Friday, April 30, 2021

Brooks KS-55 Floppy Disk (Floppy Disc)

A round flat object (usually housed in a protective sleeve) coated with material that can be magnetized in a similar manner to tape.

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.

Brooks Cinema XR 607 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.

Fundamental
The tuned frequency and (almost always) the lowest frequency that is present in the sounding of a pitch by a musical instrument.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Expander
A device that causes expansion of the audio signal.

Cascade
To set and interconnect two mixers so that the stereo mixing buss(es) of the first mixer feeds the stereo buss(es) of a second mixer.

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.

Cue
1) The signal fed back to the musicians through headphones.
2) To set the tape or disc so that the intended selection will immediately play when the tape machine or player is started.
3) A location point entered into a computer controlling the playback or recording of a track or tape.
4) In MCI brand tape machines, a term meaning the same thing as Sync Playback (where the record head is used as a playback head for those tracks already recorded).

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Frets

Vertical metal wires which sit vertically on the guitar neck.

Amplifier
A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder).

Brooks GT 845 Edit
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.

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 KS-55 Acoustic/Acoustical
Having to do with sound that can be heard by the ears.
AcousticsThe behaviour of sound and its study. The acoustics of a room depend on its size and shape and the amount and position of sound-absorbing and reflecting material.

Leakage
Sounds from other instruments and sources that were not intended to be picked up by the microphone.

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.

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.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Floor Toms

The large toms to the right of the drummer.

Electricity
Electrical current (the amount of electron charge passing a point in a conductor per unit of time) or voltage (the force pushing electrons to obtain electrical current).

Brooks GS 15 Inverse Square Law
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.

Binary
A numbering system based on two. In binary there are two symbols used ("l" and "0").

Brooks GT 44 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.

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.

Frequency Response
How sensitive an electronic device (mic, amplifier, speaker, etc.) is to various frequencies; often communicated with a graph.

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.

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Brooks XB 22 Flutter

1) High-frequency variations in pitch of a recorded waveform due to fast speed variations in a recorder or playback machine.
2) Originally, and more formally, any variations (fast or slow) in pitch of a recorded tone due to speed fluctuations in a recorder or playback unit.

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.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 Hard Disk (Hard Disc)
A storage unit for digital data that has rigid disks coated with magnetic material in a housing that includes the drive mechanism.

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.

Brooks XT 20 Crisp
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.

Console
A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.

kHz
An Abbreviation of kilo-Hertz.

High Impedance
Impedance of 5000 or more ohms.

Monday, April 26, 2021

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.

Echo Send
The output of a console used to send a signal to an echo chamber or delay effects device.

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 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.

Chorusing
1) A term meaning the same thing as Chorus (Definition 3 or 4).
2) In some delay effects devices, a term used to mean the term Depth (the amount of change in the controlled signal by the control signal).

Brooks TM-22 Headroom
1) The level difference (in dB) between normal operating level and clipping level in an amplifier or audio device.
2) A similar level difference between normal tape operating level and the level where the distortion would be 3%.
3) The difference, in decibels, between the peak and RMS levels in program material.

Inverse Square Law
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.

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 from your super expensive soundboard to a five dollar patch cord.

Half Step
A pitch difference of the amount that is present between adjacent keys on a piano.

Sunday, April 25, 2021

Brooks KM 77 House Sync

A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room.

File
A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 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.

Guitar Processor
A unit that will add effects to a direct guitar signal, including a simulated instrument amplifier sound and (often) delay and reverb effects.

Brooks Cinema Series 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.

Chorusing
1) A term meaning the same thing as Chorus (Definition 3 or 4).
2) In some delay effects devices, a term used to mean the term Depth (the amount of change in the controlled signal by the control signal).

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.

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 from your super expensive soundboard to a five dollar patch cord.

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Brooks GS 15 Gate

A dynamic processing device that turns a channel off or down when the signal drops below a certain level.

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 Cinema TZ 505 Cue
1) The signal fed back to the musicians through headphones.
2) To set the tape or disc so that the intended selection will immediately play when the tape machine or player is started.
3) A location point entered into a computer controlling the playback or recording of a track or tape.
4) In MCI brand tape machines, a term meaning the same thing as Sync Playback (where the record head is used as a playback head for those tracks already recorded).

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 XT 20 Bandwidth
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.

Isolation
A containing of the sound wave in a certain area so that it will not leak into other areas and/or unintended mics.

