User manual MACKIE GLOSSARY

[. . . ] Glossary of pro audio terms Glossary This Glossary contains brief definitions of many of the audio and electronic terms and acronyms used in discussions of sound mixing and recording. Many of the terms have other meanings or nuances or very rigorous technical definitions, which we have sidestepped here because we figure you already have a lot on your mind. If you'd like to get more information, there are plenty of useful textbooks out there. We recommend the following titles: The Audio Dictionary by Glenn White, Tech Terms by Peterson & Oppenheimer, Handbook for Sound Engineers by Glen Ballou, Mackie Mixer Book by Rudy Trubitt, Pro Audio Reference by Dennis Bohn, and Sound Reinforcement Handbook by Gary Davis. aliasing This is a type of distortion caused during the analog-to-digital conversion process. [. . . ] kHz 1000 Hz, and is usually pronounced "kay"(with "Hertz" implied) by sound professions who ask for "a little more two and a half K" when they want you to boost 2. 5 kHz. house In Sound Reinforcement parlance, "house" refers to the systems (and even persons) responsible for the primary sound reinforcement in a given hall, building, arena or "house. " Hence we have the house mixer or house engineer, the house mix, the house mix amps, the main house speakers and so on. J 9 K knee A knee is a sharp bend in a curve (an EQ frequency response or compressor gain curve) not unlike the sharp bend in your leg. may have several master controls, which may be slide faders or rotary controls. mic amp See mic preamp. mic level The typical level of a signal from a microphone. A mic level signal (usually but not always coming from a microphone) is generally lower than -30 dBu. With a very quiet source (a pin dropping?) the signal can be -70 dBu or lower. Some microphones, notably vintage or vintagestyle condenser mics, deliver a higher signal level than this for the same sound pressure level. A "hot" mic output level isn't necessarily a measure of the microphone's quality, it's just an option that the designer chose. L level Another word for signal voltage, power, strength or volume. Audio signals are sometimes classified according to their level. Commonly used levels are: microphone level (-40 dBu or lower), instrument level (-20 to -10 dBu), and line level (-10 to +30 dBu). mic pre Short for mic preamp. line level A signal whose level falls between -10 dBu and +30 dBu. mic preamp Short for microphone preamplifier. An amplifier whose job is to bring the very low microphone level signal up to line level, or in the case of a mic preamp built into a mixer, the mixer's internal operating level (approximately 0 dBu). Mic preamps often have their own volume control, called a trim control, to properly set the gain for a particular source. Setting the mic preamp gain correctly with the trim control is an essential step in establishing good signal-tonoise ratio and sufficient headroom for your mix. M main (house) speakers The main loudspeakers for a sound reinforcement system. These are usually the largest and loudest loudspeakers, and are usually positioned so that their sound seems to come from the area of the main stage. mains Short for main or house speakers in a sound reinforcement system. MIDI Acronym for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. MIDI is the music industry's standard serial communication protocol for the interface and control of musical instruments. master A control affecting the final output of a bus on which one or more signals are mixed. A mixer 10 mixer An electronic device used to combine various audio signals into a common output. Different from a blender, which combines various fruits into a common libation. "Why did you mult the flanger into every input in the board?" N noise Whatever you don't want to hear. Could be hum, buzz or hiss; could be crosstalk or digital hash or your neighbor's stereo; could be white noise or pink noise or brown noise; or it could be your mother-in-law reliving the day she had her gallstone removed. monaural Long for mono. Literally, pertaining to or having the use of only one ear. In the audio field, monaural describes a signal or system which carries audio information on a single channel with the intent of reproducing it from a single source. One microphone is a mono source; many microphones mixed to one channel is a mono mix; a stereo (or, to be picky, a two-channel) mix of many microphones panned left and right is a stereo mix of mono sources. Monaural listening, and therefore mono compatibility of a stereo mix, is more important than you may realize. Most people hear television audio in mono. Most clock radios are mono. noise floor The residual level of noise in any system. In a well designed mixer, the noise floor will be a quiet hiss, which is the thermal noise generated by electrons bouncing around in resistors and semiconductor junctions. [. . . ] The trim control allows the mixer to accommodate the wide range of input signal levels that come from real-world sources. It is important to set the trim control correctly; its setting determines the overall noise performance in that channel of the mixer. See mic preamp. steradians Just as a radian is an angular unit of measure in 2-dimensional space, so a steradian is an angular unit of measure in 3-dimensional space (solid angle). stereo Believe it or not, stereo comes from a Greek word that means solid. We use stereo or stereophony to describe the illusion of a continuous, spacious sound field that is seemingly spread around the listener by two or more related audio signals. [. . . ]