GLOSSARY
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Cable – A group of one or more insulated conductors, optical fibers, or a combination of both within an enveloping jacket. Either a stranded conductor, a single-conductor cable, or a combination of conductors insulated from one another.
Cable Assembly – Cable that is ready for installation in specific applications and usually terminated with connectors.
Cable Harness –Wires or groups of wiring used to interconnect electronic systems.
Cable Sheath – Conductive protective cover that is applied to cables.
Cancellation – an abbreviation for Phase Cancellation, the energy of one waveform significantly decreasing the energy of another waveform because of phase relationships at or close to 180 degrees.
Capacitor – An electronic device that is composed of two plates separated by an insulator.
Capacitance – A property allowing opposition in a change in voltage.
Capsule – The variable capacitor section of a condenser microphone. The part of the microphone that includes the diaphragm and active element.
Capstan – A mechnical portion of a magnetic tape recorder. It is the rotating shaft that drives the tape past the tape heads. Usually the tape is sandwiched between this shaft and a rubber wheel called the pinch roller. The capstan is what controls the speed of the tape across the heads.
Capsule – Space-travel definitions aside, it is a name given to the transducer element in a microphone which contains the mechanical structure to convert the acoustic sound pressure waves into electrical current.
Carbon Microphone – A microphone in which sound waves vary the resistance of a pile of carbon granules.
Cardioid Pattern– A microphone pick up pattern, which has maximum pick up from the front, less pick up from the sides, and least pick up from the back of the diaphragm.
Cart Machine – A magnetic-tape playback system slowly going the way of the dodo. Short for "tape cartridge machine," it is a playback machine that uses endless loops of magnetic tape in plastic cartridges. Used most often in broadcasting for commercials and announcements, the cart machine also found a niche in theatrical sound playback. While many are still in existence, newer technologies have taken over: MiniDisc, Compact Disc, 360 Systems DigiCart, etc., etc.
Cascade – To interconnect and or set two mixers so that the stereo mixing busses of the first mixer feeds the stereo busses of a second.
CD – A Compact Disk, or a small optical disk with digital audio recorded on it.
CD-ROM – An abbreviation of the term Compact Disc, and used to store larger digital data that can be read by a computer.
Center Frequency – The frequency of the audio signal that is boosted or attenuated most by an equalizer with a peak equalization curve.
Chase – The automatic adjusting of the speed of a recorder (or sequencer) to be time with another recorder.
Channel – One audio recording made on a portion of the width of a multitrack tape; a single path that an audio signal travels or can travel through a device from an input to an output.
Charge – The electrical energy of electrons. The energy is in the form of a force that is considered negative and repels other like forces (other electrons) and attracts opposite (positive) forces.
Chip – 1) A slang term with the same meaning as the term IC (a miniature circuit of many components that is in small, sealed housing with prongs to connect it into equipment). 2) The thread cut away from the master lacquer to make the groove, while disc recording.
Chord – Three or more musical pitches sung or played together.
Chorus – 1) The part of The song that is repeated and has the same music and lyrics each time; the chorus will usually give the point of the song. 2) A musical singing group that has many singers. 3) A delay effect that simulates a vocal chorus by adding several delays with a mild amount of feedback and a medium amount of depth. 4) A similar effect created in some synthesizers by detuning (reducing the pitch of, slightly) and mixing it with the signal that has regular tuning and with a slight delay.
Chorusing – 1) A term meaning the same thing as Chorus (Definition 3 or 4). 2) In some delay effects devices, a term used to mean the term Depth (the amount of change in the controlled signal by the control signal).
Text Reference(2): Lesson 30
Circuit – 1) One complete path of electric current. 2) Similar to definition 1, but including all paths and components to accomplish one function in a device.
Clip – The action of deforming a waveform during overload.
Clock Signal – A signal sent by a circuit that generates steady even pulses or codes used for synchronization.
Close Micing – A technique of placing a microphone close to the sound source so it picks up the direct sound and avoids picking up ambience.
Coax – A two-conductor cable that consists of one conductor surrounded by a shield.
Coincident Microphones -- Two microphones whose heads are placed as lose as possible to each other so that the path length from any sound source to either microphone is the same.
Compact Disc – An optical disk with digital audio recorded on it.
Compander – 1) A two section device that is used in noise reduction systems. The first section compresses the audio signal, before it is recorded, and the second section, expands the signal after recording. 2) In Yamaha brand digital consoles, a signal processing function that applies both compression and expansion to the same signal.
Compression Ratio – The number of dB the input signal has to rise above the threshold for every one dB more output of a compressor or limiter.
Compression Driver - The unit that feeds a sound pressure wave into the throat of a horn (in a horn loudspeaker).
Compressor – - A signal processing device that does not allow as much fluctuation in the level of the signal above a certain adjustable or fixed level.
Condenser Microphone – A microphone which converts sound pressure changes into changes of capacitance. The capacitance changes are then converted into electrical voltage variations (an audio signal).
Console – A set of controls and their housing, which control all signals necessary for recording and mixing.
Consumer Format – A standard adopted by the IEC for sending and receiving digital audio based on The AES Professional Interface.
Contact Microphone – A device that senses vibrations and sends out an audio signal proportional to the vibrations.
Controller – 1) In MIDI, a device that generates a MIDI signal to control synthesizers, sound modules or sample playback units. 2) A remote control unit for a multitrack tape machine which controls transport functions as well as monitor selection switching functions and record ready/safe status of each track. 3) Any device generating a control voltage or signal fed to another device's control input.
Corner Frequency – Same as Cut-Off Frequency (the highest or lowest frequency in the pass band of a filter). (NOUN]
CPU - Abbreviation of Central Processing Unit (The main "brain" chip of a computer or the main housing of a computer that contains the "brain" chip).
Critical Distance – The point a distance away from the sound source where the direct sound and the reverberant sound are equal in volume.
Crossover/Crossover Network – A set of filters that split the audio signal into two or more bands or signals, each of which has some of the frequencies present.
Crossover Frequency – 1) The frequency that is the outer limit of one of the bands of a crossover. 2) In the Lexicon 480L delay/reverberation effects unit, the frequency at which the bass frequency reverb time is in effect rather than the mid frequency reverb time.
Crosstalk – The leakage of an audio signal into a channel that it is not intended to be in, usually an adjacent or nearby channel
Cue – 1) The signal fed back to the musicians through headphones. 2) Setting the tape or disc so that the intended selection will play when the tape machine or player is started. 3) A location point entered into a computer controlling the playback or recording of a track or tape.
Cue Send Control – A control that will adjust the amount of signal sent to a cue buss from a console channel.
Cut-Off Frequency/Turnover Frequency – 1) The highest or lowest frequency in the pass band of a filter. 2) The highest or lowest frequency passed by an audio device.
Cut-off Rate (Slope) – The number of dB that a filter reduces the signal for each octave its frequency past the filter's cut-off frequency.
Cycle – An alternation of a waveform which begins at a point, passes through the zero line, and ends at a point with the same value and moving in the same direction as the starting point.
Cyclic Redundancy Checking Code – A digital error detection code that is used in digital recording.
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