Brooks Audio Design TM-22 Earth

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

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.

Brooks Audio Design Review SS 81 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.

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 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.

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

Line Level
1) An amplified signal level put out by an amplifier and used as the normal level that runs through the interconnecting cables in a control room.
2) A low level signal such as the signal in a guitar cord. Most parts of a PA require a line level signal. Remember, however, that speaker outputs are not line level. Plugging speaker outs into line ins will result in damage to the equipment

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.