of polar response of a unidirectional
microphone or loudspeaker. It is an inverted heart-shape which has very
low sensitivity at the back (180 degrees), but only slightly reduced
sensitivity (typically between 3 and 6dB) at the sides (90/270 degrees).
 CD-R — A recordable type of Compact Disc that can only be recorded once -
it cannot be erased and reused. The CD-R’s technical characteristics are
defined in the ‘Orange Book’
 CD-R Burner — A device capable of recording data onto blank CD-R discs.
 Channel — A path carrying for audio or data. In the context of a mixing
console a channel is a single strip of controls relating to one input. In the
context of MIDI, Channel refers to one of 16 possible data channels over
which MIDI data may be sent. The organisation of data by channels means
that up to 16 different MIDI instruments or parts may be addressed using a
single cable.
 Chase — A term describing the process whereby a slave device attempts to
synchronise itself with a master device. In the context of a MIDI sequence,
 Chase may also involve chasing events — looking back to earlier positions in
the song to see if there are any program change or other events that need
to be acted upon.
 Chip — A slang term for an Integrated Circuit or IC.
 Chord — Three or more different musical notes played at the same time.
 Chorus — An effect created by doubling a signal and adding delay and pitch
modulation, intended to make a single source sound more like an
ensemble.
 Chromatic — A scale of pitches rising or falling in semitone steps.
 Click Track — An audible metronome pulse which assists musicians in
playing in time.
 Clipping — When an audio signal is allowed to overload the system
conveying it, clipping is said to have occurred and severe distortion results.
The ‘clipping point’ is reached when the audio system can no longer
accommodate the signal amplitude –either because an analogue signal
voltage nears or exceeds the circuitry’s power supply voltage, or because a
digital sample amplitude exceeds the quantiser’s number range. In both
cases, the result is that the signal peaks are ‘clipped’ because the system
can’t support the peak excursions — a sinewave source signal becomes
more like a squarewave. In an analogue system clipping produces strong
harmonic distortion artefacts at frequencies above the fundamental. In a
digital system those high frequency harmonics cause aliasing which results
in anharmonic distortion where the distortion artefacts reproduce at
frequencies below the source fundamental. This is why digital clipping
sounds so unlike analogue clipping, and is far more unpleasant and less
musical.
 Clocking — The process of controlling the sample rate of one digital device
with an external clock signal derived from another device. In a conventional
digital system there must be only one master clock device, with everything
else ‘clocked’ or ‘slaved’ from that master.
 Clone — An exact duplicate. Often refers to digital copies of digital tapes.
 Close-Miking — A mic technique which involves placing a microphone very
close to a sound source, normally with the intention of maximising the
wanted sound and minimising any unwanted sound from other nearby
sound sources or the room acoustics. IN classic music circles the technique
is more often known as 'Accent Miking'.
 Coincident — A means of arranging two or more directional microphone
capsules such that they receive sound waves from all directions at exactly
the same time. The varying sensitivity to sound arriving from different
directions due to the directional polar patterns means that information
about the directions of sound sources is captured in the form of level
differences between the capsule outputs. Specific forms of coincident
microphones include ‘XY’ and ‘MS’ configurations, as well as B-format and
Ambisonic arrays. Coincident arrays are entirely mono-compatible because
there are no timing differences between channels.
 Colouration — A distortion of the natural timbre or frequency response of
sound, usually but not always unwanted.
 Comb-Filter — a series of deep filter notches created when a signal is
combined with a delayed version of itself. The delay time (typically less
than 10ms) determines the lowest frequency at which the filter notches
start.
 Common Mode Rejection — A measure of how well a balanced circuit
rejects an interference signal that is common to both sides of the balanced
connection.
 Compact Cassette — Originally conceived as a recording format for
dictation machines in the early 1960s, it became a mainstream music
release format in the form of the Musicassette. A plastic shell protected
3.81mm wide (1/8-inch) recording tape which ran at 4.75cm/s. A stereo
track was recorded in one direction, and the tape could be turned over to
play a second stereo track recorded in the opposite direction.
 Compander — An encode-decode device typically employed to pass a wide
dynamic range signal over a channel with a lower dynamic range capability.
The source signal is compressed in the encoder to reduce the dynamic
range, and subsequently expanded by the decoder to restore the original
dynamics. The Dolby noise reduction codecs are examples of companders.
 Comping — Short for ‘compilation.’ The process of recording the same
performance (e.g. a lead vocal) several times on multiple tracks to allow the
subsequent selection of the best sections and assembling them to create a
‘compilation’ performance which would be constructed on a final track.
 Compressor — A device (analogue or digital) which is designed to reduce
the overall dynamic range of an audio signal either by attenuating the
signal if it exceeds a set threshold level according, or by increasing the level
of quiet signals below a threshold. The amount of attenuation is defined by
 a set ratio, while the speed of response (attack) and recovery (release) can
usually also be controlled.
 Computer — A device which can be instructed (or programmed) to carry
out arithmetic or logical operations. Although mechanical 'analogue'
computers do exist, most are now electronic and digital, and process digital
data.
 Condenser Microphone — see Capacitor Microphone
 Conductor — A material that provides a low resistance path for electrical
current.
 Cone — A specific shape of drive unit diaphragm intended to push and pull
the air to create acoustic sound waves. Most bass drivers use cone-shaped
diaphragms, where the electromagnetic motor of the drive unit is
connected to the point of the cone, and its outer diameter is supported by
some form of flexible membrane.
 Console — An alternative term for mixer (See also Desk).
 Contact Cleaner — A compound designed to increase the conductivity of
electrical contacts such as plugs, sockets and edge connectors. (cf. De-
Oxidising Compound)
 Continuous Controller — Type of MIDI message used to translate
continuous parameter changes, such as from a pedal, wheel or breath
control device.
 Control Voltage — A variable voltage signal typically used to control the
pitch of an oscillator or filter frequency in an analogue synthesizer. Most
analogue synthesizers follow a one volt per octave convention, though
there are exceptions. To use a pre-MIDI analogue synthesizer under MIDI
control, a MIDI to CV converter is required.
 Converter — A device which transcodes audio signals between the
analogue and digital domains. An analogue-to-digital (A-D) converter
accepts an analogue signal and converts it to a digital format, while a
digital-to-analogue (D-A) converter does the reverse. The sample rate and
wordlength of the digital format is often adjustable, as is the relative
amplitude of analogue signal for a given digital level.
 Copy Protection — A method used by software manufacturers to prevent
unauthorised copying.
 CPU — Central Processing Unit — the number-crunching heart of a
computer or other data processor.
 Crash — Slang term relating to malfunction of computer program.
  Crossover — A set of audio filters designed to restrict and control the range
of input signal frequencies which are passed to each loudspeaker drive unit.
A typical two-way speaker will employ three filters: a high-pass filter
allowing only the higher frequencies to feed the tweeter, a low pass filter
that allows only the lower frequencies to feed the woofer, and a second
high-pass filter that prevents subsonic signals from damaging the woofer.
 Crossover frequency — The frequency at which one driver ceases to
produce most of the sound and a second driver takes over. In the case of a
two-way speaker the crossover frequency is usually between 1 and 3kHz.
 Cut and Paste Editing — The ability to copy or move sections of a recording
to new locations.
 Cut-off Frequency — The frequency above or below which attenuation
begins in a filter circuit.
 Cycle — One complete vibration (from maximum peak, through the
negative peak, and back to the maximum again) of a sound source or its
electrical equivalent. One cycle per second is expressed as 1 Hertz (Hz).
 CV — see Control Voltage

