Glossary - Production Glossary A - F

Hi all, some of you visiting this site maybe interested in producing sounds, or even already started producing. As we all know, there are lots of terms that we will meet in producing with softwares, or hardwares. I'm sorry that i haven't put any updates for several days. What i did in those several days was searching for technical terminologies in producing, and and make a glossary for you to use it. I hope this is useful, and enjoy:)

p.s.: This is a very long post, so it will take longer time to open it.

A

AC: Alternating Current.

A/D [A-D] CONVERTER: Circuit for converting analogue waveforms into a series of equally spaced numerical values represented by binary numbers. The more 'bits' a converter has, the greater the resolution of the sampling process.

ACTIVE: Describes a circuit containing transistors, ICs, tubes and other devices, that require power to operate and are capable of amplification.

ADDITIVE SYNTHESIS: A system for generating waveforms or sounds by combining basic waveforms or sampled sounds prior to further processing with filters and envelope shapers.

ADSR: Envelope generator with Attack, Sustain, Decay and Release parameters. This is a simple type of envelope generator and was first used on early analogue synthesizers. This form of envelope generator continues to be popular on modern instruments. See Decay for more details.

ACTIVE SENSING: A system used to verify that a MIDI connection is working, that 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

AES 3: A two-channel interface used to pass digital audio between equipment. Originally developed by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcasting Union, it is often known as the AES-EBU interface. The AES standards documentation list it as 'AES 3', and it is normally connected using 3-pin XLRs. It carries two digital audio channels plus embedded clocking data on a balanced cable of a nominal 110 Ohm impedance, with up to 24 bits per sample and sample rates up to 384kHz. The datastream is structured identically to S/PDIF, although some of the Channel status codes are used differently. An extension to the AES 3 standard is AES 3-id, which describes an unbalanced version of the interface using BNC connectors and 75 Ohm video cables.

AFL: After Fade listen; a system used within mixing consoles to allow specific signals to be monitored at the level set by their fader of level control knob. Aux sends are generally monitored AFL rather than PFL (see PFL).

AFTERTOUCH: A means of generating a control signal 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 computer program designed to perform a specific task. 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 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.

AMPLIFIER: Device that increases the level of an electrical signal.

AMPLITUDE: Another word for level. Can refer to sound levels or electrical signal levels.

ANALOGUE: Circuitry that uses a continually changing voltage or current to represent a signal. The origin of the term is that the electrical signal can be thought of as being 'analogous' to the original signal.

ANALOGUE SYNTHESIS: A system for synthesizing sounds by means of analogue circuitry, usually by filtering simple repeating waveforms.

ATTENUATE: To make lower in level.

ANTI-ALIASING FILTER: 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: Alternative term for computer program.

ARPEGGIATOR: 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. A standard code for representing computer keyboard characters by binary data.

ATTACK: The time taken for a sound to achieve 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 change its gain.

AUDIO FREQUENCY: Signals in the human audio range:nominally 20Hz to 20kHz.

AUTOLOCATOR: Feature of a tape machine or other recording device that enables specific locations to be stored, then at some later time, these locations within the recording may be recalled. For example, you may store the start of a verse as a locate point so that you can get the tape machine to wind back the start of the verse after you've recorded an overdub.

AUX: Control on a mixing console designed to route a proportion of the channel signal to the effects or cue mix outputs (Aux Send).

AUX SEND: Physical output from a mixer Aux Send buss.

AUX RETURN: Mixer inputs used to add effects to the mix.

AZIMUTH: Alignment coordinate of a tape head which references the head gap to the true vertical relative to the tape path.

B

BACKUP: A safety copy of software or other digital data.

BAND PASS FILTER (BPF): Filter that removes or attenuates frequencies above and below the frequency at which it is set. Frequencies within the band are emphasised. Bandpass filters are often used in synthesizers as tone shaping elements.

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, or it may be used to describe the relative levels of the various instruments and voices within a mix.

BALANCED WIRING: Wiring system which uses two out-of-phase conductors and a common screen to reduce the effect of interference. For balancing to be effective, both the sending and receiving device must have balanced output and input stages respectively.

BANDPASS: A filter that passes frequencies only between specific upper and lower limits.

BANDWIDTH: A means of specifying 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.

BETA VERSION: Software which is not fully tested and may include bugs.

BIAS: 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: Counting system based on only two states - 1s and 0s.

BIOS: Part of a computer operating system held on ROM rather than on disk. This handles basic routines such as accessing the disk drive.

BIT: Binary digit, which may either be 1 or 0.

BOOST/CUT CONTROL: A single 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.

BOUNCING: The process of mixing two or more recorded tracks together and re-recording these onto another track.

BPM: Beats Per Minute.

BREATH CONTROLLER: Device that converts breath pressure into MIDI controller data.

BUFFER: Circuit designed to isolate the output of a source device from loading effects due to the input impedance of the destination device.

BUFFER MEMORY: Temporary RAM memory used in some computer operations, sometimes to prevent a break in the data stream when the computer is interrupted to perform another task.

BUG: Slang term for software fault or equipment design problem.

