| foldback | Also known as `fb` or `cue system`, a monitor system that permits musicians to hear previously recorded tracks, along with their live performance, through headphones. |
| general midi | A superset of the midi standard that describes sound mappings in midi instruments. music written and sequenced for general midi should play back with the same instrument sounds on any general midi... |
| grainy | Sound which suffers from harmonic distortion or has been digitally converted using a low sample rate or inferior a/d converters. it has the overall effect of making music sound like it has been se... |
| groove quantize | A sequencing quantization method that uses a performance template instead of an absolute value to alter the rhythmic characteristics of a sequence. usually involves preset grooves (i.e. funk, swin... |
| ground buss | A heavy plate (typically copper) used as a common connection point to which audio equipment is grounded. |
| grungy | A sound or track with an abundance of harmonic distortion. |
| hard-disk recording | Recording audio digitally to a computer hard drive or to a dedicated hardware device. |
| head gap | Also known as simply `gap`, the thin break in the electromagnet that contacts the tape in a tape recorder head. |
| honky | A track or entire mix which sounds the way your voice does if you cover your mouth with an object. honkiness can be caused (or achieved) by a peak in the frequency response around 500 to 700 hz. |
| idler wheel | Also known as a `pinch roller`, in a tape recorder transport, the rubber wheel that traps the tape between itself and the capstan, so that the capstan can move the tape forward. |
| input module | In a mixing board, the group of controls affecting a single input signal, possibly including a fader, equalizer, trim, effect sends, cue send, solo, and bus assignment controls. |
| input section | Refers to all of the input modules of a mixing board. |
| keyboard controller | A keyboard instrument that transmits midi data, but has no onboard sounds. |
| keyboard workstation | A keyboard that typically includes an internal sequencer, effects processor, and multitimbral sound module. |
| leadering | Describes the process of manually splicing leader tape between program material on an audio tape. |
| level setting | Adjusting the amount of signal sent to an input channel of a mixer or to the record head of a tape recorder. the amount of signal is usually monitored visually through the use of an led meter, vu ... |
| live recording | A recording made at a club, concert hall, stadium, or other venue with an audience. also refers to a recording made with a band or group playing all together, without the use of overdubbing. |
| loundspeaker | A transducer that changes electrical energy (the signal source) into acoustical energy (sound waves) that you can hear. |
| magnetic recording tape | A recording medium made of magnetic particles suspended in a binder and coated on a long strip of thin plastic. |
| master fader | A volume control that adjusts the level of all program busses at the same time. |
| memory rewind | A function of some tape recorders to automatically rewind the tape to a designated position. the tape recorder stores the tape counter position in memory and will return to that position when the ... |
| mic level | The level or voltage of a signal typically produced by a microphone, about 2 millivolts. |
| microphone technique | The choosing and placing of microphones to pick up sound sources in order to achieve the desired sound. |
| midi channels | Electronic "highways" for communicating with midi instruments. the original midi spec called for 16 separate channels. however, multi-port devices now exist that allow for more channels. |
| midi controllers | Performance characteristics within the midi standard. characteristics include volume, modulation, panning, etc. most sequencers allow recording and editing of controller data. |
| midi cue sheet | A list of midi events that have to be transmitted at specific times. the midi events typically consist of note-ons, controller changes, or program changes. the times as usually specified as smpte ... |
| midi merging | When two individual midi data streams are brought together and forwarded as a single midi event stream. for example, the two data streams might be from two keyboards, or a single keyboard and a fo... |
| midi patch bay | A patch bay wired with midi cables that controls the routing of messages to and from all midi devices in a studio. |
| midi timing byte message | As set forth in the midi standard, one midi timing byte is sent 24 times every quarter note. therefore, if the tempo of a sequenced song speeds up, midi timing data is sent at a faster rate. midi ... |
| milli- | A metric system prefix meaning one thousandth, commonly abbreviated as `m`. one millisecond is 0.001 of a second. |
| mixing console | Also called a `mixing board`, a large mixer with additional functions like eq, panning, effect sends, soloing, muting, trim, etc. |
| mono-compatible | A stereo program which can be safely combined into a single channel of audio without experiencing phase cancellation, or altering the tonal balance or frequency response. |
| moving-coil microphone | A type of dynamic microphone in which the conductor is a coil of wire moving in a fixed magnetic field. the coil is attached to a diaphragm which vibrates when sung or shouted into. |
| muffled | A track or mix which sounds as if the loudspeakers were covered with a blanket. characterized by a weak upper midrange or weak high frequency response. |
| multiple-d microphone | A type of directional microphone having minimal proximity effect due to multiple sound path lengths between its front and rear sound entry points. |
| multi-timbral | Capable of producing different sounds (timbres) at the same time. |
| namm | An acronym for the national association of music merchants, a not-for-profit association which provides a variety of tangible services to retail and commercial members of the music products indust... |