 Daisy Chain — An arrangement of sharing a common data signal between

multiple devices. A ‘daisy chain’ is created by connecting the appropriate
output (or through) port of one device to the input of the next. This
configuration is often used for connecting multiple MIDI instruments
together: the MIDI Out of the master device is connected to the MIDI In of
the first slave, then the MIDI Thru of the first slave is connected to the MIDI
In of the second slave, and so on... A similar arrangement is often used to
share a master word clock sample synchronising signal between digital
devices.
 Damping — The control of a resonant device. In the context of
reverberation, damping refers to the rate at which the reverberant energy
is absorbed by the various surfaces in the environment. In the context of a
loudspeaker it relates to the cabinet design and internal acoustic absorbers.
 DANTE — A form of audio-over-IP (layer 3) created by Australian
company Audinate in 2006. DANTE is an abbreviation of 'Digital Audio
Network Through Ethernet'. The format provides low-latency multichannel
audio over standard ethernet intrastructures. it has been widely adopted in
the broadcast, music studio, and live sound sectors.
 DAT — An abbreviation of Digital Audio Tape, but often used to refer to
DAT recorders (more correctly known as R-DAT because they use a rotating
head similar to a video recorder). Digital recorders using fixed or stationary
heads (such as DCC) are known as S-DAT machines.
 Data — Information stored and used by a computer.
 DAW — (Digital Audio Workstation): A term first used in the 1980s to
describe early ‘tapeless’ recording/sampling machines like the Fairlight and
Synclavier. Nowadays, DAW is more commonly used to describe
Audio+MIDI ‘virtual studio’ software programs such as Cubase, Logic Pro,
Digital Performer, Sonar and such-like. Essentially elaborate software
running on a bespoke or generic computer platform which is designed to
replicate the processes involved in recording, replaying, mixing and
processing real or virtual audio signals. Many modern DAWs incorporate
MIDI sequencing facilities as well as audio manipulation, a range of effects
and sound generation.
 dB — The deciBel is a method of expressing the ratio between two
quantities in a logarithmic fashion. Used when describing audio signal
amplitudes because the logarithmic nature matches the logarithmic
character of the human sense of hearing. The dB is used when comparing
one signal level against another (such as the input and output levels of an
amplifier or filter). When the two signal amplitudes are the same, the
decibel value is 0dB. If one signal has twice the amplitude of the other the
decibel value is +6dB, and if half the size it is -6dB.
When one signal is being compared to a standard reference level the term
is supplemented with a suffix letter representing the specific reference.
0dBu implies a reference voltage of 0.775V rms, while 0dBV relates a
reference voltage of 1.0V rms. The two most common standard audio level
references are +4dBu (1.223V rms) and -10dBV (0.316V rms). The actual
level difference between these is close to 12dB. The term dBm is also
sometimes encountered, and this relates to an amount of power rather
than a voltage, specifically 1mW dissipated into 600 Ohms (which happens
to generate a voltage of 0.775V rms). When discussing acoustic sound
levels, 0dB SPL (sound pressure level) is the typical threshold of human
hearing at 1kHz.
 dB/Octave — A means of measuring the slope or steepness of a filter. The
gentlest audio filter is typically 6dB/Octave (also called a first-order slope).
 Higher values indicate sharper filter slopes. 24dB/octave (fourth order) is
the steepest normally found in analogue audio applications.
 DC — Direct Current. The form of electrical current supplied by batteries
and the power supplies inside electrical equipment. The current flows in
one direction only.
 DCA — Digitally Controlled Amplifier. The digital equivalent of a VCA often
found in digital synthesisers and mixing consoles.
 DCA Group — See VCA Group
 DCC — A stationary-head digital recorder format developed by Philips,
using a bespoke cassette medium similar in size and format to Compact
Cassettes. It used an MPEG data reduction system to reduce the amount of
data that needs to be stored.
 DBX — A manufacturer of audio processing equipment, most notably
compressors and tape noise reduction systems. The DBX NR systems were
commercial encode/decode analogue noise-reduction processors intended
for consumer and semi-pro tape recording. Different models varied in
complexity, but essentially DBX compressed the audio signals during
recording and expanded them by an identical amount on playback.
 DCO — Digitally Controlled Oscillator. Used in digitally-controlled
synthesizers.
 DDL — An abbreviation of Digital Delay Line, used to create simple delay-
based audio effects.
 DDP — Disc Description Protocol. A data description format used for
specifying the content of optical discs including CD, and used almost
universally now for the delivery of disc masters to duplication houses. A
DDP file contains four elements: the Audio image (.DAT); the DDP identifier
(DDPID), the DDP Stream Descriptor (DDPMS); and a subcode descriptor
(PQDESCR). Often an extra text file is also included with track titles and
timing data. Many DAWs and audio editing programs can now create DDP
files.
 De-emphasis — A system which restores the spectral balance to correct for
pre-emphasis.
 De-esser — A device for reducing the effect of sibilance in vocal signals.
 De-Oxidising Compound — A substance formulated to remove oxides from
electrical contacts. (cf. Contact Cleaner)
 Decay — The progressive reduction in amplitude of a sound or electrical
signal over time, eg. The reverb decay of a room. In the context of an ADSR
 envelope shaper, the Decay phase starts as soon as the Attack phase has
reached its maximum level.
 Decca Tree — A form of ‘spaced microphone’ arrangement in which three
microphone capsules (usually, but not always, with omnidirectional polar
patterns) are placed in a large triangular array roughly two metres wide,
with the central microphone one metre further forward. Sounds
approaching from different directions arrive at each capsule at different
times and with slightly different levels, and these timing and level
differences are used to convey the directional information in the recording.
The timing differences between channels can result in unwanted
colouration if they are combined to produce a mono mix.
 Decibel — see dB
 Decoupler (also isolator) — A device intended to prevent the transmission
of physical vibration over a specific frequency range, such as a rubber or
foam block.
 Defragment — The process of rearranging the files on a hard disk so that all
the files are as contiguous as possible, and that the remaining free space is
also contiguous.
 Delay — The time between a sound or control signal being generated and it
auditioned or taking effect, measured in seconds. Often referred to as
latency in the context of computer audio interfaces.
 Desk — An alternative term for mixer (See also console).
 Detent — One or more physical click-stops which can be felt when a rotary
control is moved. Typically used to identify the centre of a control such as a
pan or EQ cut/boost knob, or to give the impression of preset positions on a
gain control.
 DI — An abbreviation for ‘Direct Instrument’ or ‘Direct Inject’ — the two
terms being used interchangeably. Used when an electrical sound source
(eg electric guitar, bass or keyboard) is connected directly into an audio
chain, rather than captured with a microphone in front of a
amp/loudspeaker.
 Diaphragm — the movable membrane in a microphone capsule which
responds mechanically to variations in the pressure or pressure gradient of
sound waves. The mechanical diaphragm vibrations are converted into an
electrical signal usually through electromagnetic or electrostatic techniques
such as ribbon, moving coil, capacitor or electret devices.
 DI Box — Direct Injection, or Direct Instrument Box. A device which accepts
the signal input from a guitar, bass, or keyboard and conditions it to
conform to the requirements of a microphone signal at the output. The
output is a mic-level, balanced signal with a low source impedance, capable
of driving long mic cables. There is usually a facility to break the ground
continuity between mic cable and source to avoid unwanted ground loop
noises. Both active and passive versions are available, the former requiring
power from internal batteries or phantom power via the mic cable. Active
DI boxes generally have higher input impedances than passive types and
are generally considered to sound better.
 Digital (cf. Analogue) — A means of representing information (eg audio or
video signals) in the form of binary codes comprising strings of 1s and 0s, or
their electrical or physical equivalents. Digital audio circuitry uses discrete
voltages or currents to represent the audio signal at specific moments in
time (samples). A properly engineered digital system has infinite resolution,
the same as an analogue system, but the audio bandwidth is restricted by
the sample rate, and the signal-noise ratio (or dynamic range) is restricted
by the word-length.
 Digital Delay — A digital processor that generates delay and echo effects.
 Digital Reverberator — A digital processor which simulates acoustic
reverberation.
 DIN Connector — A consumer multi-pin connection format used for vintage
microphones, some consumer audio equipment, and MIDI cabling. Various
pin configurations are available.
 Diode-Bridge Compressor — A form of audio compressor which uses a
diode-bridge (sometimes known as a diode-ring) arrangement as the
variable gain-reducing element. The design was popular in the 1960s as it
provided faster responses than typical opto-compressors, and less
distortion than many FET designs. However, noise can be an issue as the
audio signal has to be attenuated heavily before the diode-bridge, and
considerable (~40dB) gain added subsequently. The diodes also need to be
closely matched to maintain low distortion.
 Direct Coupling — A means of connecting two electrical circuits so that
both AC and DC signals may be passed between them.
 Dither — A system whereby low-level noise equivalent to one quantising
level is combined with a digitised audio signal in such a way as to perfectly
 linearise the digital system. Dither must be employed whenever the
wordlength is reduced, otherwise quantising distortion errors will manifest.
 Disc — Used to describe vinyl discs, CDs and MiniDiscs.
 Disk — An abbreviation of Diskette, but now used to describe computer
floppy, hard and removable data storage disks.
 DMA — Direct Memory Access. Part of a computer operating system that
allows peripheral devices to communicate directly with the computer
memory without going via the central processor or CPU.
 Dolby Noise-Reduction — A manufacturer of analogue and digital audio
equipment in the fields of tape noise-reduction systems and cinema and
domestic surround-sound equipment. Dolby’s noise-reduction systems
included types B, C and S for domestic and semi-professional machines, and
types A and SR for professional machines. Recordings made using one of
these systems must also be replayed via the same system. These systems
varied in complexity and effectiveness, but essentially they all employed
the principlals of spectral noise-masking in ever-more complex ways
using multiband encode/decode processing to raise low-level signals during
recording, while reversing the process during playback.
 Dolby Surround-Sound — Dolby’s surround sound systems started with an
analogue 4:2:4 phase-matrix system with a very elaborate active-steering
decoder called ProLogic, before moving into the digital realm with Dolby
Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, and others.
 Dolby HX — Invented by B&O and licensed to Dolby. HX (often marketed as
HX Pro) stands for 'Headroom eXtension' and it is a record-processing
system used on some analogue open-reel and cassette tape-recorders
(there is no complementary replay processing). Dolby HX Pro varies the
amount of recording bias depending on the strength of high-frequencies in
the audio signal itself to avoid magnetic saturation and over-biasing. This
makes it possible to record with a higher overall fluxivity on the tape.
 DOS — Disk Operating System. Part of the operating system of PC and PC
compatible computers
 Dome — A specific shape of drive unit diaphragm intended to push and pull
the air to create acoustic sound waves. Most tweeters use dome-shaped
diaphragms which are driven around the circumference by the drive unit’s
motor system. ‘Soft-domes’ are made of a fabric — often silk — while
metal domes are constructed from a light metal like aluminium, or some
form of metal alloy.
 Double-ended Noise Reduction — A method for removing or attenuating
the noise component of a recording or transmission system, in which the
signal is pre-conditioned in a specific way which is reversed on playback.
Most analogue noise-reduction systems are of the double-ended type, such
as the Dolby and DBX systems.
 Double-lapped Screen — Also known as a Reussen screen. The signal-
carrying wires in a microphone cable are protected from external
electrostatic and RF interference by a ‘screen’ which is a surrounding
conductor connected to earth or ground. The Reussen screen is a specific
form of cable screen, comprising two overlapping and counter-wound
layers which are unlikely to ‘open up’ if the cable is bent, yet remain highly
flexible
 DSP — Digital Signal Processor. A powerful microchip used to process
digital signals.
 Drive unit — A physical device designed to generate an acoustic sound
wave in response to an electrical input signal. Drive units can be designed
to reproduce almost the full audio spectrum, but most are optimised to
reproduce a restricted portion, such as a bass unit (woofer) or high-
frequency unit (tweeter). A range of technologies are employed, with most
being moving-coil units, but ribbon and electrostatic drive units also exist,
each with a different balance of advantages and disadvantages. Also known
as a ‘driver’.
 Driver — A piece of software that handles communications between the
main program and a hardware peripheral, such as a soundcard, printer or
scanner. Also a term used to refer to a physical loudspeaker drive unit — eg
bass driver.
 Dropout — A sudden brief loss of signal level. In analogue recording tape
this is often caused by a defect in the oxide layer caused by damage (eg.
creasing) or by a temporary clogging of the replay head, and typically
affects the high-frequencies most. The effect is less likely and less noticable
with wider and faster tape formats.
 Drum Pad — A synthetic playing surface which produces electronic trigger
signals in response to being hit with drum sticks.
 Drum Booth —See Isolation Room
 Dry (cf. Wet) — A signal that has had no effects added.
  Dubbing — The practice of transferring material from one medium to
another, or of adding further material to an existing recording (cf. Over-
Dub).
 Ducking — A system for controlling the level of one audio signal with
another. For example, in a broadcast radio context a music track can be
made to 'duck' or reduce in volume whenever there's a voice over.
 Dump — To transfer digital data from one device to another. A SysEx dump
is a means of transmitting information about a particular instrument or
module over MIDI, and may be used to store sound patches, parameter
settings and so on.
 Dynamic Microphone — A type of microphone that works on the electric
generator principle, such as moving Coil and ribbon mics. An acoustical
sound waves impact the microphone diaphragm which then moves an
electrical conductor within a magnetic field to generate a current, the
amplitude and polarity of which reflects the acoustic signal.
 Dynamic Range — The amplitude range, usually expressed in decibels,
between the loudest signal that can be handled by a piece of equipment
and the level at which small signals disappear into the noise floor. (See
AES17)
 Dynamics — A way of describing the relative levels within a piece of music.

 eSATA — see SATA

 Early Reflections — The initial sound reflections from walls, floors and
ceilings following a sound created in an acoustically reflective environment.
 Effect — A treatment applied to an audio signal in order to change or
enhance it in some creative way. Effects often involve the use of delays,
and include such treatments as reverb and echo.
 Effects Loop — An interface system, usually involving separate send and
receive connections, which allows an external signal processor to be
connected into the audio chain. (cf. Insert Point)
 Effects Return — An additional dedicated mixer input channel, usually with
minimal facilities, designed to accommodate the output from an effects
unit. (cf. Aux Return)
 Electret Microphone — see Back Electret
 Encode/Decode — A system that modifies a signal prior to recording or
transmission, and subsequently restores the signal on playback or
reception.
 Enhancer (cf. Exciter) — An audio processor designed to brighten audio
material using techniques such as dynamic equalisation, phase shifting and
harmonic generation.
 Envelope — The way in which the amplitude of a sound signal varies over
time.
 Envelope generator — An electronic circuit capable of generating a control
signal which represents the envelope of the sound you want to recreate.
This may then be used to control the amplitude of an oscillator or other
sound source, though envelopes may also be used to control filter or
modulation settings. The most common example is the ADSR generator.
 E-PROM — Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. Similar to ROM,
but the information on the chip can be erased and replaced using special
equipment. (See ROM)
 Equaliser (cf. Filter) — A device which allows the user to adjust the tonality
of a sound source by boosting or attenuating a specific range of
frequencies. Equalisers are available in the form of shelf equalisers,
parametric equalisers and graphic equalisers — or as a combination of
these basic forms.
 Equivalent Input Noise — A means of describing the intrinsic electronic
noise at the output of an amplifier in terms of an equivalent input noise,
taking into account the amplifier’s gain.
 Erase — To remove recorded material from an analogue tape, or to remove
digital data from any form of storage media.
 EuCon — A control protocol developed by Euphonix which operates at
high-speed over an Ethernet connection. It is used between control
surfaces and DAW computers to convey information about the positions of
faders, knobs, and buttons and to carry display information.
 Event — In MIDI terms, an event is a single unit of MIDI data, such as a note
being turned on or off, a piece of controller information, a program change,
and so on.
 Exciter (cf. Enhancer) — An audio processor that works by synthesizing
new high frequency harmonics.
 Expander — A device designed to increase the dynamic range, typically by
reducing the volume of low level signals (below a set threshold), or to
 increase the volume of high level signals (above a threshold). (See
Compressor.)
 Expander Module — A synthesizer with no keyboard, often rack mountable
or in some other compact format.

