Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Insert

1) A punch in of the all of the tracks being recorded in a recording session.
2) On Solid State Logic consoles, placing an outboard piece of gear in the channel by patching and activating a switch.

Diaphragm
A thin flexible membrane or cone that vibrates in response to electrical signals to produce sound waves. Distortion is usually referred to in terms of total harmonic distortion (THD) which is the percentage of unwanted harmonics of the drive signal present with the wanted signal. Generally used to mean any unwanted change introduced by the device under question.

Brooks GT 44 Electromagnetic Induction or Pick Up
The generation of electrical signal in a conductor moving in a magnetic field or being close to a changing magnetic field.

Cue
1) The signal fed back to the musicians through headphones.
2) To set the tape or disc so that the intended selection will immediately play when the tape machine or player is started.
3) A location point entered into a computer controlling the playback or recording of a track or tape.
4) In MCI brand tape machines, a term meaning the same thing as Sync Playback (where the record head is used as a playback head for those tracks already recorded).

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Hall
A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Gate
A dynamic processing device that turns a channel off or down when the signal drops below a certain level.

Echo Chamber
1) A room designed with very hard, non-parallel surfaces and equipped with a speaker and microphone.
2) Any artificial or electronic device that simulates the reverberation created in a room.

Cycle
1) An alternation of a waveform which begins at a point, passes through the zero line, and ends at a point with the same value and moving in the same direction as the starting point.
2) On a Solid State Logic Console, a command to have the console computer control the tape machine to play and replay a certain section of the tape.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 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.

CD-ROM
An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Read Only Memory (A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer).

Brooks Speakers Line Out (Line Output)
Any output that sends out a line level signal, such as the output of a console that feeds a recorder.

Limiter
A device which reduces gain when the input voltage exceeds a certain level.

Brooks Cinema KP 30 Gain Control
A device that changes the gain of an amplifier or circuit, often a knob that can be turned or a slide that can be moved up arid down.

Amplifier
A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder).

Bulk Dump
Short for System Exclusive Bulk Dump (a method of transmitting data, such as the internal parameters of a MIDI device to another MIDI device).

Baffles
Sound absorbing panels used to prevent sound waves from entering or leaving a certain space

Brooks BA 71 Direct box

Used in line to convert a high impedance signal into a low impedance signal.

Far Field
The area from 3 feet away from the sound source up to the critical distance.

Brooks XB 22 Horn
1) The part of the speaker that emits midrange and higher range frequencies.
2) A speaker or speaker enclosure where sound waves are put into a narrow opening (by a speaker cone or driver) and the narrow opening flairs out to a larger opening.

Clicking
Pressing and immediately releasing the switch on a computer's mouse.

Brooks KM 77 Beat
1) The steady even pulse in music.
2) The action of two sounds or audio signals mixing together and causing regular rises &.falls in volume.

FOH (Front of House)
Refers to the speakers that face toward the audience. Also called the "main" speakers.

Amplifier
A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder).

Bi-Amplification
1) A way of optimizing the efficiency of a speaker system by separately amplifying the High Frequency (HF) and Low Frequency (LF) portions of the sound signal and sending them down two pairs of cables to the speaker. Multipin Speakon connectors have been developed to do this.
2)The process of having of having low-frequency speakers and high-frequency speakers driven by separate amplifiers.

Brooks SS 81 Diffraction

The breaking up of a sound wave caused by some type of mechanical interference such as a cabinet edge, grill frame, or other similar object.

Chorus
Common type of effect that makes sounds fuller and thicker.

Brooks Cinema XR 607 Band Track
1) A mixdown of a song without the lead vocal or without the lead and background vocals.
2) A term with the same meaning as the term Rhythm Track.
3) The recording of the rhythm instruments in a music production.

LFO
Low-Frequency Oscillator (an oscillator that puts out an AC signal between .1 Hz and 10Hz used for a control signal).

Brooks Speakers Face
The front or body of the guitar.

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.

High Frequencies
The audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above.

Headphones
Devices that can be worn on the head with small speakers that fit over the ears (or sometimes into the ears).

Brooks M 44 Binary

A numbering system based on two. In binary there are two symbols used ("l" and "0").

Hearing Limitation
An inability of the ear to hear important characteristics of sound under certain conditions. Characteristics that can be affected include pitch, level, clarity, presence and direction.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

Frequency Response
How sensitive an electronic device (mic, amplifier, speaker, etc.) is to various frequencies; often communicated with a graph.

