Recording Studio Glossary

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AAC – Advanced Audio Coding.

A-B – the procedure for comparing the sound of two different audio sources, by first listening to one source (A) and then quickly switching to the second (B). For the best accuracy, both sources should be at the same level.

A-B recording – (1) In the US, a recording using a spaced pair. (2) In Europe, a recording using a coincident pair. See also coincident pair, near-coincident pair, ORTF, DIN, NOS, Blumlein array, Faulkner array, mid-side, and X-Y pair. [Ref]

A-weighted – measurement of sound using a frequency equalization curve with a response that simulates that of human hearing.

Absorption – the process of taking in a sound wave rather than passing it through or reflecting it.

Absorption coefficient – the ability of a material to absorb sound waves, with a higher coefficient indicating better acoustical damping.

Accent microphone – a microphone placed close to the source (spot microphone) that is mixed with a distant mic (ambient microphone) to add presence, reverberations, or special effects or to improve tonal balance.

Acceptance angle – the angle from the axis of a microphone that defines its usable working area.

Acoustic – pertaining to sounds audible by the human ear.

Acoustic foam – a specially designed open-celled foam used to absorb sound waves.

Acoustic instrument – an instrument whose sound is not amplified by electric means, such as an acoustic guitar. See also electric instrument.

Acoustics – the science or study of the properties of sound and sound propagation. See also psychoacoustics.

ADAT – stands for Alesis Digital Audio Tape and is a registered trademark of Alesis Corporation. It originally referred to their eight-track digital tape recorder. The ADAT Optical Interface is a digital communication standard pioneered by Alesis for transferring signals between ADATs using an optical fiber cable. This system (also known as Lightpipe) has been adopted by other manufacturers as a means of transferring digital data between other types of audio devices.

ADC – Analog-to-Digital Converter. See also DAC and AD/DA converters.

Additive synthesis – the creation of a sound by a synthesizer by adding sine waves of harmonic components. See also sound synthesis and subtractive synthesis

AD/DA converters – an AD converter (sometime written A-D or A/D) is an electronic divice that converts an analog signal to digital data. A DA converter (also shown as D-A or D/A) is an electronic device that convert a digital datasteam to an analog signal. Also abbreviated as ADC and DAC.

ADR – Automatic Dialog Replacement. The process of adding dialog in synch with the movie soundtrack in a sound studio after the movie has been completed. Also called informally dubbing.

ADSR – an acronym for attack, decay, sustain, and release. These elements define the sounds (or envelope) generated by a keyboard instrument or synthesizer. See also envelope.

ADT – Automatic Double Tracking. A special effect that simulates two voices or instruments playing together, created by combining a signal with a duplicate signal delayed by 15 to 35 milliseconds. ADT is similar to chorusing, but with a shorter delay. See also double-tracking.

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) – a method of compressing and encoding digital audio, designed to achieve better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates and file sizes.

AES – Audio Engineering Society.

AES/EBU interface – a professional audio standard developed jointly by the Audio Engineering Society and the European Broadcast Union. The standard provides the technical details for transmitting digital audio signals via a cable. See also AES/EBU.

Aftertouch – a MIDI message for the amount of pressure applied to a key when it is pressed down. See also keyboard expression. [Ref]

AGAC – American Guild of Authors and Composers. AGAC is a performance rights organization that protects the rights of artists and publishers and collects and distributes royalties to its members. Much smaller than ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, AGAC primarily represents modern classical composers.

AGC – Automatic Gain Control. See Automatic Volume Control.

AIM – Amplitude Intermodulation Distortion. A type of distortion in which one signal causes amplitude modulation of another signal.

Airy – a descriptive term for a sound with the feeling of spaciousness or openess, usually affected by frequencies above 12 kHz.

Aliasing – a form of distortion that can occur during the analog-to-digital conversion of a signal. When the input signal that is sampled is more than one half the sampling rate, only part of the signal will be digitized resulting in a false representation of the waveform. [Ref]

Ambience – the sound that comes from the surrounding environment as opposed to coming directly from the sound source. Alternative spelling is ambiance.

Ambient microphone – a microphone placed at a distance from the sound source to capture the ambience or reverberance. This sound is often mixed with a mic close to the source (called a spot microphone or accent microphone) to add presence, reverberations, or special effects or to improve tonal balance.

