Mackie 1402 VLZ Owner's Manual page 42

return
A return is a mixer line input dedicated to
the task of returning processed or added
sound from reverb, echo and other effects de-
vices. Depending on the internal routing of
your mixer and your own inclination, you
could use returns as additional line inputs, or
you could route your reverb outputs to ordi-
nary line inputs rather than the returns.
reverberation, reverb
The sound remaining in a room after the
source of sound is stopped. It's what you hear
in a large tiled room immediately after you've
clapped your hands. Reverberation and echo
are terms that can be used interchangeably,
but in audio parlance a distinction is usually
made: reverberation is considered to be a dif-
fuse, continuously smooth decay of sound,
whereas echo is a distinct, recognizable repeti-
tion of a word, note, phrase or sound.
Reverberation and echo can be added in sound
mixing by sending the original sound to an
electronic (or electronic/acoustic) system that
mimics natural reverberation, or worse. The
added reverb is returned to the blend through
additional mixer inputs. Highly reverberant
rooms are called live; rooms with very little re-
verberation are called dead. A sound source
without added reverb is dry; one with reverb or
echo added is wet.
RMS
An acronym for root mean square, a conven-
tional way to measure AC voltage and audio
signal voltage. Most AC voltmeters are cali-
brated to read RMS volts. Other conventions
include average volts, peak volts and peak-to-
peak volts.
send
A term used to describe a secondary mix
and output of the input signals, typically used
for foldback monitors, headphone monitors or
effects devices. Mackie mixers call it an Aux
Send.
shelving
A term used to describe the shape of an
equalizer's frequency response. A shelving
equalizer's response begins to rise (or fall) at
some frequency and continues to fall (or rise)
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until it reaches the shelf frequency, at which
point the response curve flattens out and re-
mains flat to the limits of audibility. If you were
to graph the response, it would look like a shelf.
Or more like a shelf than a hiking boot. The EQ
controls on your stereo are usually shelving
equalizers. See also peaking and dipping.
slap, slapback
A single-delay echo without any repeats.
Also see echo.
solo
Italian for alone. In audio mixers, a solo cir-
cuit allows the engineer to listen to individual
channels, buses or other circuits singly or in
combination with other soloed signals.
SR
An acronym for Sound Reinforcement,
which refers to a system of amplifying acoustic
and electronic sounds from a performance or
speech so that a large audience can hear
clearly. Or, in popular music, so that a large au-
dience can be excited, stunned or even
partially deafened by the tremendous amplifi-
cation. Means essentially the same thing as PA
(Public Address).
stereo
Believe it or not, stereo comes from a Greek
word that means solid. We use stereo or
stereophony to describe the illusion of a con-
tinuous, spacious soundfield that is seemingly
spread around the listener by two or more re-
lated audio signals. In practice, stereo often is
taken to simply mean two channesl.
sweep EQ
An equalizer that allows you to "sweep" or
continuously vary the frequency of one or
more sections.
symmetrically balanced
See balanced.
tinnitus
The ringing in the ears that is produced
with prolonged exposure to high volumes. A
sound in the ears, such as buzzing, ringing, or
whistling, caused by volume knob abuse!