Brooks Audio Design

A microphone pick up pattern which has maximum pick up directly in front and directly in back of the diaphragm and least pick up at the sides. 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 Series Insulator A substance such as glass, air, plastic, etc., that will (for all practical purposes) not conduct electricity. 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. Brooks TM-22 Instrument Out Direct Feeding the output of an electric instrument (like an electric guitar) to the recording console or tape recorder without using a microphone. Compact Disc Recordable CDR A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time. Crossover, Passive Used inside of full range speaker cabinets to separate highs, mids, and lows an...

A number assigned to each key of a synthesizer or controller keyboard that is transmitted in the MIDI signal. Impedance 1) A term for the electrical resistance found in a/c circuits. Affects the ability of a cable to transmit low level (e.g. sound) signals over a long distance. Measured in Ohms. Speakers are rated according to power handling capabilities (Watts, W) and impedance (Ohms). 2) The total opposition offered by an electric circuit to the flow of an alternating current of a single frequency. It is a combination of resistance and reactance and is measured in ohms. Remember that a speaker's impedance changes with frequency, it is not a constant value. 3) The opposition to alternating current. Brooks Cinema RM 909 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. Foldback A European term for the signal sent to the stage monitors in a live ...

Outboard sound equipment that can momentarily stores a signal being sent to part of a P.A. system so that delayed reinforced sound reaches the audience at the same time as live sound from the stage. Gain 1) Knob usually found at the top of each input channel on the soundboard. Used to set input levels of the separate channels to relatively equal positions. 2) The amount of increase in audio signal strength, often expressed in dB. Brooks Cinema xm 808 Effects 1) Various ways an audio signal can be modified by adding something to the signal to change the sound. 2) Short for the term Sound Effects (sounds other than dialogue, narration or music like door closings, wind, etc. added to film or video shots). 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 Basic Session The First session i...

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. Hum The 60 Hz power line current accidentally induced or fed into electronic equipment. Brooks GT 44 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. Flange An effect caused by an approximately even mix of a modulated (varying) short delay with the direct signal. Brooks XT 20 Editing 1) Changing the sequence of a recording by cutting the recording tape and putting the pieces together in the new sequence with splicing tape. 2) Punching in and then punching out on one or more tracks of a multitrack tape recorder to replace previously recorded performances. 3) Changing the sequence of a digital recording's playback by computer program. Electronics 1) On a tape machine, the h...

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. 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 XR 607 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 ...

A grouping of eight information bits. Line In (Input, return) Where a signal enters the board or component. Brooks RM 80 High Impedance Mic A microphone designed to be fed into an amplifier with input impedance greater than 20 k ohms. 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 Cinema XR 607 Hum The 60 Hz power line current accidentally induced or fed into electronic equipment. Input Monitor A switch position and operational mode of the electronics of a tape machine where the signal at output of the electronics will be the same as the signal coming into the electronics. In this mode, the tape machine's meter will read the input signal. Distorted The way your PA sounds just before it blows up. Fuzzy and scratchy. If you hear this, it either means you have something hooked up wrong, or something in the system is going bad. It could be anything...

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. Fader A control to control the gain of a channel on the console, thereby determining the level of the signal in that channel. Brooks GT 845 Group Master A slide control used to send out a control voltage to several VCA faders in individual channels, thus controlling the gain of several channels. Images The squaring of the waveform that happens in the conversion of digital audio bits into analog signals. Brooks Cinema TZ 505 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. Instrument Amplifier A device that has a power amplifier and speaker in a case (or in separate cases) to reproduce the signal put out by an electric instrument (such as an electric guitar) and to allow the instrument to be heard. Ampere The unit...

The portion of the sound that comes from the surrounding environment rather than directly from the sound source. Charge The electrical energy of electrons. The energy is in the form of a force that is considered negative and repels other like forces (other electrons) and attracts opposite (positive) forces. Brooks Cinema XR 607 Level The amount of signal strength; the amplitude, especially the average amplitude. Keying Input (Key Input) An input on a dynamics processing device to control the device by an external audio signal. Brooks Cinema xm 808 Full Step A change in pitch that occurs when moving up or down two piano keys Foot Switch A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions. 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. Input Impedance The oppos...

The property of an electric circuit by which a varying current in it produces a varying magnetic field that introduces voltages in the same circuit or in a nearby circuit. It is measured in henrys. 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. Brooks Cinema ZL 44 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. In-Line Console A console with modules that have controls for all console sections in one long strip. Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Attenuation A making smaller: reduction of electrical or acoustic signal strength. Bridge The bridge assembly, or just "bridge" is an area on the face of the guitar where the string meet or are ...

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. Absorption Short for the term Acoustical Absorption (quality of a surface or substance to take in, not reflect, a sound wave). Brooks BA 71 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. Highs Short for the term High Frequencies (the audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above). Brooks M 44 Boost To increase gain, especially to increase gain at specific frequencies with an equalizer. Centre Frequency The frequency of the audio signal that is boosted or attenuated most by an equalizer with a peak equalization curve. Far Field The area from 3 feet away from the sound source up to the critical distance. Chase The automatic adjus...