Channels
These are divided into two separate categories. Input channels are those channels coming into the soundboard such as microphones and direct lines. Output channels are those leaving the board such as monitor and main outputs.

Earth
The British version of the term Ground (In electronics, a place that has zero volts).

Friday, April 23, 2021

Brooks XT 20 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.

Console
A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.

Brooks XB 22 Bouncing
Alternate name for Ping-Ponging (playing several tacks with sync playback through a console to mix them together and record them on an open track).

Limiter
A device which reduces gain when the input voltage exceeds a certain level.

Brooks Cinema KP 30 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.

Echo Return
An input of the console, which brings back the echo (reverberation) signal from the echo chamber or other echo effects device.

Electret Mic
A condenser microphone where the capacitor plates are given a charge during manufacture which they retain, therefore requiring no external power supply.

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 GS 15 Balanced

1) Having a pleasing amount of low frequencies compared to mid-range frequencies and high frequencies. 2) Having a pleasing mixture of the various instrument levels in an audio recording. 3) Having a fairly equal level in each of the stereo channels. 4) A method of interconnecting electronic gear using three-conductor cables.

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 KM 77 Jack
1) Anywhere you plug something in.
2) Segmented audio connector. Mono Jacks have two connections �" tip and sleeve, and are unbalanced. Stereo jacks have three connections �" tip, ring and sleeve. B-type jacks (also known as Bantam jacks) were originally designed for use in telephone exchanges and provide a high quality (and expensive) connection in jackfields. A-type jacks are cheaper and more common, but more fragile. A type jacks are available in 2 sizes : quarter inch and eighth inch.
3) A connector mounted on the case of a device or on a panel.

AES
An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society.

Brooks BA 71 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.

Keyboard
1) Any musical instrument controlled by pressing a key.
2) The part of the computer that has the keys.

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).

Electret Condenser
A condenser microphone that has a permanently polarized (charged) variable capacitor as its sound pressure level sensor.

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Brooks QS 70 Cue Send Control

A control that will adjust the amount of signal sent to a cue buss from a console channel.

Barrier Micing
A method of placing the head of a microphone as close as possible to a reflective surface, preventing phase cancellation.

Brooks TM-22 Boundary Mic
A microphone mounted on a flat plate that acts as a reflective surface directing sound into the mic capsule. Used for general pick-up over a large area. See PCC, PZM.

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.

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Band Track
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.

Capacitor
1) A device consisting of two or more conducting plates separated from one another by an insulating material and used for storing an electrical charge. Sometimes called a condenser.
2) An electronic device that is composed of two plates separated by an insulator.

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).

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Brooks QS 70 Echo

1) One distinct repeat of a sound because of the sound reflecting off a surface.
2) Loosely, used to mean reverberation (the continuing of a sound after the source stops emitting it, caused by many discrete echoes closely spaced in time).

Cut-Off Frequency (Turnover Frequency)
1) The highest or lowest frequency in the pass band of a filter.
2) The highest or lowest frequency passed by an audio device (the cut-off frequency is usually considered to be the first frequency to be 3 dB lower than a reference frequency in the middle of the bandwidth of the device)

Brooks M 44 Headroom
1) The level difference (in dB) between normal operating level and clipping level in an amplifier or audio device.
2) A similar level difference between normal tape operating level and the level where the distortion would be 3%.
3) The difference, in decibels, between the peak and RMS levels in program material.

In
Short For "in the circuit," in other words "active."

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Acoustic Echo Chamber
A room designed with very hard, non-parallel surfaces and equipped with a speaker and microphone; dry signals from the console are fed to the speaker and the microphone will have a reverberation of these signals that can be mixed in with the dry signals at the console.

Leakage
Sounds from other instruments and sources that were not intended to be picked up by the microphone.

Consumer Format (Consumer DIF)
A standard adopted by IEC for sending and receiving digital audio based on The AES Professional Interface.

Console
A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.

Monday, April 19, 2021

Brooks QS 70 Floor

1) An alternate tam meaning Range (a limit on the amount the signal is reduced when the input signal is low by an expander or gate).
2) A shortening of the term Noise Floor (the level of the noise).

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 Cinema NZ 60 Boom
1) A hand-held, telescoping pole used to hold the microphone in recording dialogue in film production.
2) A telescoping support arm that is attached to a microphone stand and which holds the microphone. 3) Loosely, a boomstand.

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.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 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.

Boom Stand
A microphone stand equipped with a telescoping support arm to hold the microphone.

