Brooks Audio Design

Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it. AES An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society. Brooks Cinema TZ 505 Cord (Speaker, Mic, Instrument) Used to connect a sound system together. Each type of cord is made for a specific purpose and should not be used in place of another type of cord, not even if they look alike. Also see "cable" Corner Frequency Same as Cut-Off Frequency (the highest or lowest frequency in the pass band of a filter). (NOUN) Brooks XB 22 Frequency Shift Key / FSK The full name for FSK (A simple clock signal that can be used to run a sequencer in time with an audio tape). 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. In Short For "in the circuit," in other words "active." Cancellation A shortening of the term Phase Cancellation (the energy of one waveform significantly decrea

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. 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. Brooks

A unit that will add effects to a direct guitar signal, including a simulated instrument amplifier sound and (often) delay and reverb effects. In Port A jack on a MIDI device or computer that will accept an incoming data signal. Brooks KS-55 Foldback A European term for the signal sent to the stage monitors in a live performance. Delay (Digital, Analogue) 1) Effect used to create echo…echo…echo…echo…echo… 2) In more advanced systems used in very large venues, delay can be used to time the arrival of the signal to the speakers in the back of the room so that people in the back hear the sound coming from those speakers at the same time that the sound coming from the speakers in the front of the room arrives. Brooks XB 22 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.

Most often referring to electrical signals resulting from the sound pressure wave being converted into electrical energy. 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. Brooks Cinema XR 607 Line 1) Short for line level. 2) A cable. Full A quality of the sound of having all frequencies present, especially the low frequencies. Brooks TM-22 Ground Loop A double grounding of a line or electronic device at two different "ground" points of differing voltage. Amplitude The strength of a vibrating wave; in sound, the loudness of the sound. Highs Short for the term High Frequencies (the audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above). Channel 1) In multitrack tape machines, this term means the same thing as the term Track (one audio recording made on a portion of the width of a multitrack tape). 2) A single path that an audio signal travel

1) In film production audio, a recording of the mixdown of all the sound effects for the film ready to be mixed with the dialogue and music. 2) In music recording, one track with a recording of effects to be added to another track of a multitrack recording. 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 Cinema Series Current The amount of electron charge passing a point in a conductor per unit of time. Cord (Speaker, Mic, Instrument) Used to connect a sound system together. Each type of cord is made for a specific

A device that senses vibrations and puts out an audio signal proportional to the vibrations. 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). Brooks KS-55 High Impedance Impedance of 5000 or more ohms. Hall A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall. Brooks TA 60 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. Compander Outboard sound equipment. Combination of a Compressor and an Expander. Kilo A prefix meaning 1000. Electret Condenser

A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electric circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil. Generating Element The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes. Brooks Cinema NZ 60 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. Circuit 1) One complete path of electric current. 2) Similar to definition 1, but including all paths and components to accomplish one function in a device. 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). 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 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. 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). Brooks SS 81 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. Effects Electronic boxes (usually rack mounted) added to a PA system to subtly change and enhance the signals going through it. Examples include; Reverb, Delay, Compressor, Chorus. Brooks Cinema TX 509 Flange An effect caused by an approximately even mix of a modulated (varying) short delay with the direct signal. Dry Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it. Bi A prefix meaning two. Delay (Digital, Analogue) 1) Effect used to create echo…echo…echo…ec

A double cymbal on a stand which can be played with a foot pedal or by the top cymbal being hit with a stick. Generating Element The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes. Brooks KS-55 Graphic Equalizer An device with several slides controlling the gain of audio signal present which is within one of several evenly spaced frequency bands (spaced according to octaves). 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 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. CPU Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit

The strength of a vibrating wave; in sound, the loudness of the sound. Flamenco A style of music with roots in Spanish and Arabic culture. Brooks QS 70 Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control) A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of the audio very constant. Ground Adapter Plug Adapts a three pronged electrical plug to a two pronged wall outlet. This bypasses the ground and may create a hum in the system. A lack of a good ground can cause mild electrical shock when touching a microphone. Brooks Cinema xm 808 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. CD (Compact Disc) : 1) Digital sound storage medium. Provides a high