An additional output from a sound desk that can be used for foldback or monitoring without tying up the main outputs. Each input channel will have a path to the Aux buss. Also used for feeding a signal to an effects processor. See Auxiliary Return. 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. Brooks BA 71 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). Foot Switch A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions. Brooks Cinema Series Crossover, Active A rack mountable unit used to separate frequencies leaving the soundboard into high's, mids, and lows with different outputs for each. ...

A condenser microphone that has a permanently polarized (charged) variable capacitor as its sound pressure level sensor. Fade 1) A gradual reduction of the level of the audio signal. 2) A gradual change of level from one pre-set level to another. Brooks M 44 Error Message A prompt on a computer screen telling the operator that an error has occurred. 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 travels or can travel through a device from an input to an output. Brooks TA 60 Editing 1) Changing the sequence of a recording by cutting the recording tape and putting the pieces together in the new sequence with splicing tape. 2) Punching in and then punching out on one or more tracks of a multitrack tape recorder to replace previously recorded performances. 3) Changing the sequence of a digital recording...

A function on some delay lines that establish enough feedback so that the repeat echo will last forever, but not so much as to cause a howling sound. 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 XT 20 Clipping Distortion of a signal by its being chopped off. An overload problem caused by pushing an amplifier beyond its capabilities. The flat-topped signal has high levels of harmonic distortion which creates heat in a loudspeaker and is the major cause of loudspeaker component failure. Atom The smallest particle which makes up a specific substance. It's composed of a center around which electrons revolve. Brooks M 44 Keying Input (Key Input) An input on a dynamics processing device to control the device by an external audio signal. Delay (Digital, Analogue) 1) Effect used to create echo…echo…echo…echo…echo…...

A miniature circuit of many components in a small, sealed housing with prongs to connect it into equipment. Cut-off Rate (Slope) The number of dB that a filter reduces the signal for each octave its frequency past the filter's cut-off frequency (outside of the pass band). Brooks Cinema XR 607 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. Input Overload Sending too high of a signal level into a device so that the first amplifier of the device overloads. Brooks TM-22 Level The amount of signal strength; the amplitude, especially the average amplitude. In Port A jack on a MIDI device or computer that will accept an incoming data signal. Error Correct Exact replacement of lost information bits in digital audio. CPU Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit (The main "brain" chip of a computer or the main housing of a computer that cont...

A ratio of height to width to length of a room to achieve "good acoustics" and first recommended by the ancient Greeks. The ratio is approximately the width 1.6 times the height and the length 2.6 times the height 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. Brooks Speakers Equalizer (Parametric, Graphic) This is used to filter out and adjust specific frequencies in the PA. This is the part of the PA where you have the most control over the band's overall sound. It is also the number one weapon against feedback. Arc The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge. Brooks GT 845 Baffl...

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. 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. Brooks XT 20 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. Impedance Matching Having or converting the output impedance of a device so that it matches the impedance of the input it will feed. Brooks M 44 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 g...

Three or more musical pitches sung or played together. Cable, 1/4 inch An unbalanced cable most often used for instruments and patch cords. Commonly referred to as "guitar cords". Brooks Cinema XR 607 Compressor 1) Effect used to squash the sound together. Used properly, it can take the edge off or your sound. Used improperly, it can take the life right out of your system and make it sound like an MTV mix. 2) A piece of sound processing equipment that ensures all wanted signals are suitably placed between the noise and distortion levels of the recording medium. It evens out the unwanted changes in volume you get with close-miking, and in doing so, adds punch to the sound mix. A Limiter is used to stop a signal from exceeding a preset limit. Beyond this limit, the signal level will not increase, no matter how loud the input becomes. A Limiter is often used to protect speaker systems (and human ears) by preventing a system from becoming too loud. Analog Reco...

An increasing of signal strength. Ground Lifter An adapter that takes a three prong power cord and plugs into a two prong outlet, used to disconnect the third (ground) pin of the power outlet. WARNING: It can be VERY DANGEROUS to have no ground connection to the case by using a ground lifter and not grounding the unit by other means. Brooks XT 20 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). Figure Eight Pattern Another name for Bi-directional Pattern (microphone pickup pattern picking up best from the front and back of the diaphragm and not picking up from the side of the diaphragm). Brooks GT 44 Bass 1) The lower range of audio frequencies up to approximately 250 Hz. 2) Short for Bass Guitar. 3) Lower end of the musical scale. In acoustics, the range (below about 200 Hz) in which there are difficulties, principally in the reproduction of sound, ...

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. Fletcher Munson Effect A hearing limitation shown by Fletcher Munson Equal Loudness Contours (as music is lowered in volume, it is much more difficult to hear bass frequencies and somewhat harder to hear very high frequencies). Brooks Cinema TX 509 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. Feed To send an audio or control signal to. Brooks TM-22 Inductance The property of an electric circuit by which a varying current in it produces a varying magnetic field that introduces voltages in the same circuit or in a nearby circuit. It is meas...

