Brooks QS 70 Chase

The automatic adjusting of the speed of a recorder (or sequencer) to be time with another recorder.

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.

Brooks KS-55 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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Brooks TM-22 Information Bits

The bits in the digital signal that make up actual values or commands being communicated as opposed to bits that are used for checking & correcting data or other purposes.

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 Cinema TZ 505 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.

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

Brooks M 44 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).

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).

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.

Floor Toms
The large toms to the right of the drummer.

Brooks XT 20 Frequency

The number of cycles of a waveform occurring in a second.

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

Brooks QS 70 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.

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).

Brooks RM 80 Head Amp
British name for Preamplifier (A low-noise amplifier designed to take a low-level signal, such as the output of a tape head, and bring it up to normal line level).

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.

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.

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

Brooks Cinema RM 909 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).

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 GT 44 Isolation
A containing of the sound wave in a certain area so that it will not leak into other areas and/or unintended mics.

Compact Disc Recordable CDR
A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time.

Brooks Speakers Floor Toms
The large toms to the right of the drummer.

Early Reflections
The first echoes in a room, caused by the sound from the sound source reflecting off one surface before reaching the listener.

Amplification
An increasing of signal strength.

Lead
The musical instrument that plays the melody of the tune, including the vocal.

Brooks BA 71 High-Pass Filter

A device that rejects signals that are below a certain frequency (called the cut-off frequency) and passes signals with frequencies that are higher.

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 SS 81 Foot Pedal
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.

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

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 AES
An abbreviation of Audio Engineering Society.

Engineer
1) A technician in charge of a recording session; Also called Recording Engineer.
2) A person with an engineering degree.
3) A person with sufficient experience in the field to be equivalent to the education one would receive earning an engineering degree.

Feedback Control
The control on a delay line or delay effects device that controls the amount of feedback.

Flamenco
A style of music with roots in Spanish and Arabic culture.

Brooks M 44 Gain Reduction

The working of a limiter or compressor reducing gain during high-level passages.

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 KS-55 Amp
1) An abbreviation of the term Amplifier (A device which increases the level of an electrical signal.
2) An abbreviation of Ampere (the unit of current).
3) An abbreviation of amplitude (the height of a waveform above or below the zero line).

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 QS 70 Cut
1) One selection (one song) on a pre4ecorded music format.
2) A term with the same meaning as Mute (to turn off a channel or a signal).
3) To reduce gain of a particular band of frequencies (with an equalizer).
4) To not pass a particular band of frequencies (said of a filter)

Chase
The automatic adjusting of the speed of a recorder (or sequencer) to be time with another recorder.

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

Head Amp
British name for Preamplifier (A low-noise amplifier designed to take a low-level signal, such as the output of a tape head, and bring it up to normal line level).

Brooks TA 60 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.

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.

Brooks BA 71 Driver
See transducer. Dynamic Range �" The range between the quietest and the loudest sounds a device can handle (often quoted in dB).

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

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

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.

Axis
A line around which a device operates. Example: In a microphone, this would be an imaginary line coming out from the front of the microphone in the direction of motion of the diaphragm.

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

Brooks Cinema RM 909 File

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

Dynamic Mic
Robust type of microphone which picks up the sound on a diaphragm connected to a coil of wire which moves within a magnet. An alternating current is induced into the wire which provides the electrical output. Most dynamic mics have low output impedance of 200 Ohms. See Condenser Mic.

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

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 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).

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

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.

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

Brooks GS 15 Automation

In consoles, a feature that lets the engineer program control changes (such as fader level) so that upon playback of the multitrack recording these changes happen automatically.

Group Faders
The VCA faders of individual channels that are all controlled by a Group Master Fader (a slide control used to send out a control voltage to several VCA faders in individual channels).

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Error Concealment
Putting replacement information bits into a digital audio signal to replace lost bits when the digital recording or processing system cannot verify whether the lost bits were l's or 0's but can make a good guess by comparing the known bits that were close in position to the lost bits.

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.

Brooks RM 80 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.

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).

Expander
A device that causes expansion of the audio signal.

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.

Brooks Cinema Series Error Concealment

Putting replacement information bits into a digital audio signal to replace lost bits when the digital recording or processing system cannot verify whether the lost bits were l's or 0's but can make a good guess by comparing the known bits that were close in position to the lost bits.

Attack
The rate the sound begins and increases in volume.

Brooks KS-55 Bass Roll Off
An electrical network built into some microphones to reduce the amount of output at bass frequencies when close-micing.