 Fader — A sliding potentiometer control used in mixers and other

processors.
 Ferric — A type of magnetic tape coating that uses iron oxide.
 FET — Field Effect Transistor. A solid-state semiconductor device in which
the current flowing between source and drain terminals is controlled by the
voltage on the gate terminal. The FET is a very high impedance device,
which makes it highly suited for use in impedance converter stages in
capacitor and electret microphones.
 FET-Compressor — A form of audio compressor in which an FET is used to
provide variable signal attenuation. FET compressors are fast-acting in
comparison to opto-compressors.
 Fidelity — The accuracy or precision of a reproduced acoustic sound wave
when compared to the electrical input signal.
 Figure of Eight — Describes the polar response of a microphone or
loudspeaker that is equally sensitive both front and rear, yet rejects sounds
coming from the sides. Also called Bipolar.
 File — A container for stored digital data that usually has a meaningful
name. For example, a Standard MIDI File is a specific type of file designed
to allow sequence information to be interchanged between different types
of sequencer.
 Filter (cf. Equaliser) — An electronic circuit designed to attenuate a specific
range of frequencies. (See low-pass, high-pass and band-pass.)
 Filter Frequency — The ‘turnover’ or ‘corner’ frequency of a high- or low-
pass filter. Technically, the frequency at which the signal amplitude has
been attenuated by 3dB.
 FireWire — A computer interface format based upon the IEEE 1394
standard and named FireWire by Apple computers (Sony’s i.Link format is
also the same interface). FireWire is a serial interface used for high speed
isochronous data transfer, including audio and video. FireWire 400 (IEEE
1394-1995 and IEEE 1394a-2000) or S400 interface transfers data at up to
400Mb/s and can operate over cables up to 4.5metres in length. The
 standard ‘alpha’ connector is available in four and six-connector versions,
the latter able to provide power (up to 25V and 8 watts). The FireWire 800
format (IEEE 1394b-2002) or S800 interface uses a 9-wire ‘beta’ connector
and can convey data at up to 800Mb/s.
 Flanging — An effect which combines a modulated delay with the original
signal, using feedback to create a dramatic, sweeping sound.
 Flash Drive (see 'solid-state drive') — A large capacity solid-state memory
configured to work like a conventional hard drive. Used in digital cameras
and audio recorders in formats such as SD and CF2 cards, as well as in ‘pen
drives’ or ‘USB memory sticks’. Some computers are now available with
solid state flash drives instead of normal internal hard drives.
 Floppy Disk — An obsolete computer disk format using a flexible magnetic
medium encased in a protective plastic sleeve.
 Flutter — A high-speed variation in replay speed causing rapid 'fluttering'
pitch variations. See Wow and Flutter or Scrape Flutter
 Flutter Echoes — Short time-span sound echoes which can be created
when sound waves bounce between opposite walls in a small or
moderately sized room. A shorter version of the ‘slapback’ echo whch can
be experienced in a larger hall when sound from a stage is reflected
strongly from the rear wall.
 Foldback — A system for making one or more separate mixes audible to
musicians while performing, recording and overdubbing. Also known as a
Cue mix. May be auditioned via headphones, IEMs or wedge monitors.
 Formant — The frequency components or resonances of an instrument or
voice sound that doesn't change with the pitch of the note being played or
sung. For example, the body resonance of an acoustic guitar remains
constant, regardless of the note being played.
 Format — A procedure required to ready a computer disk or digital tape for
use. Formatting organises the medium into a series of ‘electronic pigeon
holes’ into which data can be stored. Different computers often use
different formatting systems.
 Fragmentation (cf. defragment) — The process by which the available
space on a disk drive gets split up into small, sometimes unusable, sections
due to the storing and erasing of files.
 Frequency — The number of complete cycles of a repetitive waveform that
occur in 1 second. A waveform which repeats once per second has a
frequency of 1Hz (Hertz).
  Frequency Response — The variation in amplitude relative to the signal
frequency. A measurement of the frequency range that can be handled by a
specific piece of electrical equipment or loudspeaker. (Also see Bandwidth)
 FSK — Frequency Shift Keying. An obsolete method of recording a
synchronisation control signal onto tape by representing it as two
alternating tones. (Also see timecode)
 Fukada Tree — A 7-microphone array surround-sound, broadly equivalent
to the stereo Decca Tree. Conceived by Akira Fukada when he worked for
the Japanese state broadcaster NHK. The front Left, Centre and Right
outputs are generated from a trio of mics arranged in a very similar
way to a Decca Tree, with the left and right outriggers spaced 2m apart,
and the centre mic 1m forward. The Rear Left and Rear Right channels
come from mics spaced 2m apart placed and 2m behind the front
outriggers. Instead of using omni mics like a Decca Tree, all five mics are
usually cardioids, aimed 60 degrees outwards to maximise channel
separation. These five mics are usually supplemented with an extra pair of
omni outriggers placed midway between the front and rear mics.
 Fundamental — The lowest frequency component in a harmonically
complex sound. (Also see harmonic and partial.)
 FX — Shorthand term for Effects.

 Gain — The amount by which a circuit amplifies a signal, normally denoted

in decibels.
 Gain Staging — The act of optimising the signal level through each audio
device in a signal chain, or through each section of a mixing console, to
maintain an appropriate amount of headroom and keep the signal well
above the system noise floor.
 Galvanic Isolation — Electrical isolation between two circuits. A
transformer provides galvanic isolation because there is no direct electrical
connection between the primary and secondary windings; the audio signal
is passed via magnetic coupling. An opto-coupler also provides galvanic
isolation, as the signal is passed via light modulation.
 Gate (CV) — A synthesiser control signal generated whenever a key is
depressed on an electronic keyboard and used to trigger envelope
generators and other events that need to be synchronised to key action.
 Gate — An electronic device (analogue or digital) designed to mute low
level signals so as to improve noise performance during pauses in the
wanted material. (Also see Expander.)
 General MIDI — A universally agreed subset of the MIDI standard, created
to enable manufacturers to build synthesizers, synth modules and plug-in
instruments that exhibit an agreed minimum degree of compatibility.
 Glitch — Describes an unwanted short term corruption of a signal, or the
unexplained, short term malfunction of a piece of equipment.
 GM Reset — A universal SysEx command which activates the General MIDI
mode on a GM instrument. The same command also sets all controllers to
their default values and switches off any notes still playing by means of an
All Notes Off message.
 Gooseneck — A flexible tube often used to support microphones or small
lights. Sometimes also known as a 'Swan Neck'.
 Graphic Equaliser — An form of equaliser whereby multiple narrow
segments of the audio spectrum are controlled by individual cut/boost
faders. The name comes about because the fader positions provide a
graphic representation of the EQ curve.
 Ground — An alternative term for the electrical Earth or 0 Volts reference.
In mains wiring, the ground cable is often physically connected to the
planet’s earth via a long conductive metal spike.
 Ground Loop / Ground Loop Hum — A condition created when two or
more devices are interconnected in such a way that a loop is created in the
ground circuit. This can result in audible hums or buzzes in analogue
equipment, or unreliability and audio glitches in digital equipment.
Typically, a ground loop is created when two devices are connected
together using one or more screened audio cables, and both units are also
plugged into the mains supply with safety ground connections via the mains
plug earth pins. The loop exists between one mains plug, to the first device,
through the audio cable screen to the second device, back to the mains
supply via the second mains plug, and round to the first device via the
building’s power wiring. If the two mains socket ground terminals happen
to be at slightly different voltages (which is not unusual), and small current
will flow around the ground loop. Although not dangerous, this can result in
audible hums or buzzes in poorly designed equipment.
Ground loops can often be prevented by ensuring that the connected audio
equipment is powered from a single mains socket or distribution board,
 thus minimising the loop. In extreme cases it may be necessary to
disconnect the screen connection at one end of some of the audio cables,
or to use audio isolating transformers in the signal paths. The mains plug
earth connection must NEVER be disconnected to try to resolve a ground
loop problem as this will render the equipment potentially LETHAL.
 Group — A mixed collection of signals within a mixer that are combined
and routed through a separate fader to provide overall control. In a
multitrack mixer several groups are provided to feed the various recorder
track inputs.
 GS — Roland's own extension to the General MIDI protocol.
 GUI — Graphical User Interface (pronounced ‘Gooey’). A software program
designer’s way of creating an intuitive visual operating environment
controlled by a mouse-driven pointer or similar.

 Hard Disk Drive (cf. Solid-state Drive) — The conventional means of

computer data storage. One or more metal disks (hard disks) hermetically
sealed in an enclosure with integral drive electronics and interfacing. The
disks coated in a magnetic material and spun at high speed (typically
7200rpm for audio applications). A series of movable arms carrying
miniature magnetic heads are arranged to move closely over the surface of
the discs to record (write) and replay (read) data.
 Harmonic — High frequency components of a complex waveform, where
the harmonic frequency is an integer multiple of the fundamental.
 Harmonic Distortion — The addition of harmonics that were not present in
the original signal caused by non-linearities in an electronic circuit or audio
transducer.
 Head — The part of a tape machine or disk drive that reads and/or writes
information magnetically to and from the storage media.
 Headroom — The available ‘safety margin’ in audio equipment required to
accommodate unexpected loud audio transient signals. It is defined as the
region between the nominal operating level (0VU) and the clipping point.
Typically, a high quality analogue audio mixer or processor will have a
nominal operating level of +4dBu and a clipping point of +24dBu —
providing 20dB of headroom. Analogue meters, by convention, don’t show
the headroom margin at all; but in contrast, digital systems normally do —
hence the need to try to restrict signal levels to average around -20dBFS
 when tracking and mixing with digital systems to maintain a sensible
headroom margin. Fully post-produced signals no longer require headroom
as the peak signal level is known and controlled. For this reason it has
become normal to create CDs with zero headroom.
 Hertz (Hz) — The standard measurement of frequency. 10Hz means ten
complete cycles of a repeating waveform per second.
 High-Pass Filter (HPF) — A filter which passes frequencies above its cut-off
frequency, but attenuates lower frequencies.
 High-range (highs) — The upper portion of the audible frequency
spectrum, typically denoting frequencies above about 1kHz.
 High Resolution — A misnomer, but used to refer to digital formats with
long word-lengths and high sample rates, eg. 24/96 or 24/192. Audio
resolution is infinite and identical to analogue systems in properly
configured digital systems. Word-length defines only the system’s signal-to-
noise ratio (equivalent to tape width in analogue systems) , while sample
rate defines only the audio bandwidth (equivalent to tape speed in
analogue systems).
 Hiss — Random noise caused by random electrical fluctuations.
 Hub — Normally used in the context of the USB computer data interface. A
hub is a device used to expand a single USB port into several, enabling the
connection of multiple devices. Particularly useful where multiple software
program authorisation dongles must be connected to the computer.
 Hum — Audio Signal contamination caused by the addition of low
frequencies, usually related to the mains power frequency.
 Hysteresis — A condition whereby the state of a system is dependent on
previous events or, in other words, the system's output can lag behind the
input. Most commonly found in audio in the behaviour of ferro-magnetic
materials such as in transformers and analogue tape heads, or in electronic
circuits such a 'switch de-bouncing'. Another example is the way a drop-
down box on a computer menu remains visible for a short while after the
mouse is moved.
 Hz — The SI symbol for Hertz, the unit of frequency.

 IC — An abbreviation of Integrated Circuit, a collection of miniaturised

transistors and other components on a single silicon wafer, designed to
perform a specific function.
 IEM — In-Ear Monitor. A wirelessly-connected foldback monitoring system,
often used by musicians on stage with in-ear earpieces.
 Impedance — The ‘resistance’ or opposition of a medium to a change of
state, often encountered in the context of electrical connections (and the
way signals of different frequencies are treated), or acoustic treatment
(denoting the resistance it presents to air flow). Although measured in
Ohms, the impedance of a ‘reactive’ device such as a loudspeaker drive unit
will usually vary with signal frequency and will be higher than the resistance
when measured with a static DC voltage. Signal sources have an output
impedance and destinations have an input impedance. In analogue audio
systems the usually arrangement is to source from a very low impedance
and feed a destination of a much higher (typically 10 times) impedance.
This is called a ‘voltage matching’ interface. In digital and video systems it is
more normal to find ‘matched impedance’ interfacing where the source,
destination and cable all have the same impedance (eg. 75 Ohms in the
case of S/PDIF).
Microphones have a very low impedance (150 Ohms or so) while
microphone preamps provide an input impedance of 1,500 Ohms or more.
Line inputs typically have an impedance of 10,000 Ohms and DI boxes may
provide an input impedance of as much as 1,000,000 Ohms to suit the
relatively high output impedance of typical guitar pickups.
 Inductor — A reactive component that presents an increasing impedance
with frequency. (Also see Capacitor.)
 Initialise — Resetting a device to its 'start-up' state. Sometimes used to
mean restoring a piece of equipment to its factory default settings.
 Insert Points — The provision on a mixing console or ‘channel strip’
processor of a facility to break into the signal path through the unit to
insert an external processor. Budget devices generally use a single
connection (usually a TRS socket) with unbalanced send and return signals
on separate contacts, requiring a splitter or Y-cable to provide separate
send (input to the external device) and return (output from external device)
connections . High end units tend to provide separate balanced send and
return connections. (cf. Effects Loop)
 Input Impedance — The input impedance of an electrical network is the
‘load’ into which a power source delivers energy. In modern audio systems
the input impedance is normally about ten times higher than the source
impedance — so a typical microphone preamp has an input impedance of
 between 1500 and 2500 Ohms, and a line input is usually between 10 and
50k Ohms.
 Insulator — A material that does not conduct electricity. (Also see
conductor)
 Instrument Level — The nominal signal level generated by an electric
instrument like a guitar, bass guitar or keyboard. Typically around -25dBu.
Instrument signals must be amplified to raise them to line-level.
 Interface — A device that acts as an intermediary to two or more other
pieces of equipment. For example, a MIDI interface enables a computer to
communicate with MIDI instruments and keyboards.
 Intermittent — Something that happens occasionally and unpredictably,
typically a fault condition.
 Intermodulation Distortion — A form of non-linear distortion that
introduces frequencies not present in and musically unrelated to the
original signal. These are invariably based on the sum and difference
products of the original frequencies.
 I/O — The input/output connections of a system.
 IPS — Inches Per Second. Used to describe tape speed. Also the Institute of
Professional Sound (www.ips.org.uk)
 IRQ — Interrupt Request. Part of the operating system of a computer that
allows a connected device to request attention from the processor in order
to transfer data to it or from it.
 Isolation Room — A separate room or enclosure designed to provide
acoustic isolation from external noise. Often used alongside a studio's
main live room to record vocals or drums, for example, without spill from
other instruments.
 Isolator (also decoupler) — A device intended to prevent the transmission
of physical vibrations over a specific frequency range, such as a rubber or
foam block. The term can also be applied to audio isolation transformers,
used to provide galvanic isolation between the source and destination, thus
avoiding ground loops.
 Isopropyl Alcohol — A type of alcohol commonly used for cleaning and de-
greasing tape machine heads and guides.
J