The opposition to current flow by the first circuits of a device. Digital Recording 1) ADAM : (Akai Digital Audio Multitrack). 12 track recording onto Video 8 tape. 16 bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz sampling rate. 2) DAT (Digital Audio Tape) Cassette-like system which has much higher quality than standard audio cassettes. Widely used in gathering sound effects, for news gathering, and for playback of music. 3) DCC (Digital Compact Cassette) Rival to DAT which also plays standard audio cassettes. 4) MiniDisc : Uses computer disk technology, rather than tape. A laser heats an area of magnetic disk which is then written to by a magnetic head. When cooled, the magnetic information is read from the disk by laser. Tracks can be named, and are instant start. Very theatre-friendly system. 5) Direct to Disk : Uses the hard disk present in most PCs as the recording medium. Brooks Cinema KP 30 Direct box Used in line to convert a high impedance signal into a low impedance signal. H

1) On a tape machine, the housing for and the channel circuitry which processes the signal to be fed to the heads, provide bias, and playback. 2) The branch of science dealing with the behaviour of electrons/charges in vacuums, gases, semiconductors and special conductors. Hall Program A setting of a digital delay/reverb effects unit that approximates concert halls. Hall programs are characterized by pre-delay of up to 25 ms. Brooks KM 77 Efficiency The acoustic power delivered for a given electrical input. Often expressed as decibels/watt/meter (dB/w/m). ESL �" Abbreviation for electrostatic loudspeaker. Chase The automatic adjusting of the speed of a recorder (or sequencer) to be time with another recorder. Brooks Cinema xm 808 House Sync A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room. Condenser Mic (Capacitor Mic) A microphone that uses the varying capacitance between two plates with a voltage

1) A gradual reduction of the level of the audio signal. 2) A gradual change of level from one pre-set level to another. Boost To increase gain, especially to increase gain at specific frequencies with an equalizer. Brooks Speakers Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control) A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of the audio very constant. Line 1) Short for line level. 2) A cable. Brooks GT 845 Fret Buzz A buzzing sound made when a note is not properly fretted. Common with cheap guitars or beginning guitar players. Cable, XLR A balanced cable used for low impedance microphones and sometimes for connections between some parts of the PA. Commonly referred to as a "mic cord". 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 d

1) The range of frequencies over which a tape recorder, amplifier or other audio device is useful. 2) The range of frequencies affected by an equalization setting. Crossover, Passive Used inside of full range speaker cabinets to separate highs, mids, and lows and send them to their respective speakers within the each cabinet. These are not as efficient as active crossovers because they require all frequencies to draw from the same source of amplification. Brooks Cinema KP 30 Haas Effect Simply stated, a factor in human hearing where delay has a much bigger effect on human perception of direction than level does. Bottom The bass frequencies (as in "needs more bottom end"). Brooks TM-22 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. Layering The recording (or playing) of a musical part with o

Simply stated, the fact that in an un-obstructed area (like an open field) the sound pressure level will drop to half-pressure (-6 dB) every time the distance to the sound source is doubled. Direct box Used in line to convert a high impedance signal into a low impedance signal. Brooks QS 70 Hertz The unit of frequency. Equivalent to cycles per second. Abbreviation: Hz. Grouping 1) Controlling the gain of several individual channels with a Group Fader. 2) The mixing together of several individual audio signals to send a mixed signal out of the console to record a track on a multitrack tape machine. Brooks Cinema Projectors Error Message A prompt on a computer screen telling the operator that an error has occurred. First Generation A descriptive term meaning original (as opposed to a copy). 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). Electromagneti

 Brooks Cinema Projectors Audio Most often referring to electrical signals resulting from the sound pressure wave being converted into electrical energy. Input Overload Sending too high of a signal level into a device so that the first amplifier of the device overloads. Brooks XB 22 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. Expander A device that causes expansion of the audio signal. Brooks Speakers Beats Per Minute BPM The number of steady even pulses in music occurring in one minute and there fore defining the tempo of the song. Group Faders The VCA faders of individual channels that are all controlled by a Group Master Fader (a slide control used to send out a control voltage to several VCA faders in individual channels). Cab