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.

Brooks GT 845 Absorption
Short for the term Acoustical Absorption (quality of a surface or substance to take in, not reflect, a sound wave).

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"

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).

In Port
A jack on a MIDI device or computer that will accept an incoming data signal.

Brooks QS 70 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).

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

Brooks TA 60 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.

Capacitance
That property of a capacitor which determines how much charge can be stored in it for a given potential difference between its terminals, measured in farads, by the ratio of the charge stored to the potential difference.

Brooks KS-55 Compact Disc Recordable CDR
A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time.

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

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

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.

Brooks Speakers 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).

Dynamic Mic
Robust type of microphone which picks up the sound on a diaphragm connected to a coil of wire which moves within a magnet. An alternating current is induced into the wire which provides the electrical output. Most dynamic mics have low output impedance of 200 Ohms. See Condenser Mic.

Brooks Cinema Series Electrons
Negatively charged particles, which revolve around the centre of atoms. The movement of such electrons down a conductor causes electrical current.

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.

Brooks M 44 File
A collection of digital data stored in a computer's memory bank or on a floppy disc.

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.

Cable, 1/4 inch
An unbalanced cable most often used for instruments and patch cords. Commonly referred to as "guitar cords".

Compact Disc Recordable CDR
A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time.

Brooks XT 20 Line Out (Output, Send)

Where a signal leaves the board or component.

Compact Disc, Read Only Memory CDROM
A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer.

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

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

Brooks XB 22 Compact Disc CD
A small optical disk with digital audio recorded on it.

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.

Final Mix
The two track stereo master tape which was mixed from the multitrack master.

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 Cinema TX 509 Frequency

Practically speaking, high frequency means high pitch and low frequency means low pitch.

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).

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Cable, TRS
A less common balanced cable that has 3 different contacts on its 1/4 inch connectors. Most headphone jacks are a good example of a TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) connector. These are sometimes used instead of the more common XLR connection.

Generation
A term used to describe the number of times that the recorded audio signal has been copied.

Brooks M 44 Amp
1) An abbreviation of the term Amplifier (A device which increases the level of an electrical signal.
2) An abbreviation of Ampere (the unit of current).
3) An abbreviation of amplitude (the height of a waveform above or below the zero line).

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).

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

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

Brooks GT 845 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.

Infinite Repeat
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.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 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.

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.

Brooks XB 22 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.

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

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

Dry
Describes a sound coming from the PA with no effects on it.

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Format

1) The number of tracks, their width, spacing and order for tape recording.
2) To prepare a digital storage medium so that it will accept and store digital information bits.

Input/Output Module
A set of controls, on one housing, for an in-line console that has two channels (one for recording and one for monitoring) and has controls for all console sections.

Brooks XT 20 Circuit
1) One complete path of electric current.
2) Similar to definition 1, but including all paths and components to accomplish one function in a device.

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

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

Harmonics
Integer multiples of a fundamental frequency, the fundamental itself being the first harmonic, its first overtone the second harmonic, etc. Attributing to instruments, voices, etc. their distinctive timbre.

Crossover
1) A route leading from one side of the stage to the other, out of the audiences view.
2) An electronic filter in a sound system that routes sound of the correct frequency to the correct part of the speaker system. Different speakers handle high frequencies (tweeters) and low frequencies (woofers). Sometimes known as a crossover network. An active crossover splits the signal from the mixing desk into high, mid and low frequencies which are then sent to three separate amplifiers.
3) An electrical circuit that divides a full bandwidth signal into the desired frequency bands for the loudspeaker components.

Brooks TM-22 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).

Amplification
An increasing of signal strength.

Brooks XT 20 Lead
The musical instrument that plays the melody of the tune, including the vocal.

Layering
The recording (or playing) of a musical part with of several similar sound patches playing simultaneous.

Brooks Cinema TZ 505 Frequency Range
The range of frequencies over which an electronic device is useful or over which a sound source will put out substantial energy.

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.

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

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 BA 71 CD-ROM

An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, Read Only Memory (A Compact Disc used to store digital data, such as large programs, that can be read by a computer).

Generation
A term used to describe the number of times that the recorded audio signal has been copied.

Brooks KS-55 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).

Driver
See transducer. Dynamic Range �" The range between the quietest and the loudest sounds a device can handle (often quoted in dB).

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 Compact Disc Recordable CDR
A blank Compact Disc that can be recorded on one time.

