Brooks Audio Design

The British version of the term Ground (In electronics, a place that has zero volts). Attack The rate the sound begins and increases in volume. Brooks QS-70 Boost To increase gain, especially to increase gain at specific frequencies with an equalizer. Clean Describes a distortion free sound with few effects. Brooks RM 80 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. Haas Effect Simply stated, a factor in human hearing where delay has a much bigger effect on human perception of direction than level does. 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. Equalizer (Parametric, Graphic) This is used to filter out and adjust specific frequencies in the PA. This is the part of the PA where ...

Negatively charged particles, which revolve around the centre of atoms. The movement of such electrons down a conductor causes electrical current. Compander Outboard sound equipment. Combination of a Compressor and an Expander. Brooks XT 20 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 measured in henrys. 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 XB 22 Contact Microphone A device that senses vibrations and puts out an audio signal proportional to the vibrations. Hearing Limitation An inability of the ear to hear important characteristics of sound under certain conditions. Characteristics that can be affected include...

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). Keyboard 1) Any musical instrument controlled by pressing a key. 2) The part of the computer that has the keys. Brooks GT 44 Clean Describes a distortion free sound with few effects. Generating Element The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes. Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Insulator A substance such as glass, air, plastic, etc., that will (for all practical purposes) not conduct electricity. Analog (Analogue) Representative, continuous changes that relate to another quantity that has a continuous change. 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...

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. Compression Driver The unit that feeds a sound pressure wave into the throat of a horn (in a horn loudspeaker). Brooks VT-50 Cue Send Control A control that will adjust the amount of signal sent to a cue buss from a console channel. 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. Brooks Cinema RM 909 Hypercardioid Pattern A microphone pick up sensitivity pattern where the least sensitive pick up point is more than 90 degrees but less than 150 de...

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). Crossover, Active A rack mountable unit used to separate frequencies leaving the soundboard into high's, mids, and lows with different outputs for each. Brooks GS 15 Compact Disc CD A small optical disk with digital audio recorded on it. Condenser Microphone A microphone which converts sound pressure changes into changes of capacitance. The capacitance changes are then converted into electrical voltage variations (an audio signal). Brooks BA 71 Attack The rate the sound begins and increases in volume. 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. ID An index signal (digital data...

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. 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. Brooks QS-70 Crosstalk Leakage of an audio signal into a channel that iris not intended to be in, from an adjacent or nearby channel. Face The front or body of the guitar. Brooks Cinema RM 909 Amplifier A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder). Haas Effect Simply stated, a factor in human hearing where delay has a much bigger effect on human perception of direction than level does. Current The amount of electron charge pas...

The audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above. Formant An element in the sound of a voice or instrument that does not change frequency as different pitches are sounded. Brooks M 44 Head 1) In tape recording, the transducer (energy converter) that changes the audio energy from electrical energy to magnetic energy and back; also the devices that apply magnetism to the recording tape for other purposes such as in the erase head. 2) The part of a device that immediately includes the transducer to change sound or audio signals from one energy form to another. 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 KM 77 Clean Describ...