TECHNICAL JARGONS Sound Design

LIMITER

 Limiters are much like compressors. They both process

dynamic levels in pretty much the same way though the
dif ference is that limiters have a much greater ratio .
 A typical compressor has a ratio of 20:1 or less whereas a
limiter usually has a ratio of 10:1 to 100:1
 The limiter limit the sound and leave intact the rest of the
audio material. For example if you limit at -3dB everything
that goes above this limit is turned down. A maximixer limit
the sound at a given value and boost the sound above the
specified threshold.
 COMPRESSION

 Basically, compression reduces the dynamic range of your

recording by bringing down the level of the loudest parts,
meaning the loud and quiet parts are now closer together in
volume and the natural volume variations are less obvious .
 The audio compressor unit can then boost the overall level of
this compressed signal. So the end result is that the quieter
parts sound like they've been boosted in volume to be closer
to the louder parts.
 A vocal take, a drum performance, a guitar recording - any
musical performance has a natural range in volume, from the
quietest part to the loudest part. This is known as
the dynamic range.
 FLANGER, PHASER, CHORUS

 Flanger and phaser ef fects stem from the delayed signal

principle. According to this principle, the signal can be taken
from the output to be resent to the input with a slight delay,
or it can be split and mixed with a small time lag. In both
cases, this delay creates a phase dif ference between both
signals with the well-known consequences. Some frequencies
will be boosted while others will be attenuated or even
completely canceled out. This is also known as a comb filter,
because the spectral analysis of such a signal alternates
between peaks (frequencies in phase) and dips (frequencies
out of phase), like a comb.
 GATES

 Plugins
 Ef fects
 WHAT IS SAMPLE RATE?

 To keep it relatively simple, the sample rate of an audio

recording describes the number of times per second an audio
signal was sampled when converted from its analog signal
into digital information. The higher the number, the more
samples are recorded, and the greater the resolution the
audio recording will have. Common sample rates are 44.1khz,
48khz, 88.2khz, 96khz and so on. Sample rate also
determines the frequency range of your recording.