Impedance Matching
Having or converting the output impedance of a device so that it matches the impedance of the input it will feed.

Cascade
To set and interconnect two mixers so that the stereo mixing buss(es) of the first mixer feeds the stereo buss(es) of a second mixer.

Sunday, April 18, 2021

Brooks SS 81 Ambience

The portion of the sound that comes from the surrounding environment rather than directly from the sound source.

DC
Abbreviation for direct current.

Brooks TA 60 Kilo
A prefix meaning 1000.

Binary
A numbering system based on two. In binary there are two symbols used ("l" and "0").

Brooks GT 845 Error Detection
The process of discovery that sonic information bits have been lost in digital audio.

Amplitude
The height of a waveform above or below the zero line.

Acoustic Echo Chamber
A room designed with very hard, non-parallel surfaces and equipped with a speaker and microphone; dry signals from the console are fed to the speaker and the microphone will have a reverberation of these signals that can be mixed in with the dry signals at the console.

Icon
A visual picture or symbol on a computer screen that represents a file, program or disc that can be used.

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Brooks RM 80 Cardioid Pattern

A microphone pick up pattern, which has maximum pick up from the front, less pick up from the sides, and least pick up from the back of the diaphragm.

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 TX 509 Level
The amount of signal strength; the amplitude, especially the average amplitude.

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.

Brooks Cinema Projectors First Generation
A descriptive term meaning original (as opposed to a copy).

Frequency Response
How sensitive an electronic device (mic, amplifier, speaker, etc.) is to various frequencies; often communicated with a graph.

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.

Console
A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.

Friday, April 16, 2021

Brooks Cinema RM 909 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.

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"

Brooks Cinema Projectors Acoustic/Acoustical
Having to do with sound that can be heard by the ears.
AcousticsThe behaviour of sound and its study. The acoustics of a room depend on its size and shape and the amount and position of sound-absorbing and reflecting material.

Bass Roll Off
An electrical network built into some microphones to reduce the amount of output at bass frequencies when close-micing.

Brooks TM-22 Line In (Input, return)
Where a signal enters the board or component.

BPM
An abbreviation of Beat Per Minute (the number of steady even pulses in music occurring in one minute and therefore defining the tempo).

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.

Fundamental
The tuned frequency and (almost always) the lowest frequency that is present in the sounding of a pitch by a musical instrument.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Brooks BA 71 Icon

A visual picture or symbol on a computer screen that represents a file, program or disc that can be used.

Condenser
An older term meaning the same thing as Capacitor (an electronic device which is composed of two plates separated by an insulator and can store charge) but sill in common use when referring to a microphone's active element.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Bouncing
Alternate name for Ping-Ponging (playing several tacks with sync playback through a console to mix them together and record them on an open track).

Infinite Baffle
A baffle so large that the sounds coming from one side do not reach the other side.

Brooks Cinema KP 30 Crosstalk
Leakage of an audio signal into a channel that iris not intended to be in, from an adjacent or nearby channel.

Bi
A prefix meaning two.

Crossover Frequency
1) The frequency that is the outer limit of one of the bands of a crossover.
2) In the Lexicon 480L delay/reverberation effects unit, the frequency at which the bass frequency reverb time is in effect rather than the mid frequency reverb time.

Inductor
A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electric circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil.

Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Brooks TM-22 Full

A quality of the sound of having all frequencies present, especially the low frequencies.

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"

Brooks RM 80 Foldback
A European term for the signal sent to the stage monitors in a live performance.

Condenser
An older term meaning the same thing as Capacitor (an electronic device which is composed of two plates separated by an insulator and can store charge) but sill in common use when referring to a microphone's active element.

Brooks Cinema Projectors Expander
A device that causes expansion of the audio signal.

Headroom
1) The level difference (in dB) between normal operating level and clipping level in an amplifier or audio device.
2) A similar level difference between normal tape operating level and the level where the distortion would be 3%.
3) The difference, in decibels, between the peak and RMS levels in program material.

Initialize
To prepare a digital storage medium (like a floppy disk) so that it will accept and store digital information bits.

Bandwidth
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.

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Brooks KS-55 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.

Generating Element
The portion of the microphone that actually converts the movement of the diaphragm into electrical current or voltage changes.

Brooks KM 77 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

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 replay a certain section of the tape.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

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.

Crisp
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.

ID
An index signal (digital data that gives the machine information of where selections start, their selection number, etc.) on a DAT or CD.

Monday, April 12, 2021

Brooks KS-55 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.