BUSS: A common electrical signal path along which signals may travel. In a mixer, there are several busses carrying the stereo mix, the groups, the PFL signal, the aux sends and so on. Power supplies are also fed along busses.

BYTE: A piece of digital data comprising eight bits.

C

CARDIOID: Meaning heart shaped, describes the polar response of a unidirectional microphone.

CD-R: A recordable type of Compact Disc that can only be recorded once - it cannot be erased and reused.

CD-R BURNER: A device capable of recording data onto blank CD-R discs.

CV: Control Voltage 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.

CAPACITANCE: Property of an electrical component able to store electrostatic charge.

CAPACITOR: Electrical component exhibiting capacitance. Capacitor microphones are often abbreviated to capacitors.

CAPACITOR MICROPHONE: Microphone that operates on the principle of measuring the change in electrical charge across a capacitor where one of the electrodes is a thin conductive membrane that flexes in response to sound pressure.

CHANNEL(1): A single strip of controls in a mixing console relating to either a single input or a pair of main/monitor inputs.

CHANNEL(2): In the context of MIDI, Channel refers to one of 16 possible data channel 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.

CHANNEL(3): In the context of mixing consoles, a channel is a single strip of controls relating to one input.

CHASE: 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: Integrated circuit.

CHORD: Three or more different musical notes played at the same time.

CHORUS: Effect created by doubling a signal and adding delay and pitch modulation.

CHROMATIC: A scale of pitches rising in semitone steps.

CLICK TRACK: Metronome pulse which assists musicians in playing in time.

CLIPPING: Severe form of distortion which occurs when a signal attempts to exceed the maximum level which a piece of equipment can handle.

CLONE: Exact duplicate. Often refers to digital copies of digital tapes.

COMMON MODE REJECTION: A measure of how well a balanced circuit rejects a signal that is common to both inputs.

COMPANDER: Encode decode device that compresses a signal while encoding it, then expands it when decoding it.

COMPRESSOR: Device designed to reduce the dynamic range of audio signals by reducing the level of high signals or by increasing the level of low signals.

COMPUTER: A device for the storing and processing of digital data.

CONDUCTOR: Material that provides a low resistance path for electrical current.

CONSOLE: Alternative term for mixer.

CONTACT ENHANCER: Compound designed to increase the electrical conductivity of electrical contacts such as plugs, sockets and edge connectors.

CONTINUOUS CONTROLLER: Type of MIDI message used to translate continuous change, such as from a pedal, wheel or breath control device.

COPY PROTECTION: Method used by software manufacturers to prevent unauthorised copying.

CRASH: Slang term relating to malfunction of computer program.

CUT AND PASTE EDITING: The ability to copy or move sections of a recording to new locations.

CUTOFF FREQUENCY: The frequency above or below which attenuation begins in a filter circuit.

CYCLE: One complete vibration of a sound source or its electrical equivalent. One cycle per second is expressed as 1Hertz (Hz).

CV: Control voltage used in analogue synthesizers, to control oscillator or filter frequency.

D

DAMPING: In the context of reverberation, damping refers to the rate at which the reverberant energy is absorbed by the various surfaces in the environment.

DAISY CHAIN: Term used to describe serial electrical connection between devices or modules.

DAT: Digital Audio Tape. The commonly used DAT machines are 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.

DATA COMPRESSION: A system used to reduce the amount of data needed to represent an audio signal, usually by discarding audio information that is being masked by more prominent sounds.

dB: deciBel. Unit used to express the relative levels of two electrical voltages, powers or sounds.

dBm: Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 1mW into 600Ohms.

dBv: Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 0.775 volts.

dBV: Variation on dB referenced to 0dB = 1 volt.

dB/Octave: A means of measuring the slope of a filter. The more dBs per octave, the sharper the filter slope.

DATA COMPRESSION: A system for reducing the amount of data stored by a digital system. Most audio data compression systems are so-called lossy systems as some of the original signal is discarded based on psychoacoustic principles designed to ensure that only components which cannot be heard are lost.

DC: Direct Current.

DCC: Stationary head digital recorder format developed by Philips. Uses a data compression system to reduce the amount of data that needs to be stored.

dbx: A commercial encode/decode tape noise reduction system that compresses the signal during recording and expands it by an identical amount on playback.

DCO: Digitally Controlled Oscillator.

DDL: Digital Delay Line.

DE-ESSER: Device for reducing the effect of sibilance in vocal signals.

DEOXIDISING COMPOUND: Substance formulated to remove oxides from electrical contacts.

DECAY: The progressive reduction in amplitude of a sound or electrical signal over time. In the context of an ADSR envelope shaper, the Decay phase starts as soon as the Attack phase has reached its maximum level. In the Decay phase, the signal level drops until it reaches the Sustain level set by the user. The signal then remains at this level until the key is released, at which point the Release phase is entered.

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.

DETENT: Physical click stop in the centre of a control such as a pan or EQ cut/boost knob.

DI: Short for Direct Inject, where a signal is plugged directly into an audio chain without the aid of a microphone.

DI BOX: Device for matching the signal level impedance of a source to a tape machine or mixer input.

