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Automatic Double Tracking A tape delay that is used to simulate double tracking using only one recording. Also known as ADT. Aliasing An issue that occurs when the sampling rate (in analogue to digi conversion) has been set too low. Analogue Equipment that is 'real' and not digital. A continually changing voltage or current that represents a sound (sound is analogous to the original sound wave). Anechoic Chamber A room, insulated from any external vibrations or noise ( no reverb and silent) Artificial Harmonics playing technique on guitar or string inst, Fretting the note with hand simultaneously touching a node point to create a harmonic and plucking the string. Attack the time taken for a sound to reach its max amplitude // time taken for a processor to act after the signal has passed a set threshold (e.g compressor) Bit Depth the number of bits available to describe a number. the more bits the more resolution. a lower bit depth increases hiss and grainy audio because the steps between one value and another become audible Centre Frequency The frequency at which a band-pass or notch filter will have the maximum effect
Clipping Exceeding the max volume specification of a given device. Also known as peaking or distortion, when digital this is unpleasant. On analogue equipment, this is sometimes acceptable or desirable. Cut-off Frequency The value at which a filter has an audible effect on the frequency range. Normally applied to a LPF or HPF. CV/Gate Control Voltage used in analog systems to control external devices from a sequencer. CV controls the pitch and the gate controls the note on/off Delay Effect in which the original signal is repeated one or more times. Double-Tracking Recording (overdubbing) a nearly identical version of an existing track on a separate track, which is played back at the same time (layered) to create thicker sound Drawbars Controls used to mix the waveform ratios in a tone wheel organ (Hammond B-3) Echo Chamber A large enclosed space with hard surfaces used to create echoes and reverb Echoplex A tape delay unit used from the 1960s Fairlight CMI Early digital sampler used in a lot of 1970s songs Feedback When the sound produced from a loudspeaker is picked up by a microphone or guitar pickup and amplified further and passed through speaker again forming a loop. And crescendos in an audible frequency Frequency Modulation (FM) When the frequency of a carrier signal is varied in accordance with a modulating signal, the carrier and the modulating signal are both in the audible frequency range creating a complex waveform FX Processes applied to a signal to alter its sound in some way - short for Effects. Gain Stage of a pre-amp that boosts the level of a signal at the beginning of the signal path, Commonly applied to any volume boost in the signal path 128 How many voices were available in the GM (General MIDI) sound set? Gigasampler
the time taken for a sound to decay after the note has been released Rhythmicon Invented in 1931, this was the first electronic drum machine. Rumble Filter Another word for High Pass Filter (or HPF), used to eliminate unwanted low frequencies such as footsteps and traffic, without affecting the desired sound. Sample A short, prerecorded sound used in the context of music Sample Rate The number of times an analog to digital converter samples the signal every second, measured in Hz (e.g 44.1kHz) Sampler Device used to store and playback samples (and often record them) Scratching A DJ technique. Manually rotating the turntable platter while the needle is in contact with the vinyl creating a scratching sound, and pitch bends / time changes. Self-Oscillation occurs when the Q has been set so high that a filter will generate a tone its own Sequencer Device used to facilitate the input, editing and playback of MIDI data. Signal-to-noise ratio The level of wanted signal compared to the level of unwanted noise Spot Mic The technique of focussing a mic on an individual or a small group within a larger group that is being captured by other mics, to allow for selective boosting of the individual or group Stereo A Signal carried on two channels (left/right) to represent a sound image as it might be picked up by 2 ears Stompbox A floor mounted guitar effects unit (pedal) Tape Saturation The point at which the magnetic particles on a tape will no longer respond to magnetic force, this has a subtle distortion effect that some artists find effective. Theremin An early synth played by mean of moving the hands in proximity to one or two ariels Threshold A preset loudness point which once passed causes a process to occur, (compressors / gate) Tonewheel
