Glossary

This glossary contains some of the terms and jargon used in
The Home Recording Studio website.
Here are the terms and a brief discription of each word.

The glossary does not include every word or jargon that you might come across but I have tried to include most of the common words.

Air
• A feeling of spaciousness. Refers to frequencies above 12 kHz

Amplitude
• The volume of the signal

ADSR
• Attack, decay, sustain, release

Analog
• Recordings that use magnetic tape to store the sound.

ASIO
• Audio Stream Input Output. A type of software driver.

Audio
• Recorded sound or sound to be recorded.

Audio Interface
• A hardware device to send and receive audio data.

Body
• The instruments frequency range that produces the richest tone.

BOOMY
• To much low frequency

Boxy
• To much 400 to 600 kHz frequency in the signal.

Bright
• Lots of high frequency in the signal.

Buss
• A group of channels

Clipping
• Digital distortion that occurs when the signal to the audio input is to great.

Cold
• Refers to digital recordings that lack the warmth of analog recordings.

Compressor
• A device that reduces that high signals so the overall signal can be increased.

Condenser
• A type of microphone that requires a power source.

DAW
• Digital Audio Workstation. Software for music production.

DE-esser
• An effect to reduce sibilance in vocal recordings

Delay
• Repeated sound that produces and echo effect.

DI Box
• A device used to plug a guitar into an audio interface.

Dry
• A audio that is record without effects.

Dynamics
• The difference between the loud and quiet parts of a recording.

effects
• A processor that changes the sound of a instrument or vocals.

Edgy
• Punchy and on the edge.

EQ
• Audio effect that changes the frequency within the sound.

Filter
• An effect that removes frequencies from the sound .

Firewire
• A type of connector that provides high speed data transfer between devices.

Gate
• A dynamic processor that eliminates the signal below a set volume.

Grainy
• Poor resolution of the digital source.

Headroom
• The amount of volume that can be added before distortion occurs.

Host
• A software program capable of running other software.

Insert Effect
• An effect put between the input and output of a signal, so it is only used by the channel it is put into.

Latency
• The delay between the input and output of audio being processed.

Limiter
• A dynamic processor that stops the volume going above a set level.

Midi
• Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A method of transmitting audio data.

Midi Controller
• A device that sends midi data.

Muddy
• A sound lacking in definition.

Multitrack
• Recording or playback of more than one track.

Pan
• The position between the left and right side of a stereo image.

Plosives
• The sound created when singing p sounds.

Plug-ins
• Software that is used with a host program.

Pop Shield
• A device to reduce the sound when singing or saying a word with a p or s in it.

Preamp
• A device for amplifying the signal from a microphone.

Presence
• A balance between the attack and main tone of a instrument.

Punchy
• A sound that has a fast attack and short release.

Reverb
• A effect that simulates a rooms reflections.

Round
• A sound that has a lot of mid range frequencies.

Sample
• A short recording of an instrument.

Sampler
• A device that records samples

Send Effect
• An effect channel that can be used by multiple channels.

Sequencer
• A program that records midi and audio data.

Sibilance
• The sound produced when singing or saying a word with s in it.

Signal
• Audio data

Smooth
• Sounds with even levels.

Synthesizer
• A device that creates new sound using waveforms.

VST
• A plug-in format created by Steinberg.

Warm
• Sound that lacks harshness.

Waveform
• The single cycle of a signal.

Wet
• An instrument with effects.

The Glossary will be update with new words and jargon.
When the glossary is updated it will be included in the site blog.




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