 Jackfield — A system of panel-mounted connectors used to bring inputs

and outputs to a central point from where they can be routed using plug-in
patch cords. Also called a patchbay.
 Jack Plug — A commonly used audio connector, usually ¼ inch in diameter
and with either two terminals (tip and sleeve known as TS) or three (tip,
ring, sleeve called TRS). The TS version can only carry unbalanced mono
signals, and is often used for electric instruments (guitars, keyboards, etc).
The TRS version is used for unbalanced stereo signals (eg for headphones)
or balanced mono signals.
 Jargon — Specialised words associated with a specialist subject.

 k — (lower-case k) The standard abbreviation for kilo, meaning a multiplier

of 1000 (one thousand). Used as a prefix to other values to indicate
magnitude, eg. 1kHz = 1000Hz, 1kOhm = 1000 Ohms.
 K-Metering — An audio level metering format developed by mastering
engineer Bob Katz which must be used with a monitoring system set up to a
calibrated acoustic reference level. Three VU-like meter scales are
provided, differing only in the displayed headroom margin. The K-20 scale is
used for source recording and wide dynamic-range mixing/mastering, and
affords a 20dB headroom margin. The K-14 scale allows 14dB of headroom
and is intended for most pop music mixing/mastering, while the K-12 scale
is intended for material with a more heavily restricted dynamic-range, such
as for broadcasting. In all cases, the meter's zero mark is aligned with the
acoustic reference level.
 K-Weighting — A form of electrical filter which is designed to mimic the
relative sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies in terms of
pereceived loudness. It is broadly similar to the A-Weighting curve, except
that it adds a shelf boost above 2kHz. This filter is an integral element of
the ITU-R BS.1770 loudness measurement protocol. (See also A-Weighting
and C-Weighting)
L

 Latency (cf. Delay) — The time delay experienced between a sound or

control signal being generated and it being auditioned or taking effect,
measured in seconds.
 Lay Length — The distance along the length of a cable over which the
twisted core wires complete one complete turn. Shorter lay lengths provide
better rejection of electromagnetic interference, but make the cable less
flexible and more expensive.
 LED — Light Emitting Diode. A form of solid state lamp.
 LCD — Liquid Crystal Display.
 LFO — Low Frequency Oscillator, often found in synths or effects using
modulation.
 LSB — Least Significant Byte. If a piece of data has to be conveyed as two
bytes, one byte represents high value numbers and the other low value
numbers, much in the same way as tens and units function in the decimal
system. The high value, or most significant part of the message is called the
Most Significant Byte or MSB.
 Lightpipe — see ADAT Lightpipe.
 Limiter — An automatic gain-control device used to restrict the dynamic
range of an audio signal. A Limiter is a form of compressor optimised to
control brief, high level transients with a ratio greater than 10:1.
 Linear — A device where the output is a direct multiple of the input with no
unwanted distortions.
 Line-level — A nominal signal level which is around -10dBV for semi-pro
equipment and +4dBu for professional equipment.
 LKFS — see LUFS
 Load — An electrical load is a circuit that draws power from another circuit
or power supply. The term also describes reading data into a computer
system.
 Local On/Off — A function to allow the keyboard and sound generating
section of a keyboard synthesizer to be used independently of each other.
 Logic — A type of electronic circuitry used for processing binary signals
comprising two discrete voltage levels.
 Loom — A number of separate cables bound together for neatness and
convenience.
 Loop — The process of defining a portion of audio within a DAW, and
configuring the system to replay that portion repeatedly. Also, a circuit
condition where the output is connected back to the input.
 Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO) — An oscillator used as a modulation
source, usually operating with frequencies below 20Hz. The most common
LFO waveshape is the sine wave, though there is often a choice of sine,
square, triangular and sawtooth waveforms.
 Low-Pass Filter (LPF) — A filter which passes frequencies below its cut-off
frequency, but attenuates higher frequencies.
 Loudspeaker (also Monitor and Speaker) — A device used to convert an
electrical audio signal into an acoustic sound wave. An accurate
loudspeaker intended for critical sound auditioning purposes.
 Loudness — The perceived volume of an audio signal.
 Loudness-Normalisation — The practice of matching the perceived
loudness of different material to a given target loudness value. To
accommodate varying peak levels, the medium requires an approporiate
headroom margin. Loudness-normalisation is now the default form for
HDTV broadcasts, as well as most audio streaming services, although the
target loudness level currently varies between different platforms.
Loudness-normalisation is measured using the LUFS or LKFS scale. (See
LUFS, Peak-Normalisation, Mastering, Loudness Wars).
 Loudness Wars — The practice of trying to make each new commercial
music release sound subjectively louder than any previous release, on the
misguided notion that louder is more exciting and results in more sales. A
relationship between the average loudness of 45rpm singles and sales was
noticed in America from jukebox plays, and that led to the first loudness
war. However, the advent of the CD really ramped up the situation, with
music becoming ever-more dynamically compressed to squeeze the
average level higher and higher towards the 0dBFS peak level. This
desctructive trend is, thankfully, now being slowly reversed with the
ubiquity of loudness normalisation adopted by most online audio streaming
services and broadcasters.
 Low-range (low, lows) — The lower portion of the audible frequency
spectrum, typically denoting frequencies below about 1kHz
 LUFS — The standard measurement of loudness, as used on Loudness
Meters corresponding to the ITU-TR BS1770 specification. the acronym
stands for 'Loudness Units (relative to) Full Scale. Earlier versions of the
 specification used LKFS instead, and this label remains in use in America.
The K refers to the 'K-Weighting' filter used in the signal measurement
process. (See this article on the loudness metering concept.)

 m — Abbreviation for milli, meaning a multiplier of 1/1000 (one

thousandth). Used as a prefix to other values to indicate magnitude, eg.
1mA = 0.001A.
 M — Abbreviation for mega, meaning a multiplier of 1,000,000 (one
million). Used as a prefix to other values to indicate magnitude, eg. 1MOhm
= 1,000,000 Ohms or 1000k Ohms.
 MADI — Multichannel Audio Digital Interface. Originally specified by the
Audio engineering Society (AES) as AES10 in 1991. This unidirectional digital
audio interface shares the same core 24-bit audio and status data format as
AES3, but with different 'wrapping' to contain 56 or 64 synchronous
channels at base sample rates, or 28 channels at 96kHz. It can be conveyed
over unbalanced coaxial cables, or via optical fibres
 Magnetic Shielding — Also called magnetic compensation (which is usually
a more accurate description). A means of restricting the radiation range of
the stray magnetic field from a drive unit’s permanent magnet which might
otherwise interfere with the correct operation of moving-coil meters or CRT
television monitors. While it is possible to enclose a magnet in a soft-metal
case to prevent a stray magnetic field this becomes very expensive for large
magnets, and so a more common approach is to affix additional small
external magnets with opposite polarities to cancel out the unwanted stray
field.
 Master — A device which controls slave devices. Often used to refer to
synchronised recorders, or digital clocking devices.
 Mastering — Traditionally the sequencing of individual recordings to form a
cohesive album of material, and to apply corrective equalisation and
dynamics processing to ensure a consistent sound character and to
optimise playback on the widest possible range of sound systems.
Appropriate signal processing may also be applied to make the mastered
material suitable for its intended medium (such as controlling transient
peaks and dynamics and mono-ing the bass for vinyl records, etc).
 Matrix — A facility found mostly in live-sound mixing consoles used to
create separate mixes which can be sent to many different
 output destinations. Essentially, a Matrix creates 'a mix of mixes' since
derived from pre-mixed output signals such as subgroups, auxes or main
outputs. This is in contrast to the normal console mixing facilities which are
derived from input channel signals. A matrix can be any size, and is usually
described in terms of numbers of inputs and outputs, such as 2x2 or 8x8, or
8x6 etc with a level control at each junction of the matrix so that the
desired amount of any source can be sent to any output — and it is this
feature that makes a Matrix more versatile than a conventional
subgrouping system. Matrix sends might be used to create appropriate
feeds for disparate destinations like PA front fills, green-room foldback,
camera recorders, and so on.
 Maximum SPL — The loudest sound pressure level that a device can
generate or tolerate.
 MB — Megabyte. Nominally 1,000,000 (one million) bytes of data, but in
fact, because computer memory works in with binary, the actual value is
1,048,576 bytes (220).
 Machine Head — A term describing the tuning mechanism of a guitar.
 MDM — Modular Digital Multitrack. An obsolete term for hardware digital
recorders that can be used in multiples to provide a greater number of
synchronized tracks than a single machine.
 Memory — A computer's memory (RAM) used to store programs and data.
This data is lost when the computer is switched off and so must be stored
to disk or other suitable archive media.
 Menu — A list of choices presented by a computer program or a device
with a display window.
 Metering — A display intended to indicate the level of a sound signal. It
could indicate peak levels (eg. PPMs or digital sample meters), average
levels (VU or RMS meters), or perceived loudness (LUFS meters).
 Mic Level — The nominal signal level generated by a microphone. Typically
around -50dBu. Mic level signals must be amplified to raise them to line-
level.
 Microphone — A device used to convert an acoustic sound wave into an
electrical signal.
 Microprocessor — A specialised IC at the heart of a computer which
performs calculations and other data manipulations, following software
instructions.
 Mid-range (mid, mids) — The middle portion of the audible frequency
spectrum, typically denoting frequencies between about 300Hz and 3kHz.
 MIDI — Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A defined interface format
that enables electronic musical instruments and computers to
communicate instructional data and synchronise timing. MIDI sends
musical information between compatible devices, including the pitch,
volume and duration of individual notes, along with many other aspects of
the instruments that lend themselves to electronic control. MIDI can also
carry timing information in the form of MIDI Clock or MIDI Time Code for
system synchronisation purposes.
 MIDI Analyser — A device that gives a visual readout of MIDI activity when
connected between two pieces of MIDI equipment.
 MIDI Bank Change — A type of controller message used to select alternate
banks of MIDI Programs where access to more than 128 programs is
required.
 MIDI Controller — A term used to describe the physical interface by means
of which the musician plays the MIDI synthesizer or other sound generator.
Examples of controllers are keyboards, drum pads, wind synths and so on.
 MIDI Control Change — Also known as MIDI Controllers or Controller Data,
these messages convey positional information relating to performance
controls such as wheels, pedals, switches and other devices. This
information can be used to control functions such as vibrato depth,
brightness, portamento, effects levels, and many other parameters.
 MIDI File — A standard file format for storing song data recorded on a MIDI
sequencer in such a way as to allow it to be read by other makes or model
of MIDI sequencer.
 MIDI Implementation Chart — A chart, usually found in MIDI product
manuals, which provides information as to which MIDI features are
supported. Supported features are marked with a 0 while unsupported
feature are marked with a X. Additional information may be provided, such
as the exact form of the Bank Change message.
 MIDI In — The socket used to receive information from a master controller
or from the MIDI Thru socket of a slave unit.
 MIDI Merge — A device or sequencer function that enables two or more
streams of MIDI data to be combined.
 MIDI Module — A sound generating device with no integral keyboard.
 MIDI Multitimbral Module — A MIDI Sound Source capable of producing
several different sounds at the same time and controlled on different MIDI
channels.
 MIDI Mode — MIDI information can be interpreted by the receiving MIDI
instrument in a number of ways, the most common being polyphonically on
a single MIDI channel (Poly-Omni Off mode). Omni mode enables a MIDI
Instrument to play all incoming data regardless of channel.
 MIDI Note Number — Every key on a MIDI keyboard has its own note
number ranging from 0 to 127, where 60 represents middle C. Some
systems use C3 as middle C while others use C4.
 MIDI Note On — The MIDI message sent when note is played (key pressed).
 MIDI Note Off — The Message sent when key is released.
 MIDI Out — The MIDI connector used to send data from a master device to
the MIDI In of a connected slave device.
 MIDI Port — The MIDI connections of a MIDI-compatible device. A
Multiport, in the context of a MIDI Interface, is a device with multiple MIDI
output sockets, each capable of carrying data relating to a different set of
16 MIDI channels. Multiports are the only means of exceeding the
limitations imposed by 16 MIDI channels.
 MIDI Program Change — A type of MIDI message used to change sound
patches on a remote module or the effects patch on a MIDI effects unit.
 MIDI Splitter — An alternative term for MIDI Thru box.
 MIDI Sync — A description of the synchronisation systems available to MIDI
users - MIDI Clock and MIDI Time Code (MTC).
 MIDI Thru — The socket on a slave unit used to feed the MIDI In socket of
the next unit in line.
 MIDI Thru Box — A device which splits the MIDI Out signal of a master
instrument or sequencer to avoid daisy chaining. Powered circuitry is used
to 'buffer' the outputs so as to prevent problems when many pieces of
equipment are driven from a single MIDI output.
 Mineral Wool — Made from natural or synthetic minerals in the form of
threads or fibres tangled together to form a moderately dense ‘blanket’
which permits but impedes air flow and is useful in the creation of sound
absorbers, often employed as a cheaper and more efficient alternative to
polyurethane form.
 Mirror Points — The positions on the walls or ceiling where, if the surface
was covered with an optical mirror, one or both loudspeakers could be
 seen in the reflection. The mirror point is essentially any position on a
boundary where sound waves from a sound source — usually a monitor
loudspeaker — will be reflected directly to the listening position. This is
therefore the ideal location to place an acoustic absorber to prevent
audible reflections.
 Mixer — A device used to combine multiple audio signals together, usually
under the control of an operator using faders to balance levels. Most
mixers also incorporate facilities for equalisation, signal routing to multiple
outputs, and monitoring facilities. Large mixers are also known as ‘desks’ or
‘consoles’.
 Modal Distribution — The characteristic distribution of resonant low
frequency sound waves within a confined space such as a room.
 Modelling — A process of analysing a system and using a different
technology to replicate its critical, desired characteristics. For example, a
popular but rare vintage signal processor such as an equaliser can be
analysed and its properties modelled by digital algorithms to allow its
emulation within the digital domain.
 Modes (room) — See Room Modes
 Monitor (also Loudspeaker ) — A device used to convert an electrical audio
signal into an acoustic sound wave. An accurate loudspeaker intended for
critical sound auditioning purposes. Also used to refer to a computer
display screen (VDU), or the act of auditioning a mix or a specific audio
signal.
 Monitor Controller — A line-level audio signal control device used to select
and condition input signals for auditioning on one or more sets of monitor
loudspeakers. Some monitor controllers also incorporate facilities for
studio talkback and artist cue mixes.
 Mono — A single channel of audio.
 Monophonic — One note at a time.
 Mono-synth — a synthesizer that can play only one note at a time (see also
poly-synth and paraphonic)
 Motherboard — The main circuit board within a computer into which all
the other components plug or connect.
 Moving Coil Microphone — A dynamic microphone where the diaphragm
supports a coil of wire which moves within a magnetic field. When sound
causes the diaphragm to vibrate a small electrical current is generated
within the coil. The same technology is used in reverse for a moving coil
 loudspeaker, in which a powerful current is passed through the coil, causing
the diaphragm (cone) to move in response.
 M-S (Mid-Side) – A specialist form of coincident microphone array which,
when decoded to left-right stereo, creates an equivalent XY configuration.
In the MS array one microphone is pointed directly forward (Mid) while the
second is arranged at 90 degrees to point sideways (Side). The Mid
microphone can employ any desired polar pattern, the choice strongly
influencing the decoded stereo acceptance angle. The Side microphone
must have a figure-eight response and be aligned such that the lobe with
the same polarity as the Mid microphone faces towards the left of the
sound stage. Adjusting the relative sensitivity of the Mid and Side
microphones affects the decoded stereo acceptance angle and the polar
patterns of the equivalent XY microphones.
 MTC — MIDI Time code — a format used for transmitting synchronisation
instructions between electronic devices within the MIDI protocol.
 Mult — An abbreviation of 'multiple output' (also known as a 'parallel-strip'
in BBC parlance). Refers to a line-level signal splitting or distribution
facility typically found on patchbays in which three or more sockets are
wired together to allow an input signal to be shared with multiple
destinations. As an entirely passive facility the operation relies on a very
low source impedance and high destination (bridging) impedances to
minimise the loss of signal level. Microphone 'mults' tend either to use
transformers with multiple secondary windings or active buffer or
distribution circuitry.
 Multi-sample — The creation of several samples, each covering a limited
musical range, the idea being to produce a more natural range of sounds
across the range of the instrument being sampled. For example, a piano
may need to be sampled every two or three semitones in order to sound
convincing.
 Multi-timbral — A synthesizer, sampler or module that can play several
parts or different sounds at the same time, each under the control of a
different MIDI channel.
 Multitrack — A recording device capable of recording several 'parallel'
parts or tracks which may then be mixed or re-recorded independently.
 Mutual Angle — the physical angle between two microphones, used to
specify various microphone array configurations (eg. 90 degrees for a
Blumlein pair, or 110 degrees for an ORTF array).
N