Brooks XT 20 Crossover
1) A route leading from one side of the stage to the other, out of the audiences view.
2) An electronic filter in a sound system that routes sound of the correct frequency to the correct part of the speaker system. Different speakers handle high frequencies (tweeters) and low frequencies (woofers). Sometimes known as a crossover network. An active crossover splits the signal from the mixing desk into high, mid and low frequencies which are then sent to three separate amplifiers.
3) An electrical circuit that divides a full bandwidth signal into the desired frequency bands for the loudspeaker components.

Crosstalk
Leakage of an audio signal into a channel that iris not intended to be in, from an adjacent or nearby channel.

ADAT
A trademark of Alesis Corporation designating its modular digital multitrack recording system released in early 1993.

LED
A light that allows current to flow in one direction only and emits light whenever a voltage of a certain level or beyond is applied to it.

Brooks KM 77 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.

Barrier Micing
A method of placing the head of a microphone as close as possible to a reflective surface, preventing phase cancellation.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Hall
A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Compression Ratio
How many dB the input signal has to rise above the threshold for every one dB more output of a compressor or limiter.

Brooks Cinema Series Harmonic Distortion
The presence of harmonics in the output signal of a device which were not present in the input signal.

Blending
1) A condition where two signals mix together to form one sound or to give the sound of one sound source or one performance.
2) Mixing the left and right signal together slightly which makes the instruments sound closer to the center of the performance stage. 3) A method of panning during mixing where instruments are not panned extremely left or right.

Echo Send
The output of a console used to send a signal to an echo chamber or delay effects device.

Cascade
To set and interconnect two mixers so that the stereo mixing buss(es) of the first mixer feeds the stereo buss(es) of a second mixer.

Brooks RM 80 Amplification

An increasing of signal strength.

Headstock
The area of the guitar at the end of the neck where the strings are tuned.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Basic Session
The First session in recording an audio production to record the Basic Tracks.

Formant
An element in the sound of a voice or instrument that does not change frequency as different pitches are sounded.

Brooks GT 44 Full
A quality of the sound of having all frequencies present, especially the low frequencies.

Guitar Controller
An electric guitar or device played like an electric guitar that puts out MIDI signals that can be used to control synthesizers and sound modules.

Error Detection
The process of discovery that sonic information bits have been lost in digital audio.

Clean
Describes a distortion free sound with few effects.

Brooks KM 77 Keyboard Controller

A device that has the standard music keys of piano but puts out MIDI signals

Line Out (Output, Send)
Where a signal leaves the board or component.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 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.

Input Impedance
The opposition to current flow by the first circuits of a device.

Brooks Cinema KP 30 Format
1) The number of tracks, their width, spacing and order for tape recording.
2) To prepare a digital storage medium so that it will accept and store digital information bits.

High-Pass Filter
A device that rejects signals that are below a certain frequency (called the cut-off frequency) and passes signals with frequencies that are higher.

BPM
An abbreviation of Beat Per Minute (the number of steady even pulses in music occurring in one minute and therefore defining the tempo).

Cascade
To set and interconnect two mixers so that the stereo mixing buss(es) of the first mixer feeds the stereo buss(es) of a second mixer.

Brooks TA 60 Capo

A clamp-like device that is placed vertically across the guitar neck. It is used to change the pitch of the guitar, acting as a moveable nut.

ID
An index signal (digital data that gives the machine information of where selections start, their selection number, etc.) on a DAT or CD.

Brooks Cinema Series Jack
1) Anywhere you plug something in.
2) Segmented audio connector. Mono Jacks have two connections �" tip and sleeve, and are unbalanced. Stereo jacks have three connections �" tip, ring and sleeve. B-type jacks (also known as Bantam jacks) were originally designed for use in telephone exchanges and provide a high quality (and expensive) connection in jackfields. A-type jacks are cheaper and more common, but more fragile. A type jacks are available in 2 sizes : quarter inch and eighth inch.
3) A connector mounted on the case of a device or on a panel.

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.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 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).

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).

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Compander
Outboard sound equipment. Combination of a Compressor and an Expander.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Buss (Bus)

A wire carrying signals to some place, usually fed from several sources.

Input
1) The jack or physical location of where a device receives a signal.
2) The signal being received by a device.
3) The action of receiving a signal by a device.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Cable, TRS
A less common balanced cable that has 3 different contacts on its 1/4 inch connectors. Most headphone jacks are a good example of a TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) connector. These are sometimes used instead of the more common XLR connection.

Fat
Having more than a normal amount of signal strength at low frequencies or having more sound than normal (by use of compression or delay).

