Sound and Electroacoustics
Roughly the speed of sound.
What is 1 foot per millisecond?
At 68 degrees F it is 1130 ft/sec and it raises 1.1ft/sec for each degree F.
The sensitive element of the microphone that actually responds to sound where 90% of a microphone’s sound comes from.
What is a capsule or element?
This device transfers audio to and from a computer.
What is an interface?
The process of recording new sounds alongside older, already recorded sounds.
What is overdubbing?
This type of EQ filter is used to reduce or increase signals above or below a set frequency? (Not cut)
A point during an audio signal flow that an engineer can make adjustments to the level.
What is a gain stage?
Dynamic
The grouping of controls for playback, record, stop, rewind, and fast-forward.
What is a transport?
This document should be shared by a performing group with the promoters or technical crew of an upcoming performance. It should include details like what instruments are in the group, and what a group's monitoring needs are.
These devices turn analog signal into digital signal and digital signal into analog signal.
What are converters?
This type of cable uses three conductors and a technique called "common mode rejection" which allows a signal to travel greater lengths with minimal added noise or interference.
What are Balanced cables?
A microphone specification that refers to its ability to respond to and reproduce transient peaks.
What is transient response?
The path a signal takes from source to output.
What is signal flow?
This device is used to interface an instrument with a mixer or mic preamp.
DI
Is it turned on, turned up, and plugged in?
If not, what is divide and conquer?
The range human hearing is most sensitive.
What is 1-4k or ~3k?
Remember the Equal Loudness Contour or Fletcher-Munson curves.
This pickup pattern is a narrow directional pattern, marked by a tight front pattern of pickup in front of the mic, a small lob of pickup 180 degrees from the address end, and two nulls at 100 and 250 degrees.
The difference between the maximum level that can be handled without incurring distortion, and its average operating level in a device or system
What is headroom?
This device is used to separate the high frequencies and low frequencies in a signal to send them to drivers designed to specialize in each.
What is a crossovers?
This should generally be the first parameter you adjust on a compressor to begin getting gain reduction. It dictates at which signal level a device begins applying gain reduction.
What is threshold? (assuming your ratio is not 1:1).
Give two examples of when to keep phase in mind or check a phase relationship.
What are drum mics, especially top and bottom snare, but also overheads with close mics?
What are bass DI and amps?
What about when wiring speakers?
What about when soldering a balanced cable?
This sub-category of one of the main types of mics should be considered when you want an acoustic source to sound "natural."
Intentionally applied form of noise used to randomize quantization error. Becomes more important as sample rates go down, and as amplitude goes down. Should be applied in the mastering process when rendering to a lower bit depth.
The process of creating a composite take from multiple takes when recording.
What is comping?
These are the major "types" of reverb.
What are plate, hall, room, spring, chamber, etc. or something close?