 Near-coincident — A means of arranging two or more directional

microphone capsules such that they receive sound waves from the
directions or interest at slightly different times due to their physical
spacing. Information about the directions of sound sources is captured in
the form of both level differences between the capsule outputs, generated
by aiming directional polar patterns in different directions, and the timing
differences caused by their physical spacing. Specific forms of near-
coincident microphones include the ORTF and NOS arrangements.
 Near Field — The acoustic zone close to a sound source or microphone.
Often used to describes a loudspeaker system designed to be used close to
the listener – although some people prefer the term 'close field'. The
advantage is that the listener hears more of the direct sound from the
speakers and less of the reflected sound from the room.
 Noise Reduction — A system for reducing analogue tape noise or for
reducing the level of hiss present in a recording. (See DBX and Dolby).
 Noise-shaping — A system using spectrally-shaped dither to improve the
perceived signal-to-noise performance of a digital audio system.
 Non-registered parameter Number — An addition to the basic MIDI spec
that allows Controllers 98 and 99 to be used to control non-standard
parameters relating to particular models of synthesizer. This is an
alternative to using System Exclusive data to achieve the same ends,
though NRPNs tend to be used mainly by Yamaha and Roland instruments.
 Non-linear Recording — A term which describes digital recording systems
that allow any parts of the recording to be played back in any order with no
gaps. Conventional tape is referred to as linear, because the material can
only play back in the order in which it was recorded.
 Normalise — A socket is said to be normalised when it is wired such that
the original signal path is maintained unless a plug is inserted into the
socket. The most common examples of normalised connectors are the
insert points on a mixing console.
 NOS — A specific form of near-coincident microphone array devised by the
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), the Dutch national broadcaster. The
technique employs a pair of small-diaphragm cardioid microphones
mounted with a mutual angle of 90 degrees and spaced apart by 30cm. The
theoretical stereo recording angle is 81°.
  Nyquist Theorum — The rule which states that a digital sampling system
must have a sample rate at least twice as high as that of the highest audio
frequency being sampled in order to avoid aliasing and thus reproduce the
wanted audio perfectly. Because anti-aliasing filters aren't perfect, the
sampling frequency has usually to be made slightly more than twice that of
the maximum input frequency — which is why the standard audio rate of
44.1kHz was chosen for a nominally 20kHz audio bandwidth.
 Nut — A slotted plastic or bone component at the headstock end of a
guitar neck used to guide the strings over the fingerboard, and to space the
strings above the frets.

 Octave — When a frequency or pitch is transposed up by one octave, its

frequency is doubled.
 Off-line — A process carried out while a recording is not playing. For
example, some computer-based processes have to be carried out off-line as
the computer isn't fast enough to carry out the process in real time. Also
used to refer to a remote-controlled machine which is not currently active.
 Off/On-axis — Directional microphones are inherently more sensitive to
sound from one direction, and the direction of greatest sensitivity is
referred to as the principle axis. Sound sources placed on this axis are said
to be ‘on-axis’, while sound sources elsewhere are said to be ‘off-axis’
 Ohm — The unit of electrical resistance.
 Omnidirectional — A microphone or loudspeaker polar pattern with equal
sensitivity in all directions (often abbreviated to Omni). Also the MIDI mode
where data on all channels is recognised.
 Open Circuit — A break in an electrical circuit that prevents current from
flowing. (see Short Circuit)
 Open Reel — A tape machine where the tape is wound on spools rather
than housed within a cassette.
 Open Sound Control — A high-resolution networked communication
protocol for computers, synthesizers and other audio devices.
 Operating System — The basic software that enables a computer to load
and run other programs.
 Optimisation (of computer) — The concept of configuring a computer in
such as way as to maximise its performance for certain tasks. In the context
of a machine being used as a DAW, optimisation might involve disabling
 sub-programs that access the internet regularly or intermittently, such as
email hosts, automatic program update checkers and so on. It might also
include the structure of the hard drive, or the separation of program data
to a system drive and audio data to a separate drive to minimise access
times and maximise data throughputs.
 Opto-electronic Device – A device where some electrical parameter
changes in response to a variation in light intensity. For example, variable
photo-resistors are sometimes used as gain control elements in
compressors where the side-chain signal modulates the light intensity.
 ORTF — A specific form of near-coincident microphone array devised by
the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) at Radio France,
the French national broadcaster. The technique employs a pair of small-
diaphragm cardioid microphones mounted with a mutual angle of 110
degrees and spaced apart by 17cm. The theoretical stereo recording angle
is 96 degrees.
 OSC — An abbreviation for 'oscillator' or 'Open Sound Control'.
 Oscillator — A circuit designed to generate a periodic electrical waveform.
 Out-of-Phase — see Polarity
 Output Impedance — The effective internal impedance (resistance which
many change with signal frequency) of an electronic device. In modern
audio equipment the output impedance is normally very low. Microphones
are normally specified with an output impedance of 150 or 200 ohms,
although some vintage designs might be as low as 30 Ohms.
 Output Sensitivity — The nominal output voltage generated by a
microphone for a known reference acoustic sound pressure level. Output
sensitivity is normally specified for a sound pressure level of one Pascal
(94dB SPL), and may range from about 0.5mV/Pa for a ribbon microphone,
to 1.5mV/Pa for a moving coil, and up to 20 or 30mV/Pa for a capacitor
microphone.
 Overdubbing — Recording new material to separate tracks while
auditioning and playing in synchronism with previously recorded material.
 Overdrive — The intentional use of overloaded analogue circuitry as a
musical effect.
 Overload — To exceed the maximum acceptable signal amplitude of an
electronic or electrical circuit. Overloading a device results in a noticeable
increase in distortion but this may be deemed musically beneficial and
desirable, or completely unacceptable and inappropriate, depending on
 context and intent. Overloading an analogue device typically results in the
waveform peaks becoming flattened (so tending towards a square wave)
and a consequent rapid increase in odd-order harmonic distortion where
the distortion products appear at higher frequencies than the source signal
fundamentals, but remain musically related to them. In contrast,
overloading a digital system inherently contravenes the Nyquest Theorum,
since he generated harmonic distortion products generally extend far
above half the sampling frequency, and so become aliased and actually
appear at lower frequencies than the source fundamentals with a non-
musical relationship. This is why digital overloads sound so obvous and
unpleasant in comparison to analogue overloads.
 Overtone — a component of a complex sound which has a higher
frequency than the fundamental frequency, but which is not necessarily
related by a simple integer multiple (cf. harmonics)

 Pad — A resistive circuit for reducing signal level.