Ground Lift
A switch that breaks the connection between the ground point in one circuit and the ground point in another circuit.

Brooks QS 70 Compression Driver
The unit that feeds a sound pressure wave into the throat of a horn (in a horn loudspeaker).

Bi
A prefix meaning two.

Brooks GT 44 Automatic Gain Control (Automatic Volume Control)
A compressor with a very long release time used to keep the volume of the audio very constant.

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.

Crossover, Active
A rack mountable unit used to separate frequencies leaving the soundboard into high's, mids, and lows with different outputs for each.

Line Out (Line Output)
Any output that sends out a line level signal, such as the output of a console that feeds a recorder.

Sunday, April 11, 2021

Brooks SS 81 Highs

Short for the term High Frequencies (the audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above).

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.

Brooks Speakers Horn
1) The part of the speaker that emits midrange and higher range frequencies.
2) A speaker or speaker enclosure where sound waves are put into a narrow opening (by a speaker cone or driver) and the narrow opening flairs out to a larger opening.

Analog (Analogue)
Representative, continuous changes that relate to another quantity that has a continuous change.

Brooks BA 71 CPU
Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit (The main "brain" chip of a computer or the main housing of a computer that contains the "brain" chip).

High Impedance Cord (High Z)
A big word for instrument cable. These cords generally have quarter inch male ends. they tend to loose signal strength at lengths longer than 25 feet.

Fret Buzz
A buzzing sound made when a note is not properly fretted. Common with cheap guitars or beginning guitar players.

Compact Disc, Interactive CDI
A Compact Disc, usually containing audio, video, and text, which the user can interact with in that the display or playback changes after the user performs some action.

Saturday, April 10, 2021

Brooks KS-55 Foot Switch

A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions.

Infinite Baffle
A baffle so large that the sounds coming from one side do not reach the other side.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

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 RM 80 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.

Ambient Micing
Placing a microphone in the reverberant field (where the reverberation is louder than the direct sound) so as to do a separate recording of the ambience or to allow the recording engineer to change the mix of direct to reverberant sound in recording.

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.

Gate
A dynamic processing device that turns a channel off or down when the signal drops below a certain level.

Friday, April 9, 2021

Brooks BA 71 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).

Attenuation
A making smaller: reduction of electrical or acoustic signal strength.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Acoustic/Acoustical
Having to do with sound that can be heard by the ears.
AcousticsThe behaviour of sound and its study. The acoustics of a room depend on its size and shape and the amount and position of sound-absorbing and reflecting material.

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 GS 15 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.

Contact Microphone
A device that senses vibrations and puts out an audio signal proportional to the vibrations.

Basic Session
The First session in recording an audio production to record the Basic Tracks.

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.

Thursday, April 8, 2021

Brooks TA 60 Earth

The British version of the term Ground (In electronics, a place that has zero volts).

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, due to the large wavelengths involved.
4) The lower frequencies.
5) On the soundboard this should refer to the bass guitar channel, not the bass drum.
6) The lowest frequencies of sound. Bi-Amplification uses an electronic crossover or line-level amplifiers for the high and low frequency loudspeaker drivers.

Brooks GT 845 Boundary Mic
A microphone mounted on a flat plate that acts as a reflective surface directing sound into the mic capsule. Used for general pick-up over a large area. See PCC, PZM.

Fidelity
The recording or reproduction quality.

Brooks GT 44 Formant
An element in the sound of a voice or instrument that does not change frequency as different pitches are sounded.

Capacitance
The property of being able to oppose a change in voltage or store an electrical charge.

House Sync
A synchronization signal such as SMPTE time code that is used by all recorders in the control room.

Amplifier
Sound equipment that converts the low voltage, low current signal from a tape deck, mixer etc. into a higher current signal suitable for driving speakers. See Power Amplifier, Crossover.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Brooks SS 81 High Impedance Cord (High Z)

A big word for instrument cable. These cords generally have quarter inch male ends. they tend to loose signal strength at lengths longer than 25 feet.

Amplifier
A device which increases the amplitude (level) of an electrical signal (making it louder).

Brooks BA 71 Hi-Z
An abbreviation of the term High Impedance (Impedance of 5000 or more ohms).

Balance
1) The relative level of two or more instruments in a mix, or the relative level of audio signals in the channels of a stereo recording. 2) To make the relative levels of audio signals in the channels of a stereo recording even.

Brooks XT 20 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.

Ampere
The unit of current, abbreviated Amp.