Brooks M 44 Earth
The British version of the term Ground (In electronics, a place that has zero volts).

Fly In
1) To add sounds into a mix or recording that have no synchronization.
2) An application of this where a performance from one part of a tune is recorded and then recorded back into the recording at a different time in the recording.

CPU
Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit (The main "brain" chip of a computer or the main housing of a computer that contains the "brain" chip).

Byte
A grouping of eight information bits.

Brooks GT 845 Foot Switch

A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions.

Linearity
The extent to which any signal handling process is accomplished without amplitude distortion.

Brooks Speakers Ground Lift
A switch that breaks the connection between the ground point in one circuit and the ground point in another circuit.

Compact Disc, Read Only Memory CDROM
A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer.

Brooks XT 20 Humbucker
Pickups that are coupled together to get a certain sound.

Foot (Foot Drum)
Another name for Bass Drum (the largest drum in the Drum Kit which puts out bass frequencies and is played with a foot pedal).

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 Tochoose to which place an output is going to be sent.

Compression Driver
The unit that feeds a sound pressure wave into the throat of a horn (in a horn loudspeaker).

Brooks SS 81 Full

A quality of the sound of having all frequencies present, especially the low frequencies.

In-Line Console
A console with modules that have controls for all console sections in one long strip.

Brooks Speakers Librarian Program
A computer program allowing the storage of the parameters of sound patches outside of a synthesizer.

Amplitude
The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured from the average to the extreme.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 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.

Expander
A device that causes expansion of the audio signal.

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Cut
1) One selection (one song) on a pre4ecorded music format.
2) A term with the same meaning as Mute (to turn off a channel or a signal).
3) To reduce gain of a particular band of frequencies (with an equalizer).
4) To not pass a particular band of frequencies (said of a filter)

Brooks TA 60 Clip

The action of deforming a waveform during overload.

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.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 Intermodulation Distortion
Distortion caused by one signal beating with another signal and producing frequencies that are both the sum and the difference of the original frequencies.

Hall
A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Brooks TM-22 Central Processing Unit
1) The main "brain" chip of a computer that performs the calculations and execution of instructions.
2) The main housing of a computer that contains the "brain" chip as opposed to other pieces of the computer system such as keyboards, monitors, etc.

Humbucker
Pickups that are coupled together to get a certain sound.

Crisp
Describes a good clean high midrange sound. It can be good or bad depending on the look on the face of the guy who said it.

Front Loaded
A speaker cabinet where the speaker faces out toward the front.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Frequency

Practically speaking, high frequency means high pitch and low frequency means low pitch.

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.

Brooks KS-55 Electrostatic Charge
The excess or deficiency of electrons in a given area.

Equipment Rack
A cabinet with rails (or free standing rails) that have holes to accept screws at standard spaces and used to house outboard gear.

Brooks TM-22 Comb Filter
1) The frequency response achieved by mixing a direct signal with a delayed signal of equal strength especially at short delays.
2) Loosely used to also describe effects that can be achieved with comb filtering as part of the processing.

Inductor
A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electric circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil.

Limiter
A device which reduces gain when the input voltage exceeds a certain level.

CD-ROM
An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Read Only Memory (A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer).

Brooks QS 70 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.

Integrated Circuit (IC)
A miniature circuit of many components in a small, sealed housing with prongs to connect it into equipment.

Brooks QS-70 Hearing Limitation
An inability of the ear to hear important characteristics of sound under certain conditions. Characteristics that can be affected include pitch, level, clarity, presence and direction.

Hard Disk Recording
The recording of digital audio onto a hard disc.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Impedance Matching
Having or converting the output impedance of a device so that it matches the impedance of the input it will feed.

ADAT
A trademark of Alesis Corporation designating its modular digital multitrack recording system released in early 1993.

Echo
1) One distinct repeat of a sound because of the sound reflecting off a surface.
2) Loosely, used to mean reverberation (the continuing of a sound after the source stops emitting it, caused by many discrete echoes closely spaced in time).

Arc
The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge.

Brooks Cinema Series Balls

1) The depth and thickness of a sound, usually on the bottom end of the EQ (as in "needs more balls"). 2) The strength of the voice on the mic (as in "check it like you have some balls").

Line In (Input, return)
Where a signal enters the board or component.

Brooks Cinema XR 607 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 Tochoose to which place an output is going to be sent.

Dry
Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it.

