Brooks Audio Design

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. Line Out (Output, Send) Where a signal leaves the board or component. Brooks XT 20 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 repl...

Abbreviation of Integrated Circuit (A miniature circuit of many components that is in small, sealed housing with prongs to connect it into equipment). 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. Brooks Cinema Series 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 machi...

1) An effects device where the amount of the effect can be controlled by a musician with his foot. 2) The beater mechanism of a foot drum that is activated by the drummer's foot to play the drum. 3) Any device, like a volume control, that can be operated by the foot. Haas Effect Simply stated, a factor in human hearing where delay has a much bigger effect on human perception of direction than level does. Brooks Cinema TX 509 House Sync A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room. 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. Brooks GS 15 Amplitude ...

Effects devices separate from but working with the recording console. 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. Brooks Cinema NZ 60 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". Echo Send Control A control to send the signal from the input module to the echo chamber or effects device via the echo buss. Brooks TM-22 Cancellation A shortening of the term Phase Cancellation (the energy of one waveform significantly decreasing the energy of another waveform because of phase relationships at or close to 180 degrees). High Hat A double c...

The portion of the sound that comes from the surrounding environment rather than directly from the sound source. 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 KM 77 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. Distortion Usually undesirable result of overloading sound equipment. Reducing the levels can remedy the situation. Brooks Cinema Series Critical Distance The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume. Auxiliary Output or Send 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...

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. 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 XT 20 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). 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). Brooks TM-22 DC Abbreviation for direct current. Axis A line around which a device operates. Example: In a microphone, t...

A switch that does different things depending on the operational mode that the machine is in: 1) If a computer-controlled transport is in "Stop," pushing the "Edit" switch deactivates the computer-controlled tension system and allows the reels to be moved by hand to find the exact spot desired on the tape. 2) If the machine is in "Play", the "Edit" switch makes the take-up reel cease taking up the tape and it falls to the floor. 3) If the machine is in a fast-wind mode, the tape lifters are defeated so the tape is in contact with the reproduce head and the engineer can hear where the selections begin and end. Generation A term used to describe the number of times that the recorded audio signal has been copied. Brooks TM-22 A/D An abbreviation of Analog to Digital Conversion (the conversion of a quantity that has continuous changes into numbers that approximate those changes), or Analog to Digital Converter. Joystick 1) A...