In an organ, a series of discs rotated by a motor in proximity to an electromagnetic pickup. Tremolo Arm A rod attached to the bridge of a guitar that enables the player to change the tension of the string, altering the pitch of the sounding note. Also known as a whammy bar. Turntablism The art of using one or more turntables as an instrument, combined with a mixer and cross fader to manipulate and mix sounds. Valve Amplifier Amps that use vacuum tubes (valves) instead of transistors in the pre-amp and or power amp stages. Often produces a warmer sound Violining Guitar playing technique where a note is struck while the volume control is at its lowest value and is then immediately turned up. This results in the loss of the attack portion of noise. Virtual Modelling Creating a software version of a hardware device. Granular synthesis A type of synthesis in which audio samples are not played back conventionally, but are instead split into small pieces of around 1 to 50 ms. These small pieces are called grains. Additive synthesis A sound synthesis technique that creates timbre by adding sine waves together. Subtractive Synthesis The process of creating a new sound by filtering and shaping a raw, harmonically complex waveform. Dynamic Microphone Rugged, durable mic; uses small coil that moves within a magnetic field to produce a signal Condenser Microphone Higher quality, more sensitive mic requiring power; uses a diaphragm that moves against a back plate to produce a signal Ribbon Microphone Extremely sensitive, used only in audio booths; uses a small ribbon (rather than a coil) to produce sound Phantom Power Often seen on audio equipment as +48V. Provides the fixed charge for a condenser microphone Polar Pattern A visual reference to how well a microphone picks up sound within 360° of its central axis. Cardioid Heart-shaped pickup pattern of a unidirectional microphone. Hypercardioid
A sound wave which contains every harmonic. Each harmonic is attenuated by 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5... in amplitude. It has an even and edgy sound, often used for strings, basses and dance leads. Square Wave A symmetrical waveform which contain a series of odd harmonics. Sounds hollow and woody, good for clarinet, oboes and bass sounds. Pulse Wave An asymmetrical waveform with a variable pulse width. It is quite nasal sounding and good for recreating reed instruments and basses. Noise All frequencies at an equal amplitude. This can be used to simulate wind or percussive sounds like cymbals, and can be filtered to create a sweeping effect. Portamento Also known as glide, this controls the amount of time it takes to slide between two overlapping notes. Resonance Often used on a synthesiser filter to add a characteristic narrow boost of frequencies around the cutoff. High amounts can lead to self-oscillation. Low Frequency Oscillator This oscillator is too deep for us to hear it (usually between 0.5 and 15Hz), so it is normally applied to a signal to modulate it in some way, such as vibrato or modulating the cutoff frequency. Also known as LFO. Zero Crossing Point The point at which a signal waveform crosses from being positive to negative or vice versa. It is important to cut samples at this point to avoid creating a click. Quantise This tool moves the timing of the beginning of a note to the nearest grid division: a note length, beat or bar. Ratio In compression, the amount of input:output volume; this is how much the compressor will reduce the signal by once the signal is above the threshold. Parametric EQ An equalizer with separate controls for frequency, bandwidth and cut/boost. Convolution Reverb This type of reverb is an effect that takes an impulse response (IR) recorded in a space and uses this to impart this ambience on audio signals. It reproduces a real reverb through an algorithm and was pioneered by Sony in the late 1990s. Wavetable Synthesis
A method of generating waveforms through lookup tables. Many software synthesizers use synthesis where these digitized waveforms are organized in a bank or table, accessed through a sequencer. VCO Voltage Controlled Oscillator VCF Voltage Controlled Filter VCA Voltage Controlled Amplifier Plosive A short burst of sound made when you say a word containing the letters b, d, g, k, p or t Limiter A dynamic processing tool which stops volume from going above a specified threshold Side-chain A technique in which a signal triggers an effect on a different signal Flanger Two signals are mixed together, one delayed by a changing amount (the sound alternates between speeding up and slowing down), creating a 'jet plane' effect Crackle Short, bubbling noise created by pressing flaws or irreversible damage to the surface of the groove on a vinyl. Talk Box Device that drives sound through a tube into a performer's mouth to filter sound into speech-like timbres Wah wah A filter effect in which the peak of the filter is swept up and down the frequency range in response to the player's foot movement on a rocker pedal. Chorus An effect which duplicates and delays the sound slightly, as well as detuning it slightly, to give them impression of multiple layers. High Shelf A boost of high frequencies Unbalanced Cable A cable with two conductors (hot and ground). Can pick up noise and needs to be kept short. Examples include TS & RCA cables Balanced Cable A cable with three conductors - hot, cold and ground. Polarity is inverted in the cold wire, cancelling out noise when it is inverted back at the end of the cable. Examples include TRS and XLR