Brooks Cinema Projectors Decibel (dB)
1) Relative measurement for the volume (loudness) of sound. Also used to measure the difference between two voltages, or two currents. See Zero dB.
2) A numerical expression of the relative loudness of a sound. The difference in decibels between two
sounds is ten times the common logarithm of the ratio of their power levels.

Insulator
A substance such as glass, air, plastic, etc., that will (for all practical purposes) not conduct electricity.

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).

Chamber
1) An Echo Chamber (a room designed with very hard, non-parallel surfaces equipped with a speaker and microphone so that when dry signals from the console are fed to the speaker, the microphone will have a reverberation of these signals that can be mixed in with the dry signals at the console).
2) A program in a delay/reverb effects device that simulates the sound of an Echo Chamber.

Brooks GT 44 Bouncing

Alternate name for Ping-Ponging (playing several tacks with sync playback through a console to mix them together and record them on an open track).

Analog Recording
A recording of the continuous changes of an audio waveform.

Brooks GS 15 Isolation Booth/ Isolation Room
A room that prevents loud sounds from other instruments from leaking in: an isolation booth is usually a smaller room that could be used for only one musician.

Insert
1) A punch in of the all of the tracks being recorded in a recording session.
2) On Solid State Logic consoles, placing an outboard piece of gear in the channel by patching and activating a switch.

Brooks Cinema Series 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 Tochoose to which place an output is going to be sent.

Barrier Micing
A method of placing the head of a microphone as close as possible to a reflective surface, preventing phase cancellation.

I/O
Short for "Input/Output' and referring to:
1) An in-line console module that contains controls for the input section, output section and monitor section.
2) A module in electronic gear containing input and output amplifiers for the device.
3) A digital port (connector) able to both receive digital data and output digital data.

Filter
1) A device that removes signals with frequencies above or below a certain point called the cut-off frequency.
2) An equalizer section, used in this sense because filters are used with other components to give an equalizer its frequency response characteristics.
3) The action of removing signals of some frequencies and leaving the rest.
4) A mechanical device to smooth out speed variations in tape machines called a Scrape Flutter Filter- more usually called a Scrape Flutter Idler

Brooks SS 81 Electric Instrument

Any musical instrument that puts out an electrical signal rather than an acoustic sound.

Keynote Number
A number assigned to each key of a synthesizer or controller keyboard that is transmitted in the MIDI signal.

Brooks XB 22 High Impedance
Impedance of 5000 or more ohms.

Hall
A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Brooks KM 77 Input
1) The jack or physical location of where a device receives a signal.
2) The signal being received by a device.
3) The action of receiving a signal by a device.

Equal Loudness Contours
A drawing of several curves showing how loud the tones of different frequencies would have to be played for a person to say they were of equal loudness.

IM Distortion
An abbreviation of the term Intermodulation Distortion (Distortion caused by one signal beating with another signal and producing frequencies that are both the sum and the difference of the original frequencies present).

Light Emitting Diode
A light that allows current to flow in one direction only and emits light whenever a voltage of a certain level or beyond is applied to it.

Brooks SS 81 Chord

Three or more musical pitches sung or played together.

Console
A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Bit
The smallest unit of digital information representing a single "0" or 1.

Frame
1) A division of one second in synchronization and recording coming from definition two.
2) The amount of time that one still picture is shown in film or video.

Brooks KS-55 Byte
A grouping of eight information bits.

Auxiliary Equipment
Effects devices separate from but working with the recording console.

Dynamic Mic
Robust type of microphone which picks up the sound on a diaphragm connected to a coil of wire which moves within a magnet. An alternating current is induced into the wire which provides the electrical output. Most dynamic mics have low output impedance of 200 Ohms. See Condenser Mic.

Guitar Processor
A unit that will add effects to a direct guitar signal, including a simulated instrument amplifier sound and (often) delay and reverb effects.

Brooks QS 70 Attenuation

A making smaller: reduction of electrical or acoustic signal strength.

Howlback
British term for the term Feedback (the pickup of the signal out of a channel by the input of the channel or the howling sound that this produces).

Brooks Speakers Controller
1) In MIDI, a device that generates a MIDI signal to control synthesizers, sound modules or sample playback units.
2) A remote control unit for a multitrack tape machine which controls transport functions as well as monitor selection switching functions and record ready/safe status of each track.
3) Any device generating a control voltage or signal fed to another device's control input.

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Brooks QS-70 Atom
The smallest particle which makes up a specific substance. It's composed of a center around which electrons revolve.

Isolation
A containing of the sound wave in a certain area so that it will not leak into other areas and/or unintended mics.

