Gooseneck
A flexible tube often used to support microphones or small lights. Sometimes also known as a 'Swan Neck'.
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Ground
An alternative term for the electrical Earth or 0 Volts reference. In mains wiring, the ground cable is often physically connected to the planet’s earth via a long conductive metal spike.
Ground Loop / Ground Loop Hum
A condition created when two or more devices are interconnected in such a way that a loop is created in the ground circuit. This can result in audible hums or buzzes in analogue equipment, or unreliability and audio glitches in digital equipment. Typically, a ground loop is created when two devices are connected together using one or more screened audio cables, and both units are also plugged into the mains supply with safety ground connections via the mains plug earth pins. The loop exists between one mains plug, to the first device, through the audio cable screen to the second device, back to the mains supply via the second mains plug, and round to the first device via the building’s power wiring. If the two mains socket ground terminals happen to be at slightly different voltages (which is not unusual), an small current will flow around the ground loop. Although not dangerous, this can result in audible hums or buzzes in poorly designed equipment.
Ground loops can often be prevented by ensuring that the connected audio equipment is powered from a single mains socket or distribution board, thus minimising the loop. In extreme cases it may be necessary to disconnect the screen connection at one end of some of the audio cables, or to use audio-isolating transformers in the signal paths. The mains plug earth connection must NEVER be disconnected to try to resolve a ground loop problem as this will render the equipment potentially LETHAL.
Group
A mixed collection of signals within a mixer that are combined and routed through a separate fader to provide overall control. In a multitrack mixer several groups are provided to feed the various recorder track inputs.
GS
Roland's own extension to the General MIDI protocol.
GUI
Graphical User Interface (pronounced ‘Gooey’). A software program designer’s way of creating an intuitive visual operating environment controlled by a mouse-driven pointer or similar.
Hard Disk Drive (cf. Solid-state Drive)
The conventional means of computer data storage. One or more metal disks (hard disks) hermetically sealed in an enclosure with integral drive electronics and interfacing. The disks are coated in a magnetic material and spun at high speed (typically 7200rpm for audio applications). A series of movable arms carrying miniature magnetic heads are arranged to move closely over the surface of the discs to record (write) and replay (read) data.
Solid-state Drive (cf. Hard Disk Drive)
A large capacity solid-state memory configured to work like a conventional hard disk drive, referred to as SSD. Some computers are now available with solid-state flash drives instead of normal internal hard disk drives. Also used in digital cameras and audio recorders in formats such as SD and CF2 cards, as well as in ‘pen drives’ or ‘USB memory sticks’.
Gain
The amount by which a circuit amplifies a signal, normally denoted in decibels (dB).
Active Loudspeaker or Monitor
A loudspeaker system in which the input signal is passed to a line-level crossover, the suitably filtered outputs of which feed two (or more) power amplifiers, each connected directly to its own drive unit. The line-level crossover and amplifiers are usually (but not always) built in to the loudspeaker cabinet.
Arming (Arm)
Arming a track or channel on a recording device places it in a condition where it is ready to record audio when the system is placed in record mode. Unarmed tracks won’t record audio even if the system is in record mode. When a track is armed the system monitoring usually auditions the input signal throughout the recording, whereas unarmed tracks usually replay any previously recorded audio.
Convolution Reverb
A computationally demanding, but very accurate method, of creating artificial reverberation derived from real acoustic spaces with all their natural complexity. In essence, a reverberant space is measured to obtain its unique impulse response. That impulse response is then convolved with a 'dry' (reverberant-free) source signal to create an output signal which contains the original (dry) source signal with the desired room's reverberation characteristics imposed upon it. The convolution process is performed in the digital domain and involves multiplying each individual sample of the source signal with the impulse response of the convolving signal. The same technique can be employed to impose the characteristics of any other audio signal processing or signal-shaping device onto a source signal, such as the characteristics of legacy equalisers, compressors, tape recorders and so forth.
Copy Protection
A method used by software manufacturers to prevent unauthorised copying.
CPU
Central Processing Unit - the number-crunching heart of a computer or other data processor.
Crash
Slang term relating to malfunction of computer program.
Crossover
A set of audio filters designed to restrict and control the range of input signal frequencies which are passed to each loudspeaker drive unit. A typical two-way speaker will employ three filters: a high-pass filter allowing only the higher frequencies to feed the tweeter, a low pass filter that allows only the lower frequencies to feed the woofer, and a second high-pass filter that prevents subsonic signals from damaging the woofer.
Crossover frequency
The frequency at which one driver ceases to produce most of the sound and a second driver takes over. In the case of a two-way speaker the crossover frequency is usually between 1 and 3kHz.
Cut and Paste Editing
The ability to copy or move sections of a recording to new locations.
Cut-off Frequency
The frequency above or below which attenuation begins in a filter circuit.
Cycle
One complete vibration (from maximum peak, through the negative peak, and back to the maximum again) of a sound source or its electrical equivalent. One cycle per second is expressed as 1 Hertz (Hz).