 Pan-pot — A control found on mixers to move the signal to any point in the
stereo soundstage by varying the relative levels fed to the left and right
stereo outputs.
 Parallel — A means of connecting two or more circuits together so that
their inputs are connected together, and their outputs are all connected
together.
 Parameter — A variable value that affects some aspect of a device's
performance.
 Parameteric EQ — An equaliser with separate controls for frequency,
bandwidth and cut/boost.
 Paraphonic — Often used to descibe a multi-oscillator mono-synth which
can be configured to allow the oscillators to be controlled independently
from the keyboard, allowing two or more notes to be played
simultaneously.
 Partials — The combination of fundamental and overtones together are
called particals. (cf. harmonic)
 Passive — A circuit with no active elements.
 Passive Loudspeaker or Monitor — A loudspeaker which requires an
external power amplifier, the signal from which is passed to a passive cross-
 over filter. This splits and filters the signal to feed the two (or more) drive
units.
 Patch — An alternative term for a Program, referring to a single
programmed sound within a synthesizer that can be called up using
Program Change commands. MIDI effects units and samplers also have
patches. (see also Bank)
 Patch Bay — A system of panel-mounted connectors used to bring inputs
and outputs to a central point from where they can be routed using plug-in
patch cords. Also called a Jackfield.
 Patch Cord — A short cable used with patch bays.
 PCI Card — Peripheral Component Interconnect: an internal computer bus
format used to integrating hardware devices such as sound cards. The PCI
Local Bus has superseded earlier internal bus systems such as ISA and VESA,
and although still very common on contemporary motherboards has, itself,
now been superseded by faster interfaces such as PCI-X and PCI Express.
 PCM — Pulse Code Modulation — the technique used by most digital audio
systems to encode audio as binary data.
 Peak — The maximum instantaneous level of a signal.
 Peak-Normalisation — The practice of removing all headroom to
maximise the peak level of an audio signal on a particular medium. So all
peak-normalised material will have the same maximum peak value, but the
perceived loudness is likely to vary between different tracks. The technique
became popular and commonplace with the advent of digital formats such
as CD, where the signal level was typically engineered to reach 0dBFS. (See
also Loudness-Normalisation, Mastering and Loudness Wars)
 PFL — Pre-Fade Listen. A system used within a mixing console to allow the
operator to audition a selected signal, regardless of the position of the
fader controlling that signal.
 Phase — The relative position of a point within a cyclical signal, expressed
in degrees where 360 degrees corresponds to one full cycle. (Also see
Polarity)
 Phaser — An effect which combines a signal with a phase-shifted version of
itself to produce creative comb-filtering effects. Most phasers are
controlled by means of an LFO.
 Phantom Power — A means of powering capacitor and electret
microphones, as well as some dynamic microphones with built-in active
impedance converters. Phantom power (P48) provides 48V (DC) to the
 microphone as a common-mode signal (both signal wires carry 48V while
the cable screen carries the return current). The audio signal from the
microphone is carried as a differential signal and the mic preamp ignores
common-mode signals so doesn’t see the common-mode power supply
(hence the ghostly name, phantom). This system only works with a
balanced three-pin mic cables. Two alternative phantom power
specifications also exist, with P12 (12V) and P24 (24V) options, although
they are relatively rare.
 Phono plug (RCA-phono) — An audio connector developed by RCA and
used extensively on hi-fi and semi-pro, unbalanced audio equipment. Also
used for the electrical form of S/PDIF digital signals, and occasionally for
video signals.
 Pickup — The part of a guitar that converts the string vibrations to
electrical signals. Also the stylus/cartridge assembly used to replay vinyl
records.
 Pink Noise — A random signal with a power spectral density which is
inversely proportional to the frequency. Each octave carries an equal
amount of noise power. Pink noise sounds natural, and resembles the
sound of a waterfall. (cf. White Noise)
 Pitch — The musical interpretation of an audio frequency.
 Pitch-bend — A special control message specifically designed to produce a
change in pitch in response to the movement of a pitch bend wheel or
lever. Pitch bend data can be recorded and edited, just like any other MIDI
controller data, even though it isn't part of the Controller message group.
 Pitch-shifter — A device for changing the pitch of an audio signal without
changing its duration.
 Plug-in — A self-contained software signal processor, such as an Equaliser
or Compressor, which can be ‘inserted’ into the notional signal path of a
DAW. Plug-ins are available in a myriad of different forms and functions,
and produced by the DAW manufacturers or third-party developers. Most
plug-ins run natively on the computer’s processor, but some require
bespoke DSP hardware. The VST format is the most common cross-platform
plug-in format, although there are several others.
 Plug-in Power — Consumer recorders, such as MP3 recorders, are often
equipped with a microphone powering system called ‘Plug-In Power’. This
operates with a much lower voltage (typically 1.5V) and is not compatible
with phantom powered mics at all.
 Polar Pattern — The directional characteristic of a microphone (omni,
cardioid, figure-eight, etc).
 Polarity — This refers to a signal's voltage above or below the median line.
Inverting the polarity of a signal swaps the positive voltage to negative
voltage and vice versa. This condition is often referred to (incorrectly) as
'out-of-phase'.
 Polyphony — The ability of an instrument to play two or more notes
simultaneously. An instrument which can only play one note at a time is
described as monophonic.
 Poly-mode — The most common MIDI mode that allows and instrument to
respond to multiple simultaneous notes transmitted on a single MIDI
channel.
 Poly-Synth — A synthesizer that can play more than one note at a time
(eg. eight or sixteen notes), each with an independent signal chain of
oscillators, filters, and envelope generators.
 Pop Shield — A device placed between a sound source and a microphone
to trap wind blasts — such as those created by a vocalist’s plosives (Bs, Ps
and so on) — which would otherwise cause loud popping noises as the
microphone diaphragm is over- driven. Most are constructed from multiple
layers of a fine wire or nylon mesh, although more modern designs tend to
use open-cell foam.
 Port — A connection for the input or output of data.
 Portamento — A gliding effect that allows a sound to change pitch at a
gradual rate, rather than abruptly, when a new key is pressed or MIDI note
sent.
 Post-production — Work done to a recording.
 Potentiometer (Pot) — A form of electrical potential divider in which the
ratio of the upper and lower resistances can be changed either with a
rotary control or slider (eg. a fader).
 Power Amplifier — A device which accepts a standard line-level input
signal and amplifies it to a condition in which it can drive a loudspeaker
drive unit. The strength of amplification is denoted in terms of Watts of
power.
 Power supply — A unit designed to convert mains electricity to the DC
voltages necessary to power an electronic circuit or device.
 Powered Loudspeaker or Monitor — A powered speaker is a conventional
passive loudspeaker but with a single power amplifier built in or integrated
 with the cabinet in some way. The amplifier drives a passive crossover, the
outputs of which connect to the appropriate drive units.
 Post-fade — A signal derived from the channel path of a mixer after the
channel fader. A post-fade aux send level follows any channel fader
changes. Normally used for feeding effects devices.
 PPM — Peak Programme Meter. A meter designed to register the
approximate peak amplitude of a signal, rather than the average level
indicated by, for example, a VU meter. However, PPMs have a defined
integration time (typically 10ms) which means that they actually under-
read on the fastest transient peaks. (cf. VU Meter)
 PPQN — Pulsed Per Quarter Note. Used in the context of MIDI Clock
derived sync signals.
 PQ Coding — Process for adding Pause, Cue and other subcode information
to a digital master tape in preparation for CD manufacture.
 Pre-amp — Short for ‘pre-amplification’ : an active gain stage used to raise
the signal level of a source to a nominal line level. For example, a
microphone pre-amp.
 Pre-emphasis — A system for applying high frequency boost to a sound
before processing. When the corresponding de-emphasis is applied any
noise contribution from the processing is reduced.
 Pre-fade — A signal derived from the channel path of a mixer before the
channel fader. A pret-fade aux send level is unaffected by channel fader
changes. Normally used for creating Foldback or Cue mixes.
 Preset — An effects unit or synth patch that cannot be altered by the user.
 Pressure — An alternative term for Aftertouch.
 Print-through — The undesirable process that causes some magnetic
information from a recorded analogue tape to become imprinted onto an
adjacent layer. This can produce low level pre or post echoes.
 Processor — A device designed to treat an audio signal by changing its
dynamics or frequency content. Examples of processors include
compressors, gates and equalisers.
 Program Change — A MIDI message designed to change instrument or
effects unit patches.
 Project Studio — A relatively small recording studio facility, often with a
combined recording space and control room.
 Proximity Effect — Also known as ‘Bass tip-up’. The proximity effect
dramatically increases a microphone’s sensitivity to low frequencies when
 placed very close to a sound source. It only affects directional microphones
— omnidirectional microphones are immune.
 Pulse Wave — Similar to a square wave but non-symmetrical. Pulse waves
sound brighter and thinner than square waves, making them useful in the
synthesis of reed instruments. The timbre changes according to the
mark/space ratio of the waveform.
 Pulse-width Modulation — A means of modulating the duty cycle
(mark/space ratio) of a pulse wave. This changes the timbre of the basic
tone; LFO modulation of pulse width can be used to produce a pseudo-
chorus effect.
 Punch-in — The action of placing an already recorded track into record at
the correct time during playback, so that the existing material may be
extended or replaced.
 Punch-out — The action of switching a tape machine (or other recording
device), out of record after executing a punch-in. With most multitrack
machines, both punching in and punching out can be accomplished without
stopping the tape.
 PWM Compression — A form of audio compressor which uses Pulse Width
Modulation to detedmine the energy in the aduio signal over time. In
essence, the audio signal is chopped up at a very high rate and the width of
the resulting pulses is adjusted to control the average energy over time,
and thus provide signal attenuation. When done well, this is the fastest
form of compressor with the lowest distortion artefacts.
 PZM (Pressure Zone Microphone) — A type of boundary layer microphone.

 Q — The ‘quality-factor’ of a filter which defines its bandwidth and

indicates a filter’s resonant properties. The higher the Q, the more resonant
the filter and the narrower the range of frequencies that are allowed to
pass.
 Quantisation — Part of the process of digitising an analogue signal.
Quantisation is the process of describing or measuring the amplitude of the
analogue signal captured in each sample, and is defined by the wordlength
used to describe the audio signal — eg. 16 bits.
 Quantiser — A means of moving notes recorded in a MIDI sequencer so
that they line up with user defined subdivisions of a musical bar, for
 example, 16s. The facility may be used to correct timing errors, but over-
quantization can remove the human feel from a performance.

 Rack Mount — A standard equipment sizing format allowing products to be

mounted between vertical rails in standardised equipment bays.
 RAM — An abbreviation for Random Access Memory. This is a type of
memory used by computers for the temporary storage of programs and
data, and all data is lost when the power is turned off. For that reason,
work needs to be saved to disk if it is not to be lost.
 R-DAT — A digital tape machine using a rotating head system and a tape
cassette.
 Real-time — An audio process that can be carried out as the signal is being
recorded or played back. The opposite is off-line, where the signal is
processed in non-real time.
 Red Book CD — A term used to imply a standard audio CD. The name
comes from the fact that the original specifications documents for the
audio CD created by Sony and Philips had a red cover! Recordable CD-Rs
are described as 'orange book' for similar reasons.
 Reflection — The way in which sound waves bounce off surfaces.
 Release — The time taken for a signal level or processor gain to return to
normal. Often used to describe the rate at which a synthesized sound
reduces in level after a key has been released. Also used to describe the
time taken for a compressor top restore unity gain after a signal has fallen
below the threshold. Also known as ‘recovery time .‘
 Resistance — Opposition to the flow of electrical current. Measured in
Ohms.
 Resonance — The characteristic of a filter that allows it to selectively pass a
narrow range of frequencies. See Q.
 Reverb — Short for Reverberation. The dense collection of echoes which
bounce off acoustically reflective surfaces in response to direct sound
arriving from a signal source. Reverberation can also be created artificially
using various analogue or, more commonly, digital techniques.
Reverberation occurs a short while after the source signal because of the
finite time taken for the sound to reach a reflective surface and return —
the overall delay being representative of the size of the acoustic
environment. The reverberation signal can be broadly defined as having
 two main components, a group of distinct ‘early reflections’ followed by a
noise-like tail of dense reflections.
 Reverberation Time — The time taken for sound waves reflecting within a
space to lose energy and become inaudible. A standard measurement is
‘RT60’ which is the time taken for the sound reflections to decay by 60dB.
 RF — An abbreviation for Radio Frequency.
 RF Interference — Unwanted interference into an audio system from
external RF signals.
 RF Capacitor Microphone — An alternative form of capacitor microphone
which uses the capacitive capsule as the tuning element of a radio-
frequency oscillator. Sound waves arriving at the capsule change its
capacitance, which varies the frequency of the RF oscillator to produce an
FM signal. This is immediately demodulated by the microphone's internal
circuitry to produce the audio output. The advantage of this approach is
that the capsule works in a very low-impedance environment (as opposed
to the very high-impedance environment of a traditional DC-biased
capacitor mic), making it immune to the effects of humidity which can
cause unwanted noise in conventional capacitor mics. This technology was
invented by Sennheiser and is used in their MKH range of microphones.
 Ribbon Microphone — A dynamic microphone where the sound capturing
element is a thin metal ribbon diaphragm suspended within a magnetic
field. When sound causes the ribbon to vibrate, a small electrical current is
generated within the ribbon.
 Ring Modulator — A device that accepts and processes two input signals in
a particular way. The output signal does not contain any element of the
original input signals but instead comprises new frequencies based on the
sum and difference of the input signals' frequency components. The best
known application of Ring Modulation is the creation of Dr Who’s Dalek
voices, but it may also be used to create dramatic instrumental textures.
Depending on the relationships between the input signals, the results may
either be musical or extremely dissonant - for example, ring modulation can
be used to create bell-like tones. (The term 'Ring' is used because the
original circuit which produced the effect used a ring of diodes.)
 RMS — Root Mean Square. A statistical measure of the magnitude of a
varying quantity. Its name comes from its definition as the square root of
the mean of the squares of the values of the signal.
  Roll-off — The rate at which a filter or equaliser attenuates a signal once it
has passed the turnover frequency.
 ROM — An abbreviation for Read Only Memory. This is a permanent or
non-volatile type of memory containing data that can't be changed once
programmed. Operating systems are often stored on ROM as the memory
remains intact when the power is removed.
 Room Modes — Acoustic resonances within an enclosed space or room.
These occur at specific frequencies where the source sound is reflected
from the room's boundaries to reinforce and/or cancel with itself to create
standing waves. This results in some areas in the room with very boomy or
exaggerated pitches, and others where the pitch may be almost completely
absent. The resonant frequencies involved relate directly to the sound
wavelength and room dimensions, and is particularly prevalent at low
frequencies.

