GLOSSARY OF TERMS
active With regard to a musical instrument, one that has some kind of on-board preamp,
usually easily determined by it having a battery inside.
adaptive attack The attack and release times automatically adjust, i.e. ‘adapt’, to the
& release frequencies and transients of the audio signal.
attack With regard to compressors, the time it takes to react to an audio signal once
it has exceeded the Threshold.
buffered A buffer circuit is one which electronically isolates one part of the circuit
from another and produces a low impedance version of the input signal.
Simple but very useful.
DI Direct Inject. Direct cable connection between an amplier and stage
box/mixer/PA.
dry A signal that is unprocessed, i.e. no effects have been applied.
dual band Effectively two separate compressors, one that works on the high frequencies
compressor and one that works on low.
EQ Equalizer or Equalization. Device that can modify the frequency response of
an audio signal.
FET Field Effect Transistor. A type of transistor that can be congured to be used
as a very quiet switch for audio signals.
hard-knee Compression that is applied with a xed ratio once that signal level exceeds
the threshold. Can sound abrupt and unnatural.
impedance With regard to the input of an amplier, the load it presents to the input
signal. Alternatively, the load a speaker presents to the output of a power
amplier.
LED Light Emitting Diode. A small electronic light used for level indication and
function status.
make-up gain Gain added after a compressor to bring the nominal level up to approximately
the same as before the compressor.
mastering The nal part of the recording process where, amongst other things, multi-
band compression is used to optimize clarity, punch and dynamic range.
parallel Either when a signal is split and routed down two separate paths before being
re-combined, or when speakers are connected + to + and - to -. Opposite of
series.
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