"It is only fair to
point out that some of these definitions are not entirely original, although some of them
include a fairly high proportion of innovation. The original idea started from Brian
Southall's glossary in his excellent Abbey Road book, the definitions therein being
sensible, rather than these, which are silly. Another influence was the 1983 D.E.A.F.
Diary, which is also to be recommended. As several of the definitions in the latter source
were apparently culled from other publications, as yet unknown, only a few of them have
been stolen, and they have been massively misquoted and distorted."
|
|
| MICROPHONE |
An acoustic-to-electrical
transducer designed to be placed inside a musical instrument to examine its distortion
characteristics. Originally designed to pick up musical sounds from a safe distance. |
| VOCAL MIC |
A microphone
designed for internal use only, available on prescription. |
| MASTER |
The second best
performance of a musical or other recording, and the one used for the eventual record or
other product, the best having not been recorded or having terminal recording faults (e.g.
no signal on track 3, a nasty fizzing on track 10, an edit in the wrong place, etc.) |
| MONO |
Single channel
reproduction (monophonic) |
| 2-TRACK MONO |
A form of
monophonic system in which different elements of the sound are positioned in a line
between two speakers by means of pan-pots, resulting in no apparent 'depth'. developed to
facilitate the use of expensive echo plates, digital reverb units and other signal
processors which would otherwise be unjustifiable capital investments. |
| STEREO (1) |
An archaic
method of recording in which two microphones were placed a safe distance away from the
musicians. |
| STEREO (2) |
2-track mono. |
| QUAD or QUADROPHONY (1) |
2-track mono,
twice (4-track mono) |
| QUAD or QUADROPHONY (2) |
A now
little-used method of reproduction based on three false premises:
- That four totally dissimilar signals could be made to sound
like a real soundfield
- That these four channels could be mixed into 2-track mono
and then changed back into four totally dissimilar channels by obscure mathematical means
which were both theoretically and practically impossible
- That a sensible name for something could be created for
something by mixing Greek and Latin words.
|
| NOISE REDUCTION |
A signal
processing system designed to stop noise and other musical sounds getting on to or off
tape without being altered in a random or otherwise difficult-to-predict fashion (see also
EQUALISER, LIMITER, etc.) |
| MICROGROOVE RECORD (1) |
A test pressing
which causes the replay stylus to jump because it has been cut at - Record 25dB with very
narrow groove spacing to get 62 minutes on one side, but otherwise suffers from virtually
no production faults such as warping, eccentricity, surface noise etc. |
| MICROGROOVE RECORD (2) |
A production
record bought by a member of the public in a record shop, which causes the replay stylus
to jump because of the above faults. |
| RECORD SHOP |
A retail source
of low quality copies of musical and other recordings and recording raw materials (e.g.
blank tape), destined for domestic disc-to-tape transfer suites. |
| MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC |
Owner of a
domestic disc-to-tape transfer suite. |
| TEST PRESSING |
One of the few
initial records which are manufactured to assure the record company that the cut is OK. As
they have no relation in sound quality to production copies they are not played to
artists, engineers etc. who might consider criticising them. If artists etc. do criticise,
the fact that the production copies will be different is pointed out in a manner almost
indistinguishable from the truth. |
| FLOPPY DISC |
An American
test pressing that has been inadvertently left on the coffee machine overnight |
| MUTING (1) |
A method of
switching off a console channel inadvertently at any time, but not allowing it to be
switched on again. Primarily used by producers leaning across to talk to the engineer just
at the start of the guitar solo. You could switch it on again if you knew which
one it was. |
| MUTING (2) |
A button which
produces a loud bang when pressed. |
| PROGRAMMABLE MUTING |
A form of
MUTING which may be preset to switch off a vast number of console channels at once,
inadvertently. |
| TOP |
Frequencies on
a recording that cannot be transferred to disc. In digital recording frequencies that still
cannot be transferred to disc. |
| FADERS |
Linear level control
devices which allow the sound level to be adjusted so that the meters read in the red, and
permit the addition of pops and crackles to simulate the sound of the final pressing. Some
model also provide liquid collection facilities to prevent beverages from dripping onto
the knees of recording personnel. |
| EQUALISER |
A sophisticated tone
control which allows the engineer to correct the problems created by using MICROPHONES and
other methods of applying audio signals to the console and to alter the sound so that it
differs from the sound of the instrument or other source as much as possible. It is usual
to equalise one channel first, as an experiment, to ensure that all the other channels
will also need modification. |
| GRAPHIC
EQUALISER |
A special type of EQUALISER
which is too big to go in the console. It has many FADERS which enable assistant engineers
to create picturesque curves (graphics) for advertising brochure photo sessions. It may
also be used to 'cancel out' or otherwise enhance, poor acoustic design in the control
room by placing several in the monitor chain and adjusting the faders so that they are as
far away from zero as possible. |
| CONSOLE
EQ |
A form of EQUALISER built
into the console channels which enables the recording engineer to create a frequency
contour which it is almost impossible for the mix engineer to cancel out. |
| PARAMETRIC
EQ (1) |
A form of EQUALISER which
it is totally impossible for the remix engineer to cancel out. |
| PARAMETRIC
EQ (2) |
An especially complex form
of equaliser which it is impossible to adjust without listening to the signal. If this is
done the knobs will be found to be finally pointing at 'flat' or in a position
indistinguishable from 'bypass'. |
| C.C.I.R.
