A Glossary Of Mixing Phrases – Half 1

Currently I’ve been getting some questions concerning a number of the phrases I take advantage of throughout tune critiques, so meaning it’s most likely a superb time to interrupt out the blending glossary from my Mixing Engineer’s Handbook.

Mixing Glossary Part 1 on Bobby Owsinski's Music Production Blog

0dB Full Scale. Abbreviated FS, it’s the very best degree that may be recorded within the digital area. Recording past 0dBFS can lead to extreme distortion.

5.1. A speaker system that makes use of three audio system throughout the entrance soundfield and two stereo audio system within the rear of the listener, together with a subwoofer.

808. One of many early drum machines made by Roland favored for a few years in hip-hop and EDM.

air. Frequencies above 10kHz which are extra felt than heard. These frequencies can present extra realism to a sound used within the appropriate proportion.

airplay. When a tune will get performed on the radio.

atmosphere. The background noise of an surroundings.

arpeggio. The notes of a chord performed in fast succession.

association. The way in which the devices are mixed in a tune.

articulations. The way in which a word or phrase is performed or sung by way of assault, launch and length.

Atmos (see Dolby Atmos)

assault. The primary a part of a sound. On a compressor/limiter, a management that impacts how rapidly that machine will reply to the assault of a sound.

attenuation. A lower in degree.

attenuation pad (generally simply referred to as a pad). A circuit that decreases the enter degree by a set quantity. The quantity of attenuation is normally in 10dB or 20dB increments.

automation. A system that memorizes after which performs again the place of all faders and mutes on a console. In a DAW, the automation also can report and play again different parameters, together with sends, returns, panning, and plugin parameters.

B-section (often known as a pre-chorus). A bit of a tune between the verse and refrain sections. Not present in each tune.

bandwidth. The variety of frequencies {that a} machine will go earlier than the sign degrades. A human being can supposedly hear from 20Hz to 20kHz (though in actuality our listening to is extra restricted than that), so the bandwidth of the human ear is 20Hz to 20kHz.

primary monitor. Recording the rhythm part for a report, which may very well be solely the drums or loops however might additionally embody all of the devices of the band, relying upon the venture.

bass administration. A circuit that makes use of the subwoofer in an immersive audio playback system to supply bass extension for the primary audio system. The bass supervisor steers all frequencies under roughly 100Hz into the subwoofer together with the LFE supply sign. See LFE.

bass redirection. One other time period for bass administration.

massive ears. The power to be very conscious of the sonic and musical particulars throughout recording or playback. The power to quickly dissect a monitor by way of association.

bit charge. The transmission charge of a digital sign.

backside. Bass frequencies, the decrease finish of the audio spectrum. See additionally low finish.

backside finish. See backside.

bpm. Beats per minute. The measure of tempo.

Breakdown: A bit of a tune the place the association goes for being very full to very sparse.

brick wall. A limiter using digital “look-ahead” expertise that’s so environment friendly that the sign won’t ever exceed a sure predetermined degree, so there could be no digital “overs.”

buss. A sign pathway. 

butt minimize. Typically generally known as a straight minimize, a butt minimize is an audio edit that happens abruptly with no gradual fade from one edit to that subsequent.

chamber (reverb). A way of making synthetic reverberation utilizing a tiled room through which a speaker and a number of other microphones are positioned.

chatter. When a gate quickly activates and off on account of fluctuating sign dynamics.

refrain. A kind of sign processor the place a detuned and delayed copy is combined with the unique sign to create a fatter sound. Additionally, a repeating hook part of a tune.

clear. A sign with no, or barely noticeable, distortion.

clip. To overload and trigger distortion.

clipper. An audio dynamics processor who’s function is to deliberately clip the audio sign by including distortion and harmonic saturation.

clipping. When an audio sign begins to distort as a result of a piece of the sign path is overloaded, the highest of the waveform turns into “clipped” off and begins to look sq. as a substitute of rounded. This normally ends in some sort of distortion, which could be both delicate and barely noticeable or horribly crunchy-sounding.

codec. An acronym for encoder/decoder, a tool or program that compresses knowledge to allow sooner transmission and decompresses obtained knowledge.

colour. To have an effect on the timbral qualities of a sound.

comb filter. A distortion produced by combining an digital or acoustic sign with a barely delayed copy of itself. The result’s peaks and dips launched into the frequency response. 

compression. Sign processing that controls and evens out the dynamics of a sound.

compressor. A signal-processing machine used to compress audio dynamics.

aggressive degree. A combination degree that’s as loud as your competitor’s combine.

minimize. To lower, attenuate, or make much less.

DAC. Digital-to-analog convertor. The machine that converts the sign from the digital area to the analog area.

knowledge compression. An algorithm that selectively eliminates bits from a digital stream to make it extra environment friendly for storage and transmission. 

