Resistance
Opposition to the flow of electrical current. Measured in Ohms.
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Reverberation Time
The time taken for sound waves reflecting within a space to lose energy and become inaudible. A standard measurement is ‘RT60’ which is the time taken for the sound reflections to decay by 60dB.
RF
An abbreviation for Radio Frequency.
RF Interference
Unwanted interference into an audio system from external RF signals.
Ribbon Microphone
A dynamic microphone where the sound capturing element is a thin metal ribbon diaphragm suspended within a magnetic field. When sound causes the ribbon to vibrate, a small electrical current is generated within the ribbon.
Rider
A set of requests/demands that an artist or band (or their management) ask of the hosting venue as criteria for performing. A Technical Rider would typically specify the size and layout of staging, required equipment for lighting (truss weight limits, power requirements, numer of follow-spots, lighting plots or designs, etc) and sound (input channel counts, PA power, number of monitors, effects, DI boxes, backline amps and instruments, quality of equipment etc) and possibly also the operating and rigging staff provided. A Hospitality Rider is a list of requests to ensure the comfort of the artist(s), such as the number of dressing rooms, private bathroom/shower, food and beverage requirements, a number of complimentary (comp) tickets for guests, security arrangements, and so on. There may also be additional riders covering other aspects such as a Merchandise Rider detailing the space and stands provided for selling merchandise, the rates, exclusivity rights, and so forth.
Ring Modulator
A device that accepts and processes two input signals in a particular way. The output signal does not contain any element of the original input signals but instead comprises new frequencies based on the sum and difference of the input signals' frequency components. The best known application of Ring Modulation is the creation of Dr Who’s Dalek voices, but it may also be used to create dramatic instrumental textures. Depending on the relationships between the input signals, the results may either be musical or extremely dissonant - for example, ring modulation can be used to create bell-like tones. (The term 'Ring' is used because the original circuit which produced the effect used a ring of diodes.)
RMS
Root Mean Square. A statistical measure of the magnitude of a varying quantity. Its name comes from its definition as the square root of the mean of the squares of the values of the signal.
Roll-off
The rate at which a filter or equaliser attenuates a signal once it has passed the turnover frequency.
Rotary Encoder
A hardware controller comprising a knob or dial which can be rotated in either direction without end-stops. A digital encoder of some kind attached to the shaft translates the movement into a digital code that can indicate both direction and speed of rotation to the controlling software of a device.
Safety Copy
A copy or clone of an original tape for use in case of loss or damage to the original.
Sample
Either a defined short piece of audio which can be replayed under MIDI control; or a single discrete time element forming part of a digital audio signal.
Sample and Hold
(S&H) - Usually refers to a feature whereby random amplitude values are generated at regular intervals and then used to control another function such as pitch or filter frequency. Sample and hold circuits were also used in old analogue synthesizers to 'remember' the note being played after a key had been released.
Sawtooth Wave
So called because it resembles the teeth of a saw, this waveform contains both odd and even harmonics.
Scrape Flutter
As analogue recording tape moves across the heads or other non-moving parts in the tape path it can vibrate at a high frquency (typically above 100Hz) due to a rapid stick-slip action, and this causes a form of intermodulation distortion. Often mechanical dampers and rollers are placed in the tape path to prevent scrape flutter.
SCSI
Pronounced 'Skuzzy', it is an abbreviation for Small Computer Systems Interface. A now obsolete interfacing system for using hard drives, scanners, CD-ROM drives and similar peripherals with a computer. Each SCSI device has its own ID number and no two SCSI devices in the same chain must be set to the same number. The last SCSI device in the chain should be terminated, either via an internal terminator or via a plug-in terminator fitted to a free SCSI socket.
Session Tape
The original tape recording made during a recording session.
Sequencer
A device for recording and replaying MIDI data, usually in a multitrack format, allowing complex compositions to be built up a part at a time.
Shockmount
a mechanical isolator intended to prevent the transfer of vibrations which may be transmitted through a microphone stand from reaching a microphone where they would otherwise produce unwanted low frequency sound.