In music, the producer is the director of an audio recording project; the person responsible for getting a final product of desired quality within a budget.
1) The collective actions that go into producing music. 2) Describing the quality of a recording—the end result of production decisions during the recording and mixing process.
Broadly speaking, any space dedicated to production within the arts, for example, film/video, animation or post production. In the context of audio, a production studio is effectively a recording studio that specializes in the assembly and mixing of commercials and radio programs from pre recorded music and effects with newly recorded dialogue.
A MIDI message that tells the receiving device to change presets.
Able to have the parameters changed by the user, especially in a computer controlled device.
A set of instructions for the user to follow, which appears on a computer screen.
In digital and information technology, a set of rules governing the structuring and transmitting of data in a standardized format so all related devices can properly interpret the data.
The natural boost in the microphone’s output for bass frequencies as the mic is placed closer to the sound source.
The study of how humans perceive and respond to sound, not just in the context of interpreting the physical sound waves, but also taking psychological and emotional factors into account. This branch of science is helpful to audio engineers in understanding how the brain interprets various sounds and frequencies.
Any circular piece of metal, fiber, rubber, etc., which drives something from a rotating power source. A common example in the recording studio is the puck in a rotating Leslie speaker.
1) The steady beat in music based on its tempo, whether audible or perceived. 2) A type of sound wave commonly created and manipulated by synthesizers whose waveform is characterized by sharp rises and drops in amplitude like a square wave, but whose peaks are shorter than its troughs, giving the wave a pulse-like feel. Also called “Pulse Wave.”
A process by which analog signals are translated to digital code. This is done by taking samples of the amplitude of the analog signal at regular rapid intervals, then translating it into binary numbers as a digital representation of the original signal. The faster the sample rate, the better the digital reproduction. PCM is the most common form of A/D conversion in digital audio.
In synthesized music, the process of using a control voltage to vary the width of a pulse wave form, essentially switching between square waves and pulse waves. This has the effect of creating richer timbres, giving sounds a thicker, more lush feel, or of giving a digital sound more analog properties.
In studio jargon, an effect created when a compressor is rapidly compressing and releasing the sound, creating audible changes in the signal level. “Pumping” generally refers to the audible increase of sound levels after compression has taken place; “breathing” refers to a similar effect with vocals, raising the signal volume just as the vocalist is inhaling. Pumping and breathing is a sign of cheap compression or over-compression, and is usually undesirable, although some engineers and musicians use it on purpose occasionally to create a particular effect.
The process of activating and/or deactivating the record function on tape or DAW during playback of a passage, usually as the performer plays/sings along. This can be used either as a method of doing quick overdubs, or as a way of getting a better take on a certain passage without having to start the track from the beginning.