DAW. A digital audio workstation. A pc with the suitable {hardware} and software program wanted to digitize and edit audio.

dB. Stands for decibel, which is a unit of measurement of sound degree or loudness. The smallest change in sound degree that a median human can hear is known as 1dB.

decay. The time it takes for a sign to fall under audibility.

delay. A kind of sign processor that produces distinct repeats (echoes) of a sign.

desk. A British identify for a recording console.

DI. Direct inject, an impedance-matching machine for an digital keyboard, guitar or bass that permits the instrument to be related on to recording console or DAW.

direct. To “go direct” means to bypass a microphone and join the guitar, bass, or keyboard immediately right into a recording machine.

direct field. See DI.

digital area. When a sign supply is transformed right into a collection of digital pulses represented by 1s and 0s, the sign is then within the digital area.

digital over. The purpose past 0 on a digital processor degree meter the place the crimson Over indicator lights, leading to a digital overload and distortion.

divergence. A parameter of immersive panning that means that you can enhance the extent to channels aside from the one panned to.

Dolby Atmos. A encompass sound expertise developed by Dolby Laboratories. It expands on current encompass sound techniques by including peak channels, permitting sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects.

double. To play or sing a monitor a second time. The inconsistencies between each tracks make the half sound larger and thicker.

double time. When a number of instrument performs the tune at twice the tempo.

downmix. When a multichannel immersive combine is electronically interpreted right into a playback format with fewer audio system, like stereo and even mono.

dynamics (audio). Audio processors that management the dynamic vary of an audio sign. These embody compressors, limiters, gates, levelers, de-essers and clippers.

dynamics (music). The quantity execution when an instrument is performed. Songs that adjust in dynamics are discovered to be expressive and fascinating.

dynamic vary. A ratio that describes the distinction between the loudest and the quietest audio. The upper the quantity equals a larger dynamic vary.

dubbing mixer. A movie or tv mixer who performs the ultimate combine on a dubbing stage, which is a movie theater with an audio console positioned within the center.

edgy. A sound with an abundance of midrange frequencies.

aspect. A part or ingredient of the combo.

envelope. The assault, maintain, and launch of a sound.

equalizer. A tone management that may fluctuate in sophistication from quite simple to very complicated. See parametric equalizer.

equalization. Adjustment of the frequency spectrum to even out or alter tonal imbalances.

exciter. An audio results processor that makes use of part manipulation and harmonic distortion to supply high-frequency enhancement of a sign.

suggestions. When a part of the output sign is fed again into the enter. In digital analog circuitry this may be intentional to lower distortion. In dwell sound that is the squealing that happens brought on by the microphone unintentionally selecting up sound from the speaker.

really feel. The groove of a tune and the way it feels to play or hearken to it.

flanging. The method of blending a duplicate of the sign again with itself, however step by step and randomly slowing the copy down, inflicting the sound to “whoosh” as if it had been in a wind tunnel. This was initially performed by holding a finger towards a tape flange (the steel half that holds the magnetic tape on the reel), therefore the identify.

flip the part. Choosing the part change on a console, preamp, or DAW channel with the intention to discover the setting with the best bass response.

soccer. A musical complete word. Lengthy sustaining chords.

FS. Full scale. A digital peak meter that reads at 0dB reveals the total scale of the meter. The utmost amplitude of a digital system.

acquire. The quantity {that a} sound is boosted.

acquire discount. The quantity of compression or limiting. 

acquire staging. Setting the acquire of every stage within the sign path in order that the audio degree from one stage doesn’t overload the following one in line.

grid. The spaced traces on a DAW timeline that represents every beat and sub-beat.

groove. The heart beat of the tune and the way the devices dynamically breathe with it. Or, the a part of a vinyl report that accommodates the mechanical info that’s transferred to digital data by the stylus.

Haas Impact. A psychoacoustic impact the place any delay sign under 40 milliseconds is indistinguishable from the supply occasion. In different phrases, as a substitute of listening to the sound after which a delay (two occasions), you hear each the supply and the delay collectively as a single occasion.

headroom. The quantity of dynamic vary between the conventional working degree and the utmost degree, which is normally the onset of clipping. 

Hz. An abbreviation for hertz, which is the measurement unit of audio frequency, that means the variety of cycles per second. Excessive numbers signify excessive frequency sounds, and low numbers signify low frequency sounds.

excessive finish. The excessive frequency response of a tool.

high-pass filter. An digital machine that permits the excessive frequencies to go whereas attenuating the low frequencies. Used to eradicate low-frequency artifacts like hum and rumble. The frequency level the place it cuts off could be mounted, switchable, or variable.

hook. A catchy phrase both performed or sung.

hyper-compression. An excessive amount of buss compression or limiting throughout mixing or mastering in an effort to make the recording louder ends in what’s generally known as hyper-compression, a situation that basically leaves no dynamics and makes the monitor sound lifeless.

Look ahead to Half 2 developing subsequent week.

You may learn extra from The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook and my different books on the excerpt part of bobbyowsinski.com.


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