CHARACTERISTIC |
A RECORDING CHARACTERISTIC
adopted by US and UK recording studios which cannot get their monitoring to sound right,
and by European broadcasters who can't be bothered anyway. |
| N.A.B.
CHARACTERISTIC |
A RECORDING CHARACTERISTIC
- Designed to make American recordings sound better than
European ones by enhancing the level at 50Hz mains frequency
- Adopted by European studios which cannot get their
monitoring right either
|
| RECORDING
CHARACTERISTIC |
A set of defined parameters
laid down by groups or individuals with as little connection with the recording industry
as possible, designed to restrict the recording capability of tape machines so as not to
threaten live broadcasting. By definition, all recording characteristics are designed to
optimise performance of tape types which were removed from the market 25 years ago. If
they were invented recently, and no- one can agree on them they are called standards. |
| LIMITER |
A signal processor which
prevents loud noises from exceeding a certain level and amplifies quiet signals to a
certain, higher level. Cutting engineers like them because they can go for a drink during
a cut. |
| COMPRESSOR |
A limiter which doesn't
work. Instead of preventing loud noises from exceeding a preset level, it just turns them
don a bit, according to the ratio set on the front panel. This is usually calibrated from
1:1 (i.e. it doesn't work at all) to n:1 where n isn't very much, but less than infinity
(i.e. doesn't work very well). It also adds a lot of noise, 'breathing' and other things
which producers like on their records to enable them to blame engineers when it isn't a
hit. |
| EXPANDER |
A signal processor which
increases the level of noise and other loud signals to infinity and leaves other signals
below a certain threshold alone. An expander is thus a kind of inverse limiter which also
doesn't work very well. |
| STANDARDS |
A set of often sensible
suggestions and agreements on a certain subject argued out over a long period of time by
manufacturers and experts all over the world so as to form the basis of anti-trust
litigation. The theory is that Murphy's Law of Technological Standardisation states that
"Any standard will be superseded technically after a period of time inversely
proportional to the time taken to agree to it". This is usually shortened to
"Standards are international agreements which are already out-of-date". (See
also RECORDING CHARACTERISTICS)
(In other words, standards are really good, that's why we have so many of them - MB) |
| CLASSICAL |
Music which is beautifully
recorded but nobody buys |
| POPULAR |
The opposite of CLASSICAL |
| M.O.R. |
Music which is neither
CLASSICAL nor POPULAR but combines the negative characteristics of both. |
| A.O.R. |
POPULAR music of a style
that everyone bought ten years ago (See GOLDEN OLDIES) |
| GOLDEN
OLDIES |
Music which would have been
called A.O.R. ten years ago. |
| AUTOMATED
MIX-DOWN |
Computer system which
enables you to have extended breaks during mixing sessions while Maintenance fix it. |
| MAINTENANCE
ENGINEER |
Someone employed by a
studio because of their extensive knowledge of manufacturers' telephone numbers. |
| MANUFACTURERS'
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT |
A group of MAINTENANCE
ENGINEERS employed by a manufacturer. They don't know either, but the only person they can
telephone is you. |
| WORKSHOP |
The only place in the
studio complex where
- anyone does any work
- you can get a cup of tea without doing it yourself
- you can sit down quietly and see if any of your records are
getting any airplay
|
| POT |
Type of FADER used to
enhance the awareness of studio staff. Has the advantage of raising the subjective quality
of good recordings to infinite levels whilst reducing their negative aspects to zero; in
other words it does what a LIMITER ought to do if it worked. A mental amplifier. |
| COKE |
Type of mental amplifier
used by some automobile manufacturers. Operates in the same kind of way as POT on studio
personnel, enhancing awareness, but with the reverse results. It is thus known as a type
of EXPANDER. |
| L.S.D. |
Used to pay engineers for
late sessions before the advent of decimal coinage. Now replaced by COKE. Rumours of a
return to the Mescaline standard might be true if there ever really was any. |
| TAPE |
Rusty plastic used to store
engineers' mistakes. |
| MASTER
TAPE |
Tape containing one take of
each song, which is neither the best performance nor the Master. Also known as the Master
Reel. |
| OUT-TAKES |
Reel containing the
MASTERS, if they haven't been edited out and thrown away, hidden amongst other versions of
the song which also aren't indicated on the box label, which refers to another reel.