 Safety Copy — A copy or clone of an original tape for use in case of loss or
damage to the original.
 Sample — Either a defined short piece of audio which can be replayed
under MIDI control; or a single discrete time element forming part of a
digital audio signal.
 Sample rate — The number of times an A/D converter samples the
incoming waveform each second.
 Sample and Hold (S&H) — Usually refers to a feature whereby random
amplitude values are generated at regular intervals and then used to
control another function such as pitch or filter frequency. Sample and hold
circuits were also used in old analogue synthesizers to 'remember' the note
being played after a key had been released.
 SATA — The acronym stands for 'Serial Advanced Technology Attachment'
and is a computer interface employed for connecting standard ATA hard
drives to a computer motherboard. The SATA interface supersedes the
PATA (parallel ATA) interface which has been used since the 1980s. A
variant of the SATA interface, called eSATA (with the 'e' standing for
'external'), permits the connection of external hard drives. it uses a slightly
different connector but is otherwise a very similar interface.
 Sawtooth Wave — So called because it resembles the teeth of a saw, this
waveform contains both odd and even harmonics.
 Scrape Flutter — As analogue recording tape moves across the heads or
other non-moving parts in the tape path it can vibrate at a high frquency
(typically above 100Hz) due to a rapid stick-slip action, and this causes a
form of intermodulation distortion. Often mechanical dampers and rollers
are placed in the tape path to prevent scrape flutter.
 SCSI — Pronounced SKUZZY, an abbreviation for Small Computer Systems
Interface. An obsolete interfacing system for using hard drives, scanners,
CD-ROM drives and similar peripherals with a computer. Each SCSI device
has its own ID number and no two SCSI devices in the same chain must be
set to the same number. The last SCSI device in the chain should be
terminated, either via an internal terminator or via a plug-in terminator
fitted to a free SCSI socket.
 Session Tape — The original tape recording made during a recording
session.
 Sequencer — A device for recording and replaying MIDI data, usually in a
multitrack format, allowing complex compositions to be built up a part at a
time.
 Shockmount — a mechanical isolator intended to prevent the transfer of
vibrations which may be transmitted through a microphone stand from
reaching a microphone where they would otherwise produce unwanted
low frequency sound.
 Short-Circuit — A very low resistance path that allows electrical current to
flow. The term is usually used to describe a current path that exists through
a fault condition. (See Open Circuit)
 Sibilance — A high-frequency whistling or lisping sound that affects vocal
recordings, due either to poor mic technique or excessive HF equalisation.
 Side-chain — A part of an audio circuit that splits off a proportion of the
main signal to be processed in some way. Compressors use a side-chain
process to derive a control signals to adjust the main path attenuation.
 Signal — An electrical representation of an audio event.
 Signal Chain — The route taken by a signal from the input of a system to
the output.
 Signal-to-noise Ratio — The ratio of nominal or maximum signal level to
the residual noise floor, expressed in decibels.
 Sine Wave — The waveform of a pure sinusoidal tone with no harmonics.
 Single-ended Noise Reduction — A device for removing or attenuating the
noise component of a recording or transmission system without pre-
 conditioning the signal. Most digital noise-reduction systems are of the
Single-ended type.
 Slate — The term 'slate' comes from the silent film practice of writing the
scene, take and shot numbers with chalk on a slate and holding it up in
front of the camera before the action starts, so that the film editor can
identify the material. A role now replaced by the 'clapper-board' which
adds an audio synchronisation marking facility as well. In an audio context,
a slate is a verbal identification recorded just before each take to help
identify it subsequently. This is normally achieved by using a talkback
microphone routed to the main, group and/or direct outputs of a mixer.
The console slate function often mixed a low frequency tone in with the
microphone signal to help make locating the start of each take much easier
when fast-winding the tape against the playback head. Each slate ident
would be heard as a short, steady mid-frequency tone.
 Slave — A device under the control of a master device. Often used to refer
to synchronised recorders, or digital clocking devices.
 SMPS — see Switching Power Supply
 SMPTE — The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
(www.smpte.org) an American standards body. The term is also used to
refer to a form of time code developed for the film industry but now
extensively used in music and recording. SMPTE is a real-time digital code
describing hours, minutes, seconds and film or video frames. Usually
conveyed as an audible warble.
 S/MUX — Sample Multiplexing (see ADAT ).
 Snake — A term used to describe a cable used to carry multiple individual
audio signals, typically between a stage and mixing console in live sound
applications.
 Solid-state Drive (cf. Hard Disk Drive) — A large capacity solid-state
memory configured to work like a conventional hard disk drive. Some
computers are now available with solid state flash drives instead of normal
internal hard disk drives. Also used in digital cameras and audio recorders
in formats such as SD and CF2 cards, as well as in ‘pen drives’ or ‘USB
memory sticks’.
 Sound Card — A dedicated interface to transfer audio signals in and out of
a computer. A Sound Card can be installed internally, or connected
externally via USB2 or FireWire, and they are available in a wide range of
 formats, accommodating multiple analogue or digital audio signals (or
both) in and out, as well as MIDI data in and out.
 Sound On Sound — An early recording technique pioneered by Les Paul
and others which was a simple form of overdubbing to build up a mix of
sources. Also, the world's best recording technology magazine (see
www.soundonsound.com).
 Soundproofing — The use of materials and construction techniques with
the aim of preventing unwanted sound from entering or leaving a room.
 Spaced Array — A means of arranging two or more microphone capsules
such that they receive sound waves from different directions at different
times — these timing differences being used to convey information about
the relatice directions of those sound sources. The technique is usually
used with omnidirectional microphones, although directional mics can also
be employed. The best known form of spaced array is the Decca Tree.
Mono-compatibility is often reduced because the timing differences
between channels often results in comb-filtering colouration when the
channels are summed to mono.
 S/PDIF — Sony/Philips Digital Interface. Pronounced either ‘S-peedif’ or
‘Spudif’. A stereo or dual-channel self-clocking digital interfacing standard
employed by Sony and Philips in consumer digital hi-fi products. The S/PDIF
signal is essentially identical in data format to the professional AES3
interface, and is available as either an unbalanced electrical interface (using
phono connectors and 75ohm coaxial cable), or as an optical interface
called TOSlink.
 Speaker (also Loudspeaker and Monitor) — An accurate loudspeaker
intended for critical sound auditioning purposes.
 Spill — Unwanted sound picked up by microphones on one instrument
from other nearby instruments.
 SPL — Sound Pressure Level. A measure of the intensity of an acoustic
sound wave. Normally specified in terms of Pascals for an absolute value, or
relative to the typical sensitivity of human hearing. One Pascal is 94dB SPL,
or to relate it to atmospheric pressures, 0.00001 Bar or 0.000145psi!
 SPP — Song Position Pointer (MIDI).
 Square Wave — A symmetrical rectangular waveform. Square waves
contain a series of odd harmonics.
 SRA — see Stereo Recording Angle
 SSD — see Solid-state Drive
 Standard Midi File — A standard file format that allows MIDI files to be
transferred between different sequencers and MIDI file players.
 Standing Waves — Resonant low frequency sound waves bouncing
between opposite surfaces such that each reflected wave aligns perfectly
with previous waves to create static areas of maximum and minimum
sound pressure within the room. (See also Modes and Modal Frequencies)
 Stage Box — A connection box terminating a multicore cable (see Snake)
which is usually placed on a stage for the easy connection of individual
microphone cables.
 Stems — When mixing complex audio material it is often useful to divide
the tracks into related sections and mix those sections separately before
combining the whole. In mixing film soundtracks, the material would often
be grouped as a dialogue stem, a music stem, and an effects stem. Each
stem might be mono, stereo or multichannel, as appropriate to the
situation. In music mixing, stems might be used for the rhythm section,
backline instruments, frontline instruments, backing vocals, lead vocals and
effects — or any other combination that suited the particular project.
 Step Time — A system for programming a sequencer in non-real time.
 Stereo — By convention, two channels of related audio which can create
the impression of separate sound source positions when auditioned on a
pair of loudspeakers or headphones.
 Stereo Recording Angle — The angle over which sound sources can be
captured by a microphone array. For a stereo array with a stereo recording
angle of 90 degrees, sound sources can be placed ±45 degree relative to the
array’s centre front axis, with a source at the extreme angle appearing fully
left or right in the stereo image.
 Sticky Shed Syndrome — A problem affecting some brands of analogue
tape after a long time in storage. A breakdown of the binder causes the
oxide to shed, and the tape tends to adhere to the tape heads and guides
when played. A short term cure can be affected by baking the affected
tape.
 Stripe — The practice of recording a time code signal onto one track of a
multitrack tape machine to facilitate subsequent synchronisation.
 Sub-bass — Frequencies below the range of typical monitor loudspeakers.
Some define sub-bass as frequencies that can be felt rather than heard.
 Subcode — Hidden data within the CD and DAT format that includes such
information as the absolute time location, number of tracks, total running
time and so on.
 Subgroup — See Group
 Subtractive Synthesis — The process of creating a new sound by filtering
and shaping a raw, harmonically complex waveform.
 Subwoofer — A specific type of efficient loudspeaker system intended to
reproduce only the lowest frequencies (typically below 120Hz).
 Surge — A sudden increase in mains voltage.
 Surround — The use of multiple loudspeakers placed around the listening
position with the aim of reproducing a sense of envelopment within a
soundstage. Numerous surround formats exist, but the most common
currently is the 5.1 configuration in which three loudspeakers are placed in
front of the listener (at ±30degrees and straight ahead), with two behind
(at ±120 degrees or thereabouts), supplemented with a separate
subwoofer.
 Sustain — Part of the ADSR envelope which determines the level to which
the sound will settle if a key is held down. Once the key is released, the
sound decays at a rate set by the Release parameter. Also refers to a
guitar's ability to hold notes which decay very slowly.
 Swan Neck — See Gooseneck
 Sweet Spot — The optimum position for a microphone, or for a listener
relative to monitor loudspeakers.
 Switching Power Supply — (Also SMPS) A type of power supply that uses
mains power to drive directly a high frequency oscillator so that a smaller,
lighter transformer may be used. These power supplies are commonly used
because they can be made to accept a wide range of mains supply voltages,
and are thus universal.
 Sync — A system for making two or more pieces of equipment run in
synchronism with each other.
 Synthesis — The creation of artificial sound.
 Synthesiser — An electronic musical instrument designed to create a wide
range of sounds, both imitative and abstract.
 SysEx — (System Exclusive) A part of the MIDI standard that allows
manufacturers to define their own specific message formats, commonly
used to dump and load a specific product’s patch data.
T