First Generation
A descriptive term meaning original (as opposed to a copy).

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.

Brooks GT 44 Expansion

The opposite of compression; for example, an expander may allow the signal to increase 2 dB every time the signal input increased by 1 dB.

Basic Session
The First session in recording an audio production to record the Basic Tracks.

Brooks M 44 Expander
A device that causes expansion of the audio signal.

Crossover (Crossover Network)
A set of filters that "split" the audio signal into two or more bands (two or more signals, each of which have only some of the frequencies present).

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control)
A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of the audio very constant.

Input Impedance
The opposition to current flow by the first circuits of a device.

Folded Horn
A speaker design where the speaker points back into the cabinet and bounces around finally coming out large ports in the front. It is intended to maximize low frequencies in a relatively small cabinet.

Flamenco
A style of music with roots in Spanish and Arabic culture.

Brooks GT 44 Coincident Microphones (Coincident Pair)

Two microphones whose heads are placed as lose as possible to each other so that the path length from any sound source to either microphone is for all practical purposes, the same.

Chorus
1) The part of The song that is repeated and has the same music and lyrics each time; the chorus will usually give the point of the song.
2) A musical singing group that has many singers.
3) A delay effect that simulates a vocal chorus by adding several delays with a mild amount of feedback and a medium amount of depth.
4) A similar effect created in some synthesizers by detuning (reducing the pitch of, slightly) and mixing it with the signal that has regular tuning and with a slight delay.

Brooks RM 80 Balanced input/output
A "balanced" connection is one that has three wires to move the signal. One is a ground, and the other two (called conductors) carry signals of equal value. This is why they are called balanced. Low Z cables and connections are the most common example.

Basic Session
The First session in recording an audio production to record the Basic Tracks.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Lead Sheet
A written chart showing the melody, lyrics and chords of a tune with full musical notation.

Hz (Hertz)
1) An abbreviation for the term Hertz (the unit of frequency).
2) Unit of frequency equivalent to the number of cycles per second.

Clock Signal
The signal put out by a circuit that generates steady even pulses or steady codes used for synchronization.

Bit
The smallest unit of digital information representing a single "0" or 1.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Crosstalk

Leakage of an audio signal into a channel that iris not intended to be in, from an adjacent or nearby channel.

Foot Switch
A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Key
The control of a dynamics processing device by an external audio signal.

Electrostatic Charge
The excess or deficiency of electrons in a given area.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 High Hat
A double cymbal on a stand which can be played with a foot pedal or by the top cymbal being hit with a stick.

Crossover
1) A route leading from one side of the stage to the other, out of the audiences view.
2) An electronic filter in a sound system that routes sound of the correct frequency to the correct part of the speaker system. Different speakers handle high frequencies (tweeters) and low frequencies (woofers). Sometimes known as a crossover network. An active crossover splits the signal from the mixing desk into high, mid and low frequencies which are then sent to three separate amplifiers.
3) An electrical circuit that divides a full bandwidth signal into the desired frequency bands for the loudspeaker components.

Compander
1) A two section device that is used in noise reduction systems. The first section compresses the audio signal, before it is recorded, and the second section, expands the signal after recording.
2) In Yamaha brand digital consoles, a signal processing function that applies both compression and expansion to the same signal.

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 Tochoose to which place an output is going to be sent.

Brooks Cinema Series Flat

1) Lower in musical pitch.
2) A slang term used to describe the sensitivity to frequency of a microphone, amplifier, etc., as being even at all frequencies, usually within 2 dB.
3) Refers to the frequencies on the EQ when they are arranged in centred neutral positions.

Acoustic/Acoustical
Having to do with sound that can be heard by the ears.
AcousticsThe 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.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 AES
An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society.

In-Line Console
A console with modules that have controls for all console sections in one long strip.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control)
A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of the audio very constant.

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).

Frets
Vertical metal wires which sit vertically on the guitar neck.

Bit
The smallest unit of digital information representing a single "0" or 1.

Brooks KM 77 Compact Disc Recordable CDR

A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time.

Bi
A prefix meaning two.

Brooks QS 70 Attack
The rate the sound begins and increases in volume.

Driver
See transducer. Dynamic Range �" The range between the quietest and the loudest sounds a device can handle (often quoted in dB).

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Imaging
To make a representation or imitation of the original sonic event.

Highs
Short for the term High Frequencies (the audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above).