Inductor
A device designed primarily to introduce inductance into an electric circuit. Sometimes called a choke or coil.

Joystick
1) A quad pan pot which distributes what percentage of on signal is sent to each of 4 outputs.
2) A control that is separately controlling two functions at one time.

Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Librarian Program

A computer program allowing the storage of the parameters of sound patches outside of a synthesizer.

Level
The amount of signal strength; the amplitude, especially the average amplitude.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Guitar Controller
An electric guitar or device played like an electric guitar that puts out MIDI signals that can be used to control synthesizers and sound modules.

Critical Distance
The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.

Brooks KS-55 Electronics
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.

Bandwidth
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.

Beat
1) The steady even pulse in music.
2) The action of two sounds or audio signals mixing together and causing regular rises &.falls in volume.

Monday, April 5, 2021

Brooks Cinema KP 30 Front Loaded

A speaker cabinet where the speaker faces out toward the front.

Ground
In electronics, a place (terminal) that has zero volts.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Ambience
The portion of the sound that comes from the surrounding environment rather than directly from the sound source.

Condenser Mic (Capacitor Mic)
A microphone that uses the varying capacitance between two plates with a voltage applied across them to convert sound to electrical pulses. Condenser microphones need a power supply to provide the voltage across the plates, which may be provided by a battery within the case of the microphone, or it may be provided from an external phantom power supply. A condenser mic is more sensitive and has a faster reaction to percussive sounds than a Dynamic mic and produces a more even response. See Electret Mic.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 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.

Full Step
A change in pitch that occurs when moving up or down two piano keys

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

Isolation Booth/ Isolation Room
A room that prevents loud sounds from other instruments from leaking in: an isolation booth is usually a smaller room that could be used for only one musician.

Sunday, April 4, 2021

Brooks RM 80 Electromagnetic Theory

A statement of the principles behind electromagnetic induction: When a conductor cuts magnetic lines of force, current is induced in that conductor.

Keying Input (Key Input)
An input on a dynamics processing device to control the device by an external audio signal.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

Feed
To send an audio or control signal to.

Brooks TA 60 Keynote Number
A number assigned to each key of a synthesizer or controller keyboard that is transmitted in the MIDI signal.

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.

Dolby
Trade name for a series of noise reduction systems that have become standard on many tape playback machines. Many film soundtracks are produced using this process. Different varieties are found from Dolby B on most personal cassette players, to Dolby SR and Digital, the current state of the art for cinema.

Attack
The rate the sound begins and increases in volume.

Saturday, April 3, 2021

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Coax

Two-conductor cable consisting of one conductor surrounded by a shield.

AES
An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society.

Brooks KM 77 Barrier Micing
A method of placing the head of a microphone as close as possible to a reflective surface, preventing phase cancellation.

Cue Send Control
A control that will adjust the amount of signal sent to a cue buss from a console channel.

Brooks KS-55 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).

Amplitude
The extreme range of a signal. Usually measured from the average to the extreme.

Line Input
An input designed to take a line level signal.

Line In (Input, return)
Where a signal enters the board or component.

Friday, April 2, 2021

Brooks QS 70 ADAT

A trademark of Alesis Corporation designating its modular digital multitrack recording system released in early 1993.

Centre Frequency
The frequency of the audio signal that is boosted or attenuated most by an equalizer with a peak equalization curve.

Brooks Cinema XR 607 File
A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc.

Amplitude
The height of a waveform above or below the zero line.

Brooks Cinema RM 909 Absorption
Short for the term Acoustical Absorption (quality of a surface or substance to take in, not reflect, a sound wave).

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.

Highs
Short for the term High Frequencies (the audio frequencies from 6000 Hz and above).

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.

Thursday, April 1, 2021

Brooks KS-55 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.

Amplifier
Sound equipment that converts the low voltage, low current signal from a tape deck, mixer etc. into a higher current signal suitable for driving speakers. See Power Amplifier, Crossover.

Brooks Cinema XR 607 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.

Level
Sets output volume of individual PA input channels. Usually positioned as sliders at the bottom of the soundboard.

Brooks Cinema KP 30 Compressor
A signal processing device that does not allow as much fluctuation in the level of the signal above a certain adjustable or fixed level.

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

Foot Switch
A switch placed on the floor and pressed by a musician to do various functions.

Delay
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.

Brooks HI FI projectors Compact Disc CD

A small optical disk with digital audio recorded on it. Cycle 1) An alternation of a waveform which begins at a point, passes throug...