| near-coincident | A stereo miking technique where two mics are angled apart in a symmetric fashion, and spaced a few inches apart. |
| near-field monitoring | A monitor speaker arrangement in which the speakers are situated very close to the listener, to reduce the effect of the room acoustics when tracking or mixing. |
| noise reduction system | A device used to reduce or nearly eliminate hiss from the signal introduced as a by-product of the recording process. when used with tape-based systems, certain processors encode the tape, and dec... |
| non-destructive editing | Edits that do not alter primary recordings. typically these edits, if they are performed on a hard-disk recording system, are stored as new files, allowing for multiple levels of undo. |
| off-axis | Not directly in front of a microphone or speaker, the axis being the center of the mic or speaker. |
| off-axis coloration | The alteration of tone quality for sounds arriving off-center to the microphone. |
| omnidirectional microphone | A mic that is equally sensitive to sounds coming from all directions. |
| on-location recording | A recording made outside the studio, in a club, concert hall, or other venue with a live audience. |
| open tracks | On a multitrack tape or digital recorder, the unused tracks. |
| outboard equipment | Signal processors or other effect devices that are not internal to the mixing board. |
| out-take | An entire recorded performance or a portion of a recorded performance that is to be discarded and not used. |
| overtone | A frequency component that is higher than the fundamental frequency in a complex sound wave. обертон; |
| parametric eq | Also known as parametric equalization, a type of equaliztion where the range of frequencies affected by cuts and boosts in level is adjustable. |
| patch bay | A unit that allows the user to reconfigure audio equipment connections without having to access to the rear of the unit. all inputs and outputs to the audio equipment are connected to the back of ... |
| peak amplitude | On a graph of a sound wave, the sound pressure of the waveform peak. the amplitude of a sound wave when measured using a meter is 0.707 times the peak amplitude. |
| phasey | A sound that sounds out of phase, resulting in a directionless quality and/or a flanging effect. it can be caused by picking up sound from more than one microphone, or when recording an instrument... |
| pinched | A sound or track with a very narrow frequency range, or a sound with peaks in the frequency response in the midrange or upper-midrange area. |
| pitch to midi converter | A device that detects the pitch from a microphone or guitar and translates the information into corresponding midi messages (note on, pitch bend, etc.). |
| polyphonic synth | A musical instrument in which two or more independent voices are capable of sounding at the same time. |
| polyphony | The maximum number of notes (simultaneous pitches) a unit (keyboard, sound module, etc.) can produce at the same time. |
| ppq | An acronym for pulses per quarter note. sometimes abbreviated at ppqn. |
| presence range | The area of the audio frequency spectrum which affects the perceived presence of the sound. |
| puffy | A music track or sound sample with a bump or peak in the response around 500 hz. |
| punchy | A sound or track with a good reproduction of dynamics, having good transient response. bass sounds can be boosted at 200 hz, and other instruments can be boosted at around 4 to 6 khz to add punchi... |
| rack mount unit | Any unit that conforms to the 19-inch e.i.a. (electronic industry association) specifications for rack hole alignment. |
| raspy | A harsh sound, like a rasp. also used to describe vocals with excessive sibilance or sounds with a piercing quality, which can be caused by peaks in the frequency response at about 6 to 7 khz. |
| real time recording | Recording notes or other midi performance data into a sequencer at the tempo at which it was performed. also, recording and mixing a performance directly to two-track tape or lacquer disk. |
| record equalization | Adjustments to specific frequencies applied to the signal by a tape recorder to compensate for certain frequency losses. |
| record head | The head in a tape recorder that puts the audio signal on tape by magnetizing the tape particles in a pattern corresponding to the signal. |
| reflected sound | Those sound waves that reach the listener or audience after being reflected from one or more surfaces (walls, ceilings, floors, etc.) |
| regions | User-defined sections of audio that can be edited, looped, or processed. |
| remix | To do another mixdown with different edits or different mixing parameters. |
| remote recording | Also known as `on location recording`, a recording made outside the studio, in a room, club, or other venue where live music is usually performed. |
| return-to-zero | A function on a tape recorder that rewinds the tape to the zero counter position on the tape. the zero counter position can be anywhere on the tape, since it is established whenever the user reset... |
| reverse echo | An echo that precedes the sound that caused it, building up from silence into the original sound. reverse echo can be created either electronically (using a signal processor), or by reversing a ta... |
| rhythm tracks | The generic name for the recorded tracks of the rhythm instruments (rhythm guitar, bass, drums, keyboards). |
| ribbon microphone | A dynamic mic in which the conductor is a long metallic diaphragm (ribbon) suspended in a magnetic field. |
| ride gain | To manually adjust the volume of a microphone or mixer channel,. raising the fader when the signal is quiet, and lowering the fader when the signal is loud, in an attempt to reduce the dynamic ran... |
| rj11 | Standardized 6 pin telephone interface in north america. also used in most telecommunications equipment worldwide. |
| safety copy | A duplicate of the master tape or disc, to be used if the master tape or disc is lost or damaged. |
