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Absorption
Short for the term Acoustical Absorption (quality of a surface or
substance to take in, not reflect, a sound wave).
AC
1) Abbreviation for alternating current.
2) An abbreviation of the term Alternating Current (electric
current which flows back and forth in a circuit; all studio signals
running through audio lines are AC).
Acoustic/Acoustical
Having to do with sound that can be heard by the ears.
Acoustics
The behaviour of sound and its study. The acoustics of a room depend on
its size and shape and the amount and position of sound-absorbing and
reflecting material.
Acoustic Amplifier
The portion of the instrument which makes the vibrating source move more
air or move air more efficiently; this makes the sound of the instrument
louder. Examples of acoustic amplifiers include: 1) The body of an
acoustic guitar, 2) The sounding board of a piano, 3) The bell of a horn
and 4) The shell of a drum.
Acoustic Echo Chamber
A room designed with very hard, non-parallel surfaces and equipped with
a speaker and microphone; dry signals from the console are fed to the
speaker and the microphone will have a reverberation of these signals
that can be mixed in with the dry signals at the console.
Action
In guitar playing, action refers to how far the strings sit off of the
guitar neck. When strings are close to the neck, it is referred to as
"Low Action". When the string sit far above the neck, it is called "High
Action". Guitars with low action are easier to play, but make sure they
are not too close, or it could causing buzzing.
Active Crossover
Uses active devices (transistors, IC's, tubes) and some form of power
supply to operate.
Active/Inactive Microphones
Scientific definitions aside, active microphones generally sound better
than inactive ones, but they generally cost more. They also require the
use of either a battery or phantom power while inactive mics need only
be plugged into the mic cord in order to work. In most playing
situations, the subtle improvement in sound quality from an active mic
isn't worth the extra cost and hassle. One possible exception it the
headset mic. Put simply, inactive headset mics just plain suck. Active
headset mics put out a much stronger signal and feed back much less.
A/D
An abbreviation of Analog to Digital Conversion (the conversion of a
quantity that has continuous changes into numbers that approximate those
changes), or Analog to Digital Converter.
ADAT
A trademark of Alesis Corporation designating its modular digital
multitrack recording system released in early 1993.
ADSR
The letters A, D, S &R are the first letters of: Attack, Decay, Sustain
and Release. These are the various elements of volume changes in the
sounding of a keyboard instrument.
AES
An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society.
AES/EBU
Professional Interface A standard for sending and receiving digital
audio adopted by the Audio Engineering Society and the European
Broadcast Union.
Aliasing
A sampler mis-recognizing a signal sent to it that is at a frequency
higher than the Nyquist Frequency. Upon playback, the system will
provide a signal at an incorrect frequency (called an alias frequency).
Aliasing is a kind of distortion.
Alternating Current
Electric current which flows back and forth in a circuit.
Ambience
The portion of the sound that comes from the surrounding environment
rather than directly from the sound source.
Ambient Field
A term with the same meaning as the term Reverberant Field (the area
away from the sound source where the reverberation is louder than the
direct sound).
Ambient Micing
Placing a microphone in the reverberant field (where the reverberation
is louder than the direct sound) so as to do a separate recording of the
ambience or to allow the recording engineer to change the mix of direct
to reverberant sound in recording.
Amp
1) An abbreviation of the term Amplifier (A device which increases the
level of an electrical signal.
2) An abbreviation of Ampere (the unit of current).
3) An abbreviation of amplitude (the height of a waveform above or below
the zero line).
Amplifier
Sound equipment that converts the low voltage, low current signal from a
tape deck, mixer etc. into a higher current signal suitable for driving
speakers. See Power Amplifier, Crossover.
Amplifier (Power amp, Head)
It's the part of the sound system that actually magnifies or "amplifies"
the sound. In other words, it makes stuff louder.
Ampere
The unit of current, abbreviated Amp.
Amplification
An increasing of signal strength.
Amplifier
A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal
(making it louder).
Amplitude
The height of a waveform above or below the zero line.
Amplitude
The strength of a vibrating wave; in sound, the loudness of the sound.
Amplitude
The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured from the average to the
extreme.
Analog (Analogue)
Representative, continuous changes that relate to another quantity that
has a continuous change.
Analog Recording
A recording of the continuous changes of an audio waveform.
Analog To Digital Converter
The device which does the conversion of a quantity that has continuous
changes (usually of voltage) into numbers that approximate those
changes.
Arc
The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge.
Attenuator (Pot)
The electronic dohickey under the knobs that increases or reduces the
strength of the signal running through it. When these get old and dirty,
they can make popping noises or rumbles in your PA (As in "my pots are
dirty").
Assign To
choose to which place an output is going to be sent.
Assistant Engineer
A less elevated version of the term Second Engineer. Experienced seconds
often place microphones, operate tape machines, break down equipment at
the session end and keep the paperwork for the session.
Atom
The smallest particle which makes up a specific substance. It's composed
of a center around which electrons revolve.
Attack
The rate the sound begins and increases in volume.
Attenuation
A making smaller: reduction of electrical or acoustic signal strength.
Audio
Most often referring to electrical signals resulting from the sound
pressure wave being converted into electrical energy.
Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control)
A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of
the audio very constant.
Automation
In consoles, a feature that lets the engineer program control changes
(such as fader level) so that upon playback of the multitrack recording
these changes happen automatically.
Aux Send
Short for the term Auxiliary Send (a control to adjust the level of the
signal sent from the console input channel to the auxiliary equipment
through the aux buss.
Auxiliary Equipment
Effects devices separate from but working with the recording console.
Auxiliary Input or Return
A route back into the sound desk for a signal sent to a piece of
outboard equipment via an auxiliary send.
Auxiliary Output or Send
An additional output from a sound desk that can be used for foldback or
monitoring without tying up the main outputs. Each input channel will
have a path to the Aux buss. Also used for feeding a signal to an
effects processor. See Auxiliary Return.
Axis
A line around which a device operates. Example: In a microphone, this
would be an imaginary line coming out from the front of the microphone
in the direction of motion of the diaphragm.
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