Ambient field – the area away from the sound source where the reverberations are greater than at the sound source. Also called reverberant field.

Amp modeler – software or hardware that simulates the sound of a particular amplier/cabinet combination. Also called amp simulation or amp emulatror.

Amplifier – an electronic device that increases the strength or level of a signal passing through it.

Amplitude – the magnitude of change in the oscillation of a wave (especially sound waves or radio waves). It is the height of the wave as measured from an imaginary center line to the wave peak. For sound waves amplitude translates as loudness.

Analog – an electronic system with a continuously variable signal, as opposed to a digital signal, which is a representation or sample represented by digits. The British spelling is analogue.

Anechoic chamber – a room in which the reflection of sound waves are minimized and which is isolated from external sources of sound. An acoustically dead room. Also called an anechoic room. [Ref]

APRS – Association of Professional Recording Studios. A British organization of recording, mastering, and replication studios who establish standards of service for these facilities.

ASA – Acoustical Society of America. A national organization that establishes standards for acoustics and vibrations.

ASCAP – The American Society of Composer, Authors, and Publishers. ASCAP is a performance rights organization that protects the rights of artists and publishers and collects and distributes royalties to its members. See also BMI and SESAC.

ASIO – Audio Stream Input/Output. A standard for audio drivers that provides high performance and low latency.

ATRAC – Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding. A lossy perceptual coding and compression format for reducing the size of audio data files used on a MiniDisc (MD).

ATSC – (1) Advanced Television Systems Committee. The agency that developed the standards for digital television transmission in the US and several other countries. (2) The standards for digital television transmission develped by the committee. ATSC replaced the analog NTSC television system in the US on June 12, 2009. See also NTSC.

Attack – (1) The beginning of a note as it rises from near silence to its maximum level. (2) The first of the four segments of an ADSR envelope. See ADSR.

Attack time – the time it takes for a device or circuit to react to an input. Attack time is a parameter used to set compressors, limiters, synthesizers, and other devices.

Attenuation – the reduction in level of an electrical or acoustic signal.

Attenuator – a device that produces a reduction in the amplitude of a signal.

Audio – vibrations (sound waves) that are detectible by the human ear as sound. See also audio spectrum.

Audio interface – a device that connects between an audio source or sources and a computer and converts the audio into a digital signal that can be used by the comuter.

Audio oscillator – a device that produces a signal with a wide range of frequencies and with a variety of waveforms. See also signal generator.

Audio spectrum – the audible frequencies of human hearing, which generally occur between 20 Hz and 20,000 Hz (20 kHz). Also called the audio bandwidthe or aural bandwith.

Auto punch – the process that allows a recording engineer to automatically overdub a specific section of a digital recording, either by highlighting that section or by entering precise start and stop information. See also punch.

Automatic Dialog Replacement – the process of adding dialog in synch with the movie soundtrack in a sound studio after the movie has been completed. Called ADR for short or informally dubbing.

Automatic volume control (AVC). A circuit that adjusts the incoming signal of an audio device to maintain a constant output signal. Called AGC (Automatic Gain Control) in telelvision.

Automation – a feature that allows a recording engineer to program various parameters (such as fader level or panning) to occur automatically during mixing or playback.

Auxiliary bus – the channel that feeds signal processors, monitor mixes, effects devices, or plug-ins. Also called effect bus or aux bus.

Auxiliary send/return – the signal path used to feed signal processors, monitor mixes, effects devices, or plug-ins. The aux send is used to feed the device and the aux return is used to return the signal from the device. Also called aux send/return, effects send/return, or aux loop. See Auxiliary bus.

AVC – See Automatic Volume Control.

Axial mode – resonance in a room caused by sound reflecting between two parallel surfaces. See also room mode.

Axis – an imaginary line that runs straight through an object or figure. In the recording studio, this is most often applied to microphones in the sense of an sound source being on-axis or off-axis.

NOTE: The definitions included in this glossary of recording studio terms and terminology are specific to usage within in the recording industry. Some of the terms have different or additional meanings in other situations, especially within the electronic, automotive, and computer industries. For some terms additional discussion and clarification can be found in Wikipedia and are designated with a link shown as [Ref].

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