Murphy's 14th Law of Recording states that 'Masters are always on an out-takes reel unless
you look there first'. |
| AMPLIFIER |
A device which takes a
signal as its input and delivers distortion and noise as its output, generally associated
with other modifications of the signal.
|
| MONITORING
AMPLIFIER |
A type of amplifier in
which the output is louder than the input and therefore correspondingly more noisy and
distorted. |
| MONITORING
LEVEL |
A studio listening volume
level sufficient to drive the engineer out of the control room. This is equivalent to the
producer's threshold of hearing. After the labelling at the top of the control room
monitoring knob this level is referred to as 'zero'. |
| SIGNAL
PROCESSOR |
Any type of amplifier in
which certain distortion elements may be added as desired, or at random, with a
corresponding increase in noise. |
| DIRECT
INJECTION (D.I.) BOX (1) |
A type of FADER used in
conjunction with certain types of mental amplifiers (see POT, COKE etc.) |
| DIRECT
INJECTION (D.I.) BOX (2) |
£5.00 worth of components
in £25.00 worth of box used instead of a MICROPHONE. |
| TAPE
HEAD (1) |
The end of the reel with
red leader or no leader at all. (TAIL is thus the other end.) |
| TAPE
HEAD (2) |
Device used in a TAPE
RECORDER to impede the passage of signals to and from the tape. |
| IMPEDANCE |
The amount of signal lost
when passing through any studio equipment. |
| ERASE
HEAD |
A TAPE HEAD with infinite
IMPEDANCE. |
| RECORD
HEAD |
A high-impedance TAPE HEAD
designed to minimise the signal level being recorded. |
| SYNC
HEAD (1) |
A RECORD HEAD connected up
backwards by a MAINTENANCE ENGINEER |
| SYNC
HEAD (2) |
A TAPE HEAD which plays
back out of synchronisation with all the other tracks and increases the probability of a
re-take of the guitar solo (see MASTER) |
| PLAYBACK
HEAD |
A type of SYNC HEAD which
produces a greater level of hum |
| HUM |
A low frequency signal
produced by all studio and musical equipment which will not go away. Hum frequency is
automatically optimised to coincide with the LF 'hump' in a recording characteristic. |
| HUM LOOP |
A type of hum which gets
worse when you try to reduce it. |
| R.F.I.
(RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE) |
The ability of all studio
equipment to amplify, without noise or distortion, a signal outside the audio band, whilst
simultaneously decoding any information on such a signal and raising it to +13dBm. Such
modulation generally includes the words "Breaker, breaker" or "Romeo
one-seven to control, P.O.B. at Bloggs Studios" and will be noted just before the
fade during the master take. |
| TAPE
RECORDER |
An expensive device used in
modern studios to allow, simultaneously, the replacement of good recordings by
progressively worse ones (see OVERDUBS); the recording of different signals many times
when one would have been better; the addition of noise and distortion to mask record
pressing faults and to confuse reviewers of allegedly Digital recordings; the loss of the
best elements of recording sessions (see MASTERS) and the production of short, unexpected
periods of total silence and following hysteria when the 'record' button is pressed during
overdubs. |
| OVERDUBBING,
OVERDUBS |
The process of replacing an
excellent recording with progressively lower quality Overdubs attempts |
| 24-TRACK |
A recording process in
which progressive OVERDUBS may be stored instead of being erased (except for the best
one), so that the worst attempt can be selected on the mix or constructed out of a minimum
of 14 separate and unrelated attempts at a later date, when there are no tracks left. |
| ECHO (1) |
A type of reverb produced
by a machine |
| ECHO (2) |
The addition of noise and
distortion to justify the selection of a particularly bad overdub when better attempts
have been erased |
| ECHO (3) |
A method of masking
problems that would normally be dealt with by vibrato. |
| REVERB |
The intended sound of a
room which studio designers and engineers do their best to avoid encroaching on the
recording process (if they fail, designers strive to make it as boring or as nasty as
possible). This enables engineers to add it again with expensive signal processors (see
2-TRACK MONO). |
| VIBRATO |
Cyclic or otherwise
variations in pitch designed to overcome tuning problems |
| PITCH-SHIFTER |
SIGNAL PROCESSOR designed
to produce VIBRATO to apply to recordings of instruments where it was not provided by the
musician. Also used to attempt to correct pitching problems by altering the pitch so that
all the notes except one are out of tune, the reverse being previously the case. |
| TREMOLO
(1) |
Guitarist's name for
VIBRATO |
| TREMOLO
(2) |
Amplitude-modulation effect
produced by moving a FADER up and down very rapidly to attempt to clear the cause of the
problem that ruined the previous take (see MASTER). |
| DIGITAL,
DIGITAL RECORDING |
A system designed to
enhance almost infinitely the already prodigious ability of consumer is to have access to
equipment which is capable of far better results than that in the recording studio |