Phons Units of loudness levels at different frequencies decibel A unit that compares the intensities of different sounds Equal loudness curve Developed by Fletcher and Munson. A graph plotting sound pressure level (dB SPL) against the frequency for which a listener perceives constant loudness. Crest Highest point of a soundwave Wavelength Horizontal distance between the crests or between the troughs of two adjacent waves Period How long the cycle of a soundwave lasts (in seconds) T = 1 / f Equation to calculate the period of a soundwave 0.01s The period of 100Hz 10Hz A frequency with a period of 0.1 seconds EMT 140 A classic plate reverb, invented in 1957. Can be heard on Soul recordings. Teletronix LA-2A A classic compressor introduced in the 1960s Divebomb A guitar technique in which the vibrato bar is used to rapidly lower the pitch of a note. One of the most recognized pioneers of this technique is Jimi Hendrix. Clavinet An electrically amplified clavichord, can be heard on funk tracks such as Superstition by Stevie Wonder. Rhodes Piano A popular electric piano which became popular in the 1970s Hammond Organ An electric organ, invented in 1935. Using additive synthesis, sliding drawbars adds together sine waves to create the sound. Sound is generated by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier so it can drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker. Jangly A guitar sound associated with Indie rock, where light gauge strings and single coil pickups are combined
Humbucker A type of guitar pickup where two coils of wire and two magnets are used. The two coils of wire are out of polarity with each other and each is wound around a magnet of opposite polarity, cancelling out noise. Slap A percussive technique on the bass, where the string is hit by the thumb. Crash A type of cymbal that produces a loud, sharp sound that is used mainly for occasional accents. Muddy A mix with overlapping frequencies that clash with each other. A mix where it is difficult to hear the various elements in the track. Tape saturation The point at which the magnetic particles on a tape will no longer respond to magnetic force. This has a subtle distortion effect that some artists find pleasing to the ear. Overdubbing The process of recording an additional part onto an existing recording. Splice To join or unite together two pieces of tape which have been cut DAT A type of digital audio tape which was popular in studios in the 1980s and 1990s as a mastering medium. Compact Disc What does CD stand for? MP A standard format for music files sent over the Internet that compresses music. Lossless A compression scheme in which every bit of the original data can be recovered from the compressed file. FLAC and ALAC files are an example. Uncompressed Digital Audio Real sound waves that have been captured and converted to digital format without any further processing. WAV and AIFF are an example of this format. Root Mean Square An average measure of loudness, this is useful for measuring the overall volume of audio and is often used in the mastering process. Also known as RMS. Rock'n'roll Popular music which was created through a live recording direct to tape. Slap-back delay was often used on the vocals and a 12-bar blues structure can usually be identified in the songs. Punk
(MSB) The left most bit either indicating the bit of the highest number in binary code Nyquist's Theorem A theory which states that you should sample at a frequency at least twice the rate of the highest frequency in the sampled signal. Oscillator A device found in a synthesiser that generates waveforms. One-shot On a sampler, a control which triggers the whole sample when the key is pressed down Pad A switch on microphones which attenuates the gain by a set amount to prevent clipping Pitch Mapping Samples that have been mapped across the MIDI keyboard by changing the pitch and length so that they can be played as a musical instrument Polyphonic More than one note simultaneously Sound Pressure Level A measurement of the sound against a reference level; measured in decibels and represents how loud we perceive the sound to be. SPL. Stuttering When audio (normally a sample) is triggered repeatedly and quickly. Transducer A device that converts between different types of energy; for example a microphone's capsule converts a sound into electrical energy. Transient A high-amplitude, short duration sound at the beginning of a waveform Vocoder A synthesiser that produces sounds from an analysis of speech input Zero crossing The point at which a waveform has a displacement of 0. You can avoid a click whilst editing if you cut the waveform at this point. Velocity How hard a note has been struck Vibrato A modulation in pitch Stereo Spread A tool which divides frequency bands into either side of the stereo field. Particularly useful when remastering.
Exciter An audio signal processing technique used to enhance a signal by adding high frequencies through the addition of subtle harmonic distortion. Telephone effect Another term for using a band pass filter on vocals. 60 / BPM The equation to calculate the delay time in seconds. Artefact Unwanted sonic material caused by editing or processing. A sound introduced that wasn't in the original signal.