 Talkback — A system designed to enable voice communication between

rooms.
 Tape Head — The part of a tape machine that transfers magnetic energy to
the tape during recording, or reads it during playback.
 Tempo — The rate of the 'beat' of a piece of music measured in beats per
minute.
 Test Tone – A steady, fixed level tone recorded onto a multitrack recording,
or passed over a signal connection to test the signal path and act as a
reference when matching levels.
 THD — Total Harmonic Distortion. A measure of the linearity of a device.
The THD+N measurement includes the noise contribution as well and is an
indication of the quality of an audio product.
 Thru — A MIDI connector which passes on the signal received at the MIDI
in socket.
 Thunderbolt — A bi-directional computer interface based on the PCI
Express protocol, used for both data transfers and to connect display
monitors (it supports DVI, HDMI, and VGA monitors via adapters).
Introduced by Apple in 2011, Thunderbolt 1.0 supports bi-directional data
transfers at 10Gbit/s, while Thunderbolt 2.0 (launched in 2013) operates at
twice that speed. This means a Thunderbolt 2.0 interface (20Gbit/s) is five
times faster than USB3.0 and 25 times faster than FireWire 800. The
physical Thunderbolt port is the same as Apple's mini-DisplayPort
connector, and can be used to integrate FireWire, USB and Ethernet
connections via appropriate adapters or hubs. Thunderbolt 3.0 uses the
USB-C connector to carry up to 40Gbit/s, and has a 100W power transfer
capability with appropriate cables.
 Timbre — The tonal 'colour' of a sound.
 Timbral — Referring to the tones that can be created by a synthesizer (see
multi-timbral and bi-timbral)
 TOSlink — see S/PDIF.
 Track — The term dates back to multitrack tape where the tracks are
physical stripes of recorded material, located side by side along the length
of the tape.
 Tracking — The process of recording individual tracks to a multichannel
recorder. Tracking is also often discussed in the context of MIDI guitar
 synthesizers or controllers where the MIDI output attempts to track the
pitch of the guitar strings.
 Transformer — An electrical device in which two or more separate and
electrically isolated coils of wire are wound around a common
ferromagnetic core. Alternating Current passing through one coil creates a
varying magnetic field which induces a corresponding current in the other
coil(s). In audio applications transformers are often used to convey a signal
without a direct electrical connection, thus providing 'galvanic isolation'
between the source and destination. Winding a transformer with different
numbers of turns for each coil allows the output voltage to be increased or
decreased in direct proportion – a feature widely employed in mains
power-supply transformers to reduce the mains voltage to something more
appropriate for the circuitry, for example, or in microphone preamp step-
up transformers.
 Transients — An element of a sound where the spectral content changes
abruptly. Most natural sounds start with a transient element before settling
into something more steady-state, and it is often that transient element
that provides most of the recognisable character of the sound source.
 Transmission-Line — When the length of an electrical cable is shorter than
about 10% of the wavelngth of the signal it conveys, the voltage and
current are effectively the same at all points along the cable. However, if
the cable is longer than 10% of the can be considered to propogate as
electromagnetic waves along the cable, and this condition is referred to as
a 'transmission-line'. At 20Hz the electrical wavelength is well in excess of
2000 miles, and even at 20kHz it is over six miles, so there is no need to
consider transmission line theory in normal audio interconnections.
However, it is very important in radio-frequency installations as the
relevant cable length is about 20cm for 100MHz signals, and just 20mm at
1GHz. A transmission-line can be constructed in many different physical
forms, such as spaced parallel wires or coaxial cables, but all are generally
of uniform cross-sectional area and have a defined 'characteristic
impedance' per unit length. To prevent the signal being reflected from the
end of the cable it musty be terminated at both ends in source and
destination impedances which match the characeteristic impedance. The
term is often also used (usually erroneously) to describe a form of
loudspeaker cabient design in which the lowest frequencies are guided
down an open-ended tube of considerable length lined with materials
 which allow the lowest frquencies to pass but absorb the higher
frequencies.
 Transparency — A subjective term used to describe audio quality where
the high frequency detail is clear and individual sounds are easy to identify
and separate.
 Tremolo — A form of modulation of the amplitude of a sound using an LFO.
(cf. vibrato)
 Transducer — A device for converting one form of energy to another.
Microphones and Loudspeakers are good examples of transducer converts
between mechanical and electrical energy.
 Transpose — To shift a musical signal by a fixed number of semitones.
 Triangle Wave — A symmetrical triangular shaped wave containing odd
harmonics only, but with a lower harmonic content than the square wave.
 TRS — A type of quarter-inch jack plug with three contacts (Tip, Ring and
Sleeve), used either for stereo unbalanced connections (such as on
headphones) or mono balanced connections (such as for line-level signals).
Physically compatible in size with the TS (Tip, Sleeve) quarter-inch jack plug
used for electric guitars and other instruments.
 True Peak Meter – A form of digital audio meter which is capable of
determining the absolute amplitude value of a digital signal by using
oversampling to fully reconstruct the waveform.
 Truss Rod — A metal bar within a guitar neck which is tensioned so as to
counteract the tendency for the neck to bend under the tension of the
strings.
 TT Plug — see Bantam Plug
 Tube — see Valve
 Tweeter — The colloquial term to describe a loudspeaker drive unit
optimised for the reproduction of high frequencies. (See Woofer).

 Unbalanced — A 2-wire electrical signal connection where the signal

conductor is surrounded by a screen which provides a 0V reference and
also guards against electrical interference.
 Unison — To play the same melody using two or more different
instruments or voices.
 Unity Gain — A condition where the output signal is the same amplitude as
the input signal; the overall system gain is then x1 or unity.
  USB — Universal Serial Bus. A computer interface standard introduced in
1996 to replace the previous standard serial and parallel ports more
commonly used. The USB1.1 interface operated at up to 12Mb/s, but this
was superseded in 2000 by USB2.0 which operates at up to 480Mb/s. Most
USB interfaces can also provide a 5V power supply to connected devices.
USB3.0 was launched in 2008 and is claimed to operate at rates up to
5Gb/s, but it is only now (2011) starting to appear on hardware. USB
conncetors can be indentified by having a blue insert in the Type-A sockets
and the letters SS (SuperSpeed). The latest edition, USB3.1 (launched in
2013) offers transfer rates of 10Gb/s, approaching that of the first
generation of Thunderbolt interfaces. Like earlier USB interfaces, the USB3
format provides a 5V power supply, but the current rating has been
increased from USB2.0's 200mA (1.0 Watts) to 900mA (4.5 Watts), and
sockets designated as charging sockets can manage 1500mA (7.5 Watts).
 USB-C — is the latest (2014) incarnation of a Universal Serial Bus interface,
carrying bidirectional data at speeds of 10Gb/s. USB-C is not compatible
with previous generations (USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0, 3.1) as it has a very different
24-pin connector which is symmetrical and employed at both ends of a free
cable, and all devices have the same socket. Power is optionally available
over USB-C conenctions at 5V with a current capacity of either 1.5A (7.5W)
or 3A (15W)

 Valve — Also known as a ‘tube’ in America. A thermionic device in which

the current flowing between its anode and cathode terminals is controlled
by the voltage applied to one or more control grid(s). Valves can be used as
the active elements in amplifiers, and because the input impedance to the
grid is extremely high they are ideal for use as an impedance converter in
capacitor microphones. The modern solid-state equivalent is the Field
Effect Transistor or FET.
 Vari-Mu Compressor — An audio compressor that employs a valve (tube)
as the variable audio attenuator. Mu is an engineering term for gain, so this
is a variable-gain compressor. In essence, the side-chain signal continuously
adjusts the bias o the valve to alter its gain appropriately. Vari-Mu
compressors are fast and smooth, with low distortion.
 VCA — Voltage Controlled Amplifier. An amplifier in which the gain (or
attenuation) is controlled by an external DC voltage. VCA's are used in a
 wide range of audio and musical equipment, such as fader-automation
systems in large format mixing consoles, audio compressors, and
synthesizers.
 VCA Compressor — See VCA. VCA compressors tend to be fast-acting (at
least in comparison to opto-compressors), a wide dynamic range, and low
distortion.
 VCA Group — Found in large mixing consoles. The fader levels of a number
of separate channels assigned to the VCA group can be adjusted together
by the VCA Group fader but without mixing their signals together. Usually
referred to as a DCA Group in a digital console.
 VDU — Computer display screen (See also Monitor).
 Velocity — The rate at which a key is depressed. This may be used to
control loudness (to simulate the response of instruments such as pianos)
or other parameters on later synthesizers.
 Vocoder — A signal processor that imposes a changing spectral filter on a
sound based on the frequency characteristics of a second sound. By taking
the spectral content of a human voice and imposing it on a musical
instrument, talking instrument effects can be created.
 Vocal Booth — See Isolation Room
 Voice — The capacity of a synthesizer to play a single musical note. An
instrument capable of playing 16 simultaneous notes is said to be a 16-
voice instrument.
 Vibrato - Pitch modulation using an LFO to modulate a VCO. (cf. Tremolo)
 VU Meter — An audio meter designed to interpret signal levels in roughly
the same way as the human ear, which responds more closely to the
average levels of sounds rather than to the peak levels. (cf. PPM)

 Wah Pedal — A guitar effects device where a bandpass filter is varied in

frequency by means of a pedal control.
 Watt (W) — Unit of electrical power.
 Warmth — A subjective term used to describe sound where the bass and
low mid frequencies have depth and where the high frequencies are
smooth sounding rather than being aggressive or fatiguing. Warm sounding
tube equipment may also exhibit some of the aspects of compression.
 Waveform — A graphic representation of the way in which a sound wave
or electrical wave varies with time.
  Way (as in, 2-way, 3-way) — A colloquial way of denoting how many
separate frequency bands are reproduced by a loudspeaker. Most are two-
way systems with a woofer and tweeter, but some are three way with a
woofer, midrange and tweeter.
 Wet — A signal that has effects added. (cf. Dry)
 White Noise — A random signal with a flat (constant) power spectrum
density, ie. equal power within any frequency band of fixed width. White
noise sounds very bright (cf. Pink Noise).
 Word Clock — The precise timing of digital audio samples is critical to the
correct operation of interconnected digital audio equipment. The
'metronome' that governs sample timing is called the Word Clock
(sometimes conjoined to 'Wordclock', or abbreviated to 'Wclk'). However,
word clock does more than merely beat time; it also identifies the start and
end of each digital word or sample, and which samples belong to the left or
right channels. Digital interfaces such as the AES3 and S/PDIF embody clock
signals within the data stream, but it is often necessary to convey a discrete
word clock between equipment as a square wave signal running at the
sampling rate. Dedicated word clock inputs and outputs on digital
equipment generally use BNC connectors.
 Wow & Flutter — A cyclical variation in replay speed which affects the
pitch of the recorded material. Wow is a low-speed variation (nominally
below 4Hz) which typically occurs once per revolution of the device and
may be caused by an off-centre hole on a vinyl record, or a sticking tape on
a reel-reel machine. Flutter is a higher speed variation (nomninally above
4Hz) and can often be perceived as a form of intermodulation distortion.
 Wrap — The parameter of tape head alignment which relates to the
rotation angle of the head in a vertical axis which determines how the tape
arrives and leaves the head gap.
 Write — To save data to a digital storage medium, such as a hard drive.

 XG — Yamaha's alternative to Roland's GS system for enhancing the

General MIDI protocol so as to provide additional banks of patches and
further editing facilities.
 XLR — A very robust and latching connector commonly used to carry
balanced audio signals such as the outputs from microphones or line level
devices. An XLR is a type of connector developed by US manufacturer,
 Cannon, and used widely in professional audio systems. The company’s
original X-series connector was improved with the addition of a latch
(Cannon XL) and a more flexible rubber compound surrounding the
contacts to improve reliability (Cannon XLR). The connector format is now is
available in numerous configurations, from many different manufacturers,
and with several different pin configurations. Standard balanced audio
interfaces — analogue and digital — use three-pin XLRs with the screen on
pin 1, the ‘hot’ signal on pin 2 and the ‘cold’ signal on pin 3.
 X-Y — A specific way of mounting two directional microphone capsules
such that they both receive sound waves from any direction at exactly the
same time. Information about the direction of a sound sources is captured
in the form of level differences between the two capsule outputs.
Commonly, the two microphones in an XY array are mounted with a mutual
angle of 90 degrees, although other angles are sometimes used. The two
capsules will have the same polar pattern, the choice of which determines
the stereo recording angle (SRA). The XY configuration is entirely mono-
compatible because there are no timing differences between the two
channels.

 Y-Lead — A form of adapter cable that passively splits the output of a

source to feed two or more destinations. Y-leads may also be used in
unbalanced console insert points in which case a stereo jack plug at one
end of the lead is split into two monos at the other for separate send and
return connections. A Y-lead must never be used to combine signals.

 Zenith –The parameter of tape head alignment relating to vertical

alignment head and whether it is leaning forward or back relative to the
tape path. (cf. Azimuth and Wrap)
 Zero Crossing Point — The point at which a signal waveform crosses from
being positive to negative or vice versa.
 Zipper Noise — Audible steps that can occur when a parameter is being
varied in a digital audio processor.