Copy of `Testing1212 - terms for sound engineers`

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Testing1212 - terms for sound engineers Category: Electronics and Engineering > Audio Date & country: 05/11/2007, UK Words: 1151

Voice Over
The recording of vocal announcements over a bed of music in commercials.

Volatile Memory
Computer memory that will be lost when the computer is turned off.

Volt Meter
A meter that can test the level of voltage.

Voltage
The electrical force pushing electrons to obtain electrical current.

Voltage Control Oscillator
An oscillator that generates an AC control voltage, usually a low-frequency signal between 1Hz and 10 kHz.

Voltage Controlled
A device that will change its output according to the amount of control voltage sent to its control input.

Voltage Controlled Amplifier
An amplifier that will change gain according to the level of control voltage sent to it.

Voltage Controlled Attenuator
Similar to a voltage controlled amplifier except that the amplifier will, with no control voltage sent to it, have no gain and no loss; as an increasing control voltage is sent to it, the amplifier reduces gain (causing a loss of signal strength).

Voltage Controlled Fader
Full name for VCA Fader (a fader with a VCA in its case arranged so that in manual operation the slide of the fader controls how much control voltage is sent to the VCA and therefore controls gain.

Voltage Controlled Filter
A filter (especially a low-pass filter) that will change its cutoff frequency according to a control voltage fed to its control input.

Voltage Controlled Oscillator
An oscillator that changes its frequency according to a control voltage fed to its control input.

Volume
1) A common, non-technical term meaning Sound Pressure Level, and loosely applied to also mean audio voltage level.
2) Short for the term Volume Control (a gain control of an amplifier).

Volume Control
A gain control of an amplifier.

Volume Envelope
How a musical instrument sounding a pitch changes in volume over time.

Volume Pedal
A guitar pedal used to change the volume of an instrument (or a similar device used with other instruments, such as an organ).

Volume Unit
A unit that is designed to measure perceived loudness changes in audio. The unit is basically the decibel change of the average level as read by a VU Meter. The movement of the VU Meter is designed to approximately match the ear's response to changes in level. Abbreviated VU

Vox
An abbreviation meaning Vocal, used on track logs.

VSO
An abbreviation of the term Vacuum Tube Volt Meter (a device that measures the electrical voltage and uses a vacuum tube to drive the indicator so that testing the circuit does not load the circuit.

VU
1) Short for the term Volume Unit (a unit that is designed to measure perceived loudness changes in audio).
2) A meter that reads audio voltage levels in or out of a piece of equipment and is designed to match the ear's response to sudden changes in level.

VU Meter (VU - Volume Unit)
Pointer and scale meter which indicates the average level of a signal. Misses any transients and spikes that lead to a clipped signal. See PPM.

Wah Wah (Wah)
A changing filter giving more and less filtering of harmonics of an instrument's sound.

Watt
1) Unit of electrical power.
2) Unit of electrical power derived from the current (or 'quantity' of electricity) multiplied by the voltage (or 'pressure' at which the current is delivered). Stage lighting equipment is rated in Watts (or Kilowatts - 1 kW being equal to 1000W). This refers to the amount of power required to light the lamp. A higher wattage lamp requires more power and gives a brighter light output.

Wave
A continuous fluctuation in the amplitude of a quantity with respect to time.

Wave flank
A term with the same meaning as Bank (a collection of sound patches in memory).

Wave Velocity
The time it takes for one point of the waveform to travel a certain distance.

Waveform
The shape made by the fluctuations of a quantity over time.

Wavelength
The length of one cycle (in feet, inches, etc.)

Wavelength
The distance measured in the direction of progression of a wave, from any given point characterized by the same phase.

Waveshape
The shape made by the fluctuations of a quantity over time.

Weber
A unit that describes a number of magnetic lines of force and is used in the measurement or statement of magnetic flux density (the strength of magnetism).

Weighting
An equalization curve used in audio tests that compensates for the Fletcher Munson Effect at various levels.

Wet
Having reverberation or ambience.

Whammy Bar
See Tremolo

White noise
1) A random noise used in measurements, as it has the same amount of energy at each frequency.
2) A random energy where there is an energy distribution so that the amount of energy is the same for each cycle, causing the noise level to increase with frequency.

Wide Band Noise
Noise that has energy over a wide range of frequencies.

Width
Another term for Depth (the amount of change in the controlled signal by the control signal).

Wild Sound
Sound recordings that are done completely separate from the master recording (or picture recording) and therefore can not be synched to the master recording.

Wind
On some tape machines, the wind control moves the tape to the take-up reel faster than the play mode but slow enough to give the tape a smooth packing onto the reel.

Window
A portion of a file shown on a screen, usually appearing as a menu on top of the current page of data.

Windscreen
A device that reduces or eliminates wind noise from the microphone being moved or from wind blowing into the microphone on remote location recordings.

Wireless Microphone
A microphone with an FM radio transmitter inside of its case that transmits a signal to an FM receiver off of the stage area.

Woodwind Controller
A device that plays like a woodwind instrument that puts out a control voltage or MIDI command to control a sound module.

Woofer
1) A speaker that is designed to reproduce bass frequencies only.
2) A drive unit operating in the bass frequencies only. Drive units in two-way systems are not true woofers but are more accurately described as being mid/bass drivers.
3) Part of a speaker system designed to handle the low frequency parts of the signal.

Word
A shortening of the term Digital Word (a number of information bits that w communicate one value).

Workstation
A device that controls a variety of functions, designed to be operated by one person.

Wow
A low pitch change that happens because the recorder or playback machine fluctuating in speed slowly.

Wrap
The angle formed by the tape as it bends around the head.

Write
To record digital data onto a digital recording or into computer memory.

Write Head
The device in a digital audio tape recorder that records the bits of digital information onto the storage medium.

Write Mode
A mode of operation of an automated console where the engineer is in control of channel gain and the computer is storing changes in gain caused by the engineer over time.

Write Protect
A tab on a floppy disc or a function in a unit which protects recorded or stored data from being damaged or erased by writing over it.