gear terminology questions

bubbleboy

bubbleboy

New member
some basic questions i've been wondering about on terms that seem to come up a lot (in catalogs and elsewhere... ;) )

- what does it mean to be out of phase (i.e., for a mic? other gear?). is this always a negative thing for sound, or can it sometimes be misused for 'interesting' effects, etc?

- when would you use a crossover and what is it?

- what does the pad function seen on some mics do?

- what is THD and why is it important?

thanks yall

Lee
 
- what does it mean to be out of phase (i.e., for a mic? other gear?). is this always a negative thing for sound, or can it sometimes be misused for 'interesting' effects, etc?
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It means that you are combining two versions of the same source (two mics, for example) that have a time delay between them, usually because the mics are different distances from the source. It is negative if you want an accurate representation of the source, but it can be used as an effect.

- when would you use a crossover and what is it?
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Crossovers are electronic devices that split a signal into two or more frequency ranges. Most speakers contain passive crossovers, which means that they receive an amplified signal and split it to direct the relevant frequencies to tweeters, mids, woofers, and/or subwoofers. Active monitors and some other special arrangements can use active crossovers, which split the signal before the power amp such that each speaker component has its own power amp.

You've probably been using crossovers for years; passive speakers will have their crossovers built into the cabinet.

- what does the pad function seen on some mics do?
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It reduces the signal level output by the mic. It's used on very loud sources.

- what is THD and why is it important?
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Total Harmonic Distortion. It's a measure of fidelity of a piece of gear, like a preamp, to the original signal. Generally you want this to be low, but for certain devices like tube preamps distortion can be good, since the particular harmonic distortion generated by tubes can be pleasing.
 
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