I/O
Short for "Input/Output' and referring to:
1) An in-line console module that contains controls for the input section, output section and monitor section.
2) A module in electronic gear containing input and output amplifiers for the device.
3) A digital port (connector) able to both receive digital data and output digital data.

Hum
The 60 Hz power line current accidentally induced or fed into electronic equipment.

Brooks TM-22 Chase

The automatic adjusting of the speed of a recorder (or sequencer) to be time with another recorder.

Intermodulation Distortion
Distortion caused by one signal beating with another signal and producing frequencies that are both the sum and the difference of the original frequencies.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 Bank
1) A collection of sound patches (data as to the sequence and operating parameters of the synthesizer generators and modifiers) in memory.
2) A group of sound modules as a unit.

Direct box
Used in line to convert a high impedance signal into a low impedance signal.

Brooks QS 70 Flange
An effect caused by an approximately even mix of a modulated (varying) short delay with the direct signal.

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.

kHz
An Abbreviation of kilo-Hertz.

Generating Element
The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes.

Brooks QS 70 Humbucker

Pickups that are coupled together to get a certain sound.

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Brooks TA 60 Compander
1) A two section device that is used in noise reduction systems. The first section compresses the audio signal, before it is recorded, and the second section, expands the signal after recording.
2) In Yamaha brand digital consoles, a signal processing function that applies both compression and expansion to the same signal.

Capacitor
1) A device consisting of two or more conducting plates separated from one another by an insulating material and used for storing an electrical charge. Sometimes called a condenser.
2) An electronic device that is composed of two plates separated by an insulator.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 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).

Fidelity
The recording or reproduction quality.

File
A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc.

Compression Driver
The unit that feeds a sound pressure wave into the throat of a horn (in a horn loudspeaker).

Brooks TA 60 Hum

The 60 Hz power line current accidentally induced or fed into electronic equipment.

Compact Disc, Read Only Memory CDROM
A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer.

Brooks Cinema Series kHz
An Abbreviation of kilo-Hertz.

Analog (Analogue)
Representative, continuous changes that relate to another quantity that has a continuous change.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Generating Element
The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes.

Capacitance
The property of being able to oppose a change in voltage or store an electrical charge.

Jam Sync
A generation of new SMPTE according to the input SMPTE signal

Light Emitting Diode
A light that allows current to flow in one direction only and emits light whenever a voltage of a certain level or beyond is applied to it.

Brooks SS 81 Bottom

The bass frequencies (as in "needs more bottom end").

Generating Element
The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes.

Brooks KS-55 Equalization
1) The process of adjusting the tonal quality of a sound. A graphic equalizer provides adjustment for a wide range of frequency bands, and is normally inserted in the signal path after the mixing desk, before the amplifier. See Feedback.
2) Any time the amplitude of audio signals at specific set of frequencies are increased or decreased more than the signals at other audio frequencies.

CD-ROM
An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Read Only Memory (A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer).

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 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.

Boom Stand
A microphone stand equipped with a telescoping support arm to hold the microphone.

Humbucker
Pickups that are coupled together to get a certain sound.

Cycles Per Second
A unit used in the measure of frequency, equivalent to Hertz. Cycles Per Second is an outdated term replaced by Hertz in 1948.

Brooks Speakers Kilo

A prefix meaning 1000.

Balance Control
A control on a stereo amplifier that when moved clockwise will make the right channel louder (and the left channel softer) and will do the reverse when moved counter-clockwise.

Brooks XT 20 Decibel (dB)
1) Relative measurement for the volume (loudness) of sound. Also used to measure the difference between two voltages, or two currents. See Zero dB.
2) A numerical expression of the relative loudness of a sound. The difference in decibels between two
sounds is ten times the common logarithm of the ratio of their power levels.

Error Concealment
Putting replacement information bits into a digital audio signal to replace lost bits when the digital recording or processing system cannot verify whether the lost bits were l's or 0's but can make a good guess by comparing the known bits that were close in position to the lost bits.

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Bulk Dump
Short for System Exclusive Bulk Dump (a method of transmitting data, such as the internal parameters of a MIDI device to another MIDI device).

Boom
1) A hand-held, telescoping pole used to hold the microphone in recording dialogue in film production.
2) A telescoping support arm that is attached to a microphone stand and which holds the microphone. 3) Loosely, a boomstand.

Absorption
Short for the term Acoustical Absorption (quality of a surface or substance to take in, not reflect, a sound wave).

High Impedance Cord (High Z)
A big word for instrument cable. These cords generally have quarter inch male ends. they tend to loose signal strength at lengths longer than 25 feet.