Consoles, DAWs, and Routing Flashcards
Bus
circuit for combining/summing signals going to a certain destination
Auxiliary send
used to add effects such as reverb/delay and to send signals to musicians’ headphones
AFL
after-fader listen; replaces the main mix feeding
the control-room speakers, non-destructive, post-fader
PFL
pre-fader listen; allows engineer to preview signals on muted channels without having to add them or disrupt the mix, non-destructive, pre-fader
SIP
solo-in-place; mutes all other channels from the main stereo bus, leaving only the signal and its effects in question intact, destructive
Scribble strip
piece of tape or electronic labeling above the faders on a board to mark which source being recorded belongs to which fader
Potentiometer (pot)
knob that changes level of audio signal by varying electrical resistance in its path; greater resistance, lower level
Linear taper
relative position of pot/fader is equal to the resistance ratio (50% position=50% resistance)
Audio taper
also called logarithmic taper; relative position of pot/fader corresponds to how humans hear sound (used for audio volume control)
Pan pot
panoramic potentiometer; sends source signal to left or right channels; as level increases in one channel, level decreases in another
Effects send
aux fader determines the level of signal being sent to signal processor (parallel processing)
Summing
combining signals
Auxiliary bus
path that is supplementary (auxiliary) to the main mixer path; used to send signals from the aux sends/returns
Multitrack summing bus
path that sums up to 24 individual tracks into stereo for mixdown
Program bus
two main summation lines which combine the outputs of all channels on the mixer (for stereo)
Return
connector which feeds signals that have been sent from the console back to the console for mixing
Effects returns
used as extra inputs to the mixer, supplied specifically for inputs from external devices such as reverberation units
Cue mix
mix sent to the musicians’ headphones in order for them to har themselves and other musicians as they play
Cue send
used to send signals to musicians’ headphones; usually pre-fader to allow for separate control of the control room mix and the headphone mix
Pre-fader
signal processing that happens before the signal is sent to the faders
Post-fader
signal processing that happens after the signal is sent to the faders
Talkback
allows engineer to speak with musicians, either through the cues or the studio speakers
Gobo
movable barrier to facilitate acoustic control
Insert
allows for addition of a signal along different points of the audio path, for example to process the signal using outboard gear
Insert send
output from the console to effects device
Insert return
processed signal comes back from effects device to board
Direct out
patch point found on many mixing boards for taking an individual output out of a channel as opposed to routing its output through some bussing architecture
Channel strip
one single track on a console, with individual functionality; usually includes a mic preamp, compressor, and an EQ all in one
Audio group
create a single audio output which is the sum of a number of channels
Control group
does not give rise to a single summed audio output for the group: the levels of the faders in the group are controlled from one fader, but their outputs remain separate
Master
final stereo channel before output to speakers
Fader
controls the individual level of a signal
Master fader
either one stereo fader or left and right faders to control
the overall mix output level
Group master
controls the overall levels of any channel faders assigned to them
Solo
allows the engineer to monitor a single (or several) channel(s) in the absence of all others for more critical listening and adjustment purposes
Solo bus
path that soloed tracks travel along; several channels can be soloed simultaneously and therefore must be grouped
