Ending a recording by lowering the level, generally as the musicians play the last few measures over and over.
A variable level control in a signal path. Sometimes called a mixer.
A single fader, which regulates the level of all tracks being recorded.
A unit of capacitance or electrical storage. A capacitor has a capacitance of 1 farad when 1 coulomb causes a charge of 1 V on the capacitor.
A rapid attenuation of a tone.
The reel in a tape recorder that supplies the tape.
The return of a fraction of the output of a circuit to the input. Note. Feedback may be either positive or negative, i.e. tending to increase or decrease the output.
An audible howl or squeal, produced when a portion of a speaker's output is picked up by a nearby microphone and fed back to the speaker.
A transistor of the voltage-operated-device classification, instead of the current-operated type as a bipolar transistor.
The faithfulness of sound reproduction.
A musical interval of five diatonic degrees. The interval between a fundamental frequency and its third harmonic is equal to an octave plus a fifth.
Polar response shape of a bi-directional microphone.
A reactive network that is designed to provide specified attenuation to signals within certain frequency limits; basic filters are termed low-pass, high-pass, bandpass, and band-reject designs.
A filter that attenuates above and below a desired bandwidth.
A filter that attenuates a desired bandwidth, while passing frequencies above and below that bandwidth.
A filter that sharply attenuates frequencies beyond a specified frequency.
A filter whose bandwidth changes in response to the program level.
A filter that attenuates high frequencies.
A filter that passes high frequencies, while attenuating those below a specified frequency.
A filter that attenuates low frequencies.
A filter that passes low frequencies, while attenuating those above a specified frequency.
A filter designed to attenuate a relatively narrow band of frequencies.
A filter built into a cardioid microphone to attenuate low frequencies when the microphone is used close-up.
A narrow band pass filter, used to simulate the sound of a telephone transmission.
1. Coarse phasing effect like that obtained by placing a finger on the supply spool of a tape machine. 2. A variable comb filter effect, created by mixing a direct signal with the same signal slightly delayed. To create the effect, the delay time is continuously varied. (also, Phasing)
A number that expresses the degree of outward curvature of speaker horn.
A characteristic of an audio system whereby any tone is reproduced without deviation in intensity for any part of the frequency range that it covers.
Also called equal-loudness contours. A group of sensitivity curves showing the characteristics of the human ear different intensity levels between the threshold of hearing and threshold of feeling. The reference frequency is 1 kHz.
Device having two stable states used, for instance, as a binary counter.
Not connected to any source of potential.
A form of distortion caused when a tape transport or a turntable is subject to rapid speed variation. Irregular motion of the recording medium sometimes induces forms of frequency modulation. "Wow" usually refers to the range of fluctuation frequencies between about 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and is perceived as pitch fluctuations. "Flutter" usually refers to fluctuation frequencies above about 10 Hz.
A rapid multiple echo of even rate.
A low friction surface, placed in the tape path, to minimize scrape flutter. Also called a scrape flutter filter.
Flutter caused by mechanical vibrations of the tape as it passes over various surfaces in the tape path.
Magnetic lines of force.
Measure of the concentration of an electric field or magnetic field. (Magnetic flux density is measured in gauss, or Webers per unit of tape width, or lines per square centimeter.)
The measure of the flux density of a magnetic recording tape, per unit of track width.
A specified fluxivity, as recorded on a test tape.
Frequency modulation.
The minimum input signal required in an FM receiver to produce a specified output signal having a specified signal-to-noise ratio.
Broadcasting over FM frequencies of two sound signals within a single channel. A multiplexing technique is utilized.
Process of feeding microphone or tape signals to headphones or loudspeakers as a cue to artists during recording.
A type of speaker enclosure that employs a horn-shaped passageway that improves bass response.
(of an electroacoustic transducer) The complex quotient of the force required to block the mechanical or acoustic system, divided by the corresponding current in the electrical system. The complex quotient of the resultant open-circuit voltage in the electric system divided by the velocity in the mechanical or acoustic system.
In a transducer, the element directly displaced by the applied stimulus.
A characteristic acoustic resonance region. The term is used primarily for voice, but may be used in relation to musical instruments.
A wave-shaping network or device that changes the waveform of a tone-generator signal into a desired musical tone waveform.
Also called normal impedance. The input impedance of a transducer when the load impedance is zero.
The complex remainder after the blocked impedance of a transducer has been subtracted from the free impedance.
A field in a medium free from discontinuities or boundaries. In practice, it is a field in which the boundaries cause negligible effects over the region of interest.
The number of complete vibrations or cycles completed in 1 second by a waveform. Measured in hertz.
Exaggeration or diminution of particular frequencies in relation to others usually a function of resonance frequency of the system.
1. Modulation of a sinewave carrier in which the instantaneous frequency of the modulated wave differs from the carrier frequency by an amount proportional to the instantaneous value of the modulating wave. 2. A method of broadcasting that varies the frequency of the carrier instead of its amplitude. FM is a high-fidelity medium for broadcasting high-quality program material.
The limiting values of a frequency spectrum, such as 20 Hz to 20 kHz.
The frequency range over which an audio device or system will produce or reproduce a signal within a certain tolerance, such as + - dB. Microphones are supplied with a manufacturer's frequency range test report, which gives a visual reference for the particular microphone's sensitivity to a given range. Sensitivity to the higher frequencies is more significant than ideal flat response overall since much of the highs are lost in further sound processing.
Misleading increase in low frequency output when a full-track test tape is used on a multitrack machine.
Distortion or interference caused by an FM tuner's inability to handle strong signals from a nearby transmitter.
A tape with a single track, recorded across its entire width.
The normal pitch of a musical tone. Usually the lowest frequency component of a tonal waveform.
The highest common factor of a series of harmonically related frequencies in a complex oscillation.
Deliberate use of distortion for special effect with electronic guitars etc. The deliberate Fuse -- Wire or strip of metal connected in an electric circuit so as to act as a protective device by melting, and thus interrupting the circuit, if the current exceeds the maximum safe value.