Three or more musical pitches sung or played together. 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 XB 22 Golden Section A ratio of height to width to length of a room to achieve "good acoustics" and first recommended by the ancient Greeks. The ratio is approximately the width 1.6 times the height and the length 2.6 times the height Ground In electronics, a place (terminal) that has zero volts. Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Frets Vertical metal wires which sit vertically on the guitar neck. High Impedance Impedance of 5000 or more ohms. Console A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing. Feedback 1) The delayed signal sent back to the input of a delay line, used in repeat-echo effects. 2) The pickup of the signal out of a channel by its input or the howling sound that this produce...

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. File A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc. Brooks Cinema xm 808 Compact Disc CD A small optical disk with digital audio recorded on it. 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. Brooks M 44 Fade 1) A gradual reduction of the level of the audio signal. 2) A gradual change of level from one pre-set level to another. CD-ROM An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Re...

The recording (or playing) of a musical part with of several similar sound patches playing simultaneous. 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 TA 60 Editing 1) Changing the sequence of a recording by cutting the recording tape and putting the pieces together in the new sequence with splicing tape. 2) Punching in and then punching out on one or more tracks of a multitrack tape recorder to replace previously recorded performances. 3) Changing the sequence of a digital recording's playback by computer program. Field 1) In video, one half of a frame. 2) In computer-controlled devices a window display with functions and choices that the operator can make Brooks QS 70 Fader A control to control the gain of a channel on the console, thereby determining the level of the signal in that channel. Attack The rate the sound begins and increases...

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. AES An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society. Brooks XT 20 Frequency Response How sensitive an electronic device (mic, amplifier, speaker, etc.) is to various frequencies; often communicated with a graph. 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. Brooks TM-22 Effects Track 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. ADSR The letters A, D, S &R are the first letters of: Attack, Decay, Sust...

An increasing of signal strength. Driver See transducer. Dynamic Range �" The range between the quietest and the loudest sounds a device can handle (often quoted in dB). Brooks Cinema xm 808 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). 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 GT 44 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 quali...

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. File A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc. Brooks GT 44 Amplitude The height of a waveform above or below the zero line. Leakage Sounds from other instruments and sources that were not intended to be picked up by the microphone. Brooks TA 60 Inductor A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electric circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil. 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. Electric Current A more formal term meaning the same as the term Current (the amount of electron charge passing a point in a conductor per unit of time). ADSR The letters A, D, S &R are the first letters of: Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release. These are the vari...

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. Charge The electrical energy of electrons. The energy is in the form of a force that is considered negative and repels other like forces (other electrons) and attracts opposite (positive) forces. Brooks XT 20 Early Reflections The first echoes in a room, caused by the sound from the sound source reflecting off one surface before reaching the listener. Capsule 1) The variable capacitor section of a condenser microphone. 2) In other types of microphones, the part of the microphone that includes the diaphragm and the active element. Brooks TA 60 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. Ampere ...

(Said of compressors and dynamic processing units.) To combine the control input signals of two channels of a compressor (o Hypercardioid Pattern A microphone pick up sensitivity pattern where the least sensitive pick up point is more than 90 degrees but less than 150 degrees off axis (usually 120 degrees). Brooks RM 80 Aliasing A sampler mis-recognizing a signal sent to it that is at a frequency higher than the Nyquist Frequency. Upon playback, the system will provide a signal at an incorrect frequency (called an alias frequency). Aliasing is a kind of distortion. 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. Brooks Cinema RM 909 Inductance The property of an electric circuit by which a varying current in it produces a varying magnetic field that introduces voltages in the same circuit or in a nearby circuit. It is measure...

The presence of harmonics in the output signal of a device which were not present in the input signal. Images The squaring of the waveform that happens in the conversion of digital audio bits into analog signals. Brooks TM-22 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. 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 GT 845 Frets Vertical metal wires which sit vertically on the guitar neck. 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. Frequency Range The range of frequencies over which an electronic device is useful or over which a sound source will put out substantial en...

Where a signal leaves the board or component. Hertz The unit of frequency. Equivalent to cycles per second. Abbreviation: Hz. Brooks Speakers DC Abbreviation for direct current. Frequency Range The range of frequencies over which an electronic device is useful or over which a sound source will put out substantial energy. Brooks Cinema Projectors 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. 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. Beat 1) The steady even pulse in music. 2) The action of two sounds or audio s...

Vertical metal wires which sit vertically on the guitar neck. Level Sets output volume of individual PA input channels. Usually positioned as sliders at the bottom of the soundboard. Brooks SS 81 Efficiency The acoustic power delivered for a given electrical input. Often expressed as decibels/watt/meter (dB/w/m). ESL �" Abbreviation for electrostatic loudspeaker. Active Crossover Uses active devices (transistors, IC's, tubes) and some form of power supply to operate. Brooks TM-22 Amplitude The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured from the average to the extreme. 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. Bridge The bridge assembly, or just "bridge" is an area on the face of the guitar where the string meet or are connected to the face. Layering The recording (or playing) of a musical part with of several similar so...

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. 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 Projectors 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. Expander A device that causes...