Glossary
Someone who engineers audio for music for a living. In the live context often either an FOH Engineer or a Monitor Engineer.
the physical sound waves created by something
A shape of polar pattern that is roughly shaped like a heart when looking at the capsule from above.
A Microphone that transmits audio signal as electrical signal by completing a circuit.
A tin membrane in the microphone capsule that vibrates when the pressure of an auditory impulse comes in contact with it
someone who tunes, sets up, and perfects drum kits for a living.
A Microphone that produces its own electrical current through the movement of a coil against a battery.
This is a venue of indeterminate size that is defined by it having a stage often facing a hill or field of some kind. This is an incredibly open venue.
Stands for Front of House. This is the physical place the audio console is that runs the mix for the Audience.
Stands for Front of House Engineer. This is the Audio Engineer who mixes the audio for the Audience.
What frequencies is the microphone sensitive to. Often graphed on a logarithmic scale.
a dynamic effect that can be put on an input to limit when that channel is "open" or audio flows through. If it is under a certain audio level, the gate will "close" the channel and not allow audio to pass through.
I define this as pretty much any indoor venue that is more than 7,000 audience members at normal maximum capacity. This is not a perfect definition, often arenas are used for some sporting event at other times.
I define this as anything that is between 1,000 and 7,000 audience members at normal maximum capacity.
I define this as any venue between 100-1,000 people at normal maximum capacity.
a device used to produce electrical signal from and auditory impulse of some sort
The capsule in a microphone is a fancy way of referring to the assembly around and including the diaphragm. In a dynamic Microphone this will include the coil and magnet, in a condenser it will include the resistor and circuit for supplying the diaphragm with current, though rarely does the supply exist in the capsule itself.
The Audio Engineer who runs the sound that the talent hear on stage. Sometimes, often in smaller venues, the FOH Engineer does this job as well.
The term comes from stage monitors in the older days. When you had a bunch of speakers on stage pointing at the talent so they can hear what is going on and what the sound they are producing is. It now refers to both stage monitors and In-Ear Monitors that are becoming more and more popular throughout the years.
Stands for Monitors or Monitor Engineer.
This is any outdoor venue that is an arena. This is different from a festival by it being within an enclosed building with an open roof.
A type of condenser microphone that is long and skinny, a shape similar to a pencil. They are also called Small Diaphragm Condensers.
The directions the the microphone is sensitive to in a polar graph around the center of the diaphragm while looking from above.
I define this as any venue that fits less than 100 audience members at normal maximum capacity.
Sound Pressure Level (SPL), is a way of measuring the physical effects of sound. In this book it will often be used to talk about Max SPL rating, or how much pressure microphone capsules are rated to take before damaging.