DIGITAL: Electronic system which represents data and signals in the form of codes comprising 1s and 0s.

DIGITAL DELAY: Digital processor for generating delay and echo effects.

DIGITAL REVERB: Digital processor for simulating reverberation.

DIN CONNECTOR: Consumer multipin signal connection format, also used for MIDI cabling. Various pin configurations are available.

DIRECT COUPLING: A means of connecting two electrical circuits so that both AC and DC signals may be passed between them.

DITHER: A system of adding low level noise to a digitized audio signal in such a way as to extend to the low level resolution at the expense of a slight deterioration in noise performance.

DISC: Used to describe vinyl discs, CDs and MiniDiscs.

DISK: Abbreviation of Diskette, but now used to describe computer floppy, hard and removable 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: An encode/decode tape noise reduction system that amplifies low level, high frequency signals during recording, then reverses this process during playback. There are several different Dolby systems in use: 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.

DOS: Disk Operating System. Part of the operating system of PC and PC compatible computers

DSP: Digital Signal Processor. A powerful microchip used to process digital signals.

DRIVER: Piece of software that handles communications between the main program and a hardware peripheral, such as a soundcard, printer or scanner.

DRUM PAD: Synthetic playing surface which produces electronic trigger signals in response to being hit with drum sticks.

DRY: A signal that has had no effects added.

DUBBING: Adding further material to an existing recording. Also known as overdubbing.

DUCKING: A system for controlling the level of one audio signal with another. For example, background music can be made to 'duck' 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, where a diaphragm moves a coil of wire within a magnetic field.

DYNAMIC RANGE: The range in dB between the highest signal that can be handled by a piece of equipment and the level at which small signals disappear into the noise floor.

DYNAMICS: Way of describing the relative levels within a piece of music.

E

EARLY REFLECTIONS: The first sound reflections from walls, floors and ceilings following a sound created in an acoustically reflective environment.

EFFECT: Device for treating an audio signal in order to change it in some creative way. Effects often involve the use of delay circuits, and include such treatments as reverb and echo.

EFFECTS LOOP: Connection system that allows an external signal processor to be connected into the audio chain.

EFFECTS RETURN: Additional mixer input designed to accommodate the output from an effects unit.

ELECTRET MICROPHONE: Type of capacitor microphone utilising a permanently charged capsule.

ENCODE/DECODE: A system that requires a signal to be processed prior to recording, then that process reversed during playback.

ENHANCER: A device designed to brighten audio material using techniques such as dynamic equalisation, phase shifting and harmonic generation.

ENVELOPE: The way in which the level of a sound or signal varies over time.

ENVELOPE GENERATOR: A 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 level 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.

EQUALISER: Device for selectively cutting or boosting selected parts of the audio spectrum.

ERASE: To remove recorded material from an analogue tape, or to remove digital data from any form of storage media.

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: An enhancer that works by synthesizing new high frequency harmonics.

EXPANDER: A devise designed to decrease the level of low level signals and increase the level of high level signals, thus increasing the dynamic range of the signal.

EXPANDER MODULE: Synthesizer with no keyboard, often rack mountable or in some other compact format.

F

FADER: Sliding potentiometer control used in mixers and other processors.

FERRIC: Type of magnetic tape coating that uses iron oxide.

FET: Field Effect Transistor.

FIGURE-OF-EIGHT: Describes the polar response of a microphone that is equally sensitive both front and rear, yet rejects sounds coming from the sides.

FILE: A meaningful list of data stored in digital form. A Standard MIDI File is a specific type of file designed to allow sequence information to be interchanged between different types of sequencer.

FILTER: An electronic circuit designed to emphasize or attenuate a specific range of frequencies.

FLANGING: Modulated delay effect using feedback to create a dramatic, sweeping sound.

FLOPPY DISK: Computer disk that uses a flexible magnetic medium encased in a protective plastic sleeve. The maximum capacity of a standard High Density disk is 1.44Mbytes. Earlier Double Density disks hold only around half the amount of data.

FLUTTER ECHO: Resonant echo that occurs when sound reflects back and forth between two parallel, reflective surfaces.

FOLDBACK: System for feeding one or more separate mixes to the performers for use while recording and overdubbing. Also known as a Cue mix.

FORMANT: Frequency component or resonance 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: Procedure required to ready a computer disk for use. Formatting organises the disk's surface into a series of electronic pigeon holes into which data can be stored. Different computers often use different formatting systems.

FRAGMENTATION: The process by which the available space on a disk drive gets split up into small sections due to the storing and erasing of files. See Defragmentation.

FREQUENCY: Indication of how many cycles of a repetitive waveform occur in 1 second. A waveform which has a repetition cycle of once per second has a frequency of 1Hz (pronounced Hertz).

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: A measurement of the frequency range that can be handled by a specific piece of electrical equipment or loudspeaker.

FSK: Frequency Shift Keying. A method of recording a sync clock signal onto tape by representing it as two alternating tones.

FUNDAMENTAL: Any sound comprises a fundamental or basic frequency plus harmonics and partials at a higher frequency.

FX: Effects.

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