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

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

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

Brooks Cinema xm 808 Harmonics

Integer multiples of a fundamental frequency, the fundamental itself being the first harmonic, its first overtone the second harmonic, etc. Attributing to instruments, voices, etc. their distinctive timbre.

Hall
A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Brooks SS 81 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.

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 RM 80 In Port
A jack on a MIDI device or computer that will accept an incoming data signal.

Images
The squaring of the waveform that happens in the conversion of digital audio bits into analog signals.

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

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 Cinema xm 808 Cable, TRS

A less common balanced cable that has 3 different contacts on its 1/4 inch connectors. Most headphone jacks are a good example of a TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve) connector. These are sometimes used instead of the more common XLR connection.

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

Brooks XT 20 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).

Head Amp
British name for Preamplifier (A low-noise amplifier designed to take a low-level signal, such as the output of a tape head, and bring it up to normal line level).

Brooks Cinema NZ 60 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.

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

Bi
A prefix meaning two.

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

Brooks XT 20 Information Bits

The bits in the digital signal that make up actual values or commands being communicated as opposed to bits that are used for checking & correcting data or other purposes.

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

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

Amplification
An increasing of signal strength.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

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.

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.

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).

Brooks TM-22 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.

DC
Abbreviation for direct current.

Brooks Speakers Layering
The recording (or playing) of a musical part with of several similar sound patches playing simultaneous.

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.

Brooks XT 20 Feed
To send an audio or control signal to.

FOH (Front of House)
Refers to the speakers that face toward the audience. Also called the "main" speakers.

Compander
Outboard sound equipment. Combination of a Compressor and an Expander.

In Port
A jack on a MIDI device or computer that will accept an incoming data signal.

Brooks XB 22 Alternating Current

Electric current which flows back and forth in a circuit.

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

Brooks Cinema RM 909 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)

Foot Pedal
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.

Brooks Speakers 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.

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.

Light Emitting Diode
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.

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 Cinema NZ 60 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).

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

Brooks GT 44 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.

Error Concealment
Putting replacement information bits into a digital audio signal to replace lost bits when the digital recording or processing system cannot verify whether the lost bits were l's or 0's but can make a good guess by comparing the known bits that were close in position to the lost bits.

Brooks Cinema TX 509 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.

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

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.

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 BA 71 Half Step

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

Light Emitting Diode
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 Cinema TZ 505 Error Detection
The process of discovery that sonic information bits have been lost in digital audio.

Clock Signal
The signal put out by a circuit that generates steady even pulses or steady codes used for synchronization.

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

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

Acoustic Amplifier
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.

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

Brooks GS 15 Absorption

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

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 Speakers Headphones
Devices that can be worn on the head with small speakers that fit over the ears (or sometimes into the ears).

Arc
The visible sparks generated by an electrical discharge.

Brooks QS 70 Attenuator (Pot)
The electronic dohickey under the knobs that increases or reduces the strength of the signal running through it. When these get old and dirty, they can make popping noises or rumbles in your PA (As in "my pots are dirty").
Assign Tochoose to which place an output is going to be sent.

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.

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

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

Brooks Cinema Series Hall

A large building designed for concerts; also called a concert hall.

Chamber
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.

Brooks KM 77 Chord
Three or more musical pitches sung or played together.

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 RM 909 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.

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

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.

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.

Brooks SS 81 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).

Engineer
1) A technician in charge of a recording session; Also called Recording Engineer.
2) A person with an engineering degree.
3) A person with sufficient experience in the field to be equivalent to the education one would receive earning an engineering degree.

Brooks GS 15 Axis
A line around which a device operates. Example: In a microphone, this would be an imaginary line coming out from the front of the microphone in the direction of motion of the diaphragm.

Fly In
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.

Brooks GT 845 Flange
An effect caused by an approximately even mix of a modulated (varying) short delay with the direct signal.

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".

Gain Structure
The way in which the gain varies in the stages or sections of an audio system.

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 QS 70 FOH (Front of House)

Refers to the speakers that face toward the audience. Also called the "main" speakers.

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

Brooks Speakers 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.

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

Brooks Cinema ZL 44 Coax
Two-conductor cable consisting of one conductor surrounded by a shield.

Buss (Bus)
A wire carrying signals to some place, usually fed from several sources.

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.

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).

Brooks Cinema TX 509 Hard Disk Recording

The recording of digital audio onto a hard disc.

Baffles
Sound absorbing panels used to prevent sound waves from entering or leaving a certain space

Brooks Cinema XR 607 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).

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).

Brooks TA 60 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).

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.

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.

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.