Attenuation means making something weaker or having less of it. In audio, attenuation is when you reduce the strength of a sound signal. This makes the sound quieter. You could say the volume goes down. It’s kind of like slowly turning down the knob on your stereo. How does audio attenuation work? Sound is made…
An Analog to Digital Converter, or ADC for short, is a device that changes analog signals into digital data. Analog signals are like the sound waves that come out of a guitar or a voice. Digital data is the kind of information that computers and other electronic devices can understand and work with. You can…
Allegro is a word used in music. It’s Italian, which means the music should be played quickly and lively. When a piece of music or song says “allegro” at the top, the musician knows to play it at a fast and cheerful tempo. What exactly does allegro mean? The word allegro is pronounced “uh-LEG-grow” in…
Acoustic or sound absorbers are things made to soak up sounds in a room. They can be blocks of special material or sometimes whole devices. Sound absorbers take in sound energy and turn it into heat. This brings down the total noise in the room. How Sound Absorbers Work When you make a noise, it…
44.1 kHz is a number that gets thrown around a lot when people talk about digital audio. But what the heck does it mean? 44.1 kHz is the “sample rate” or “sampling frequency.” It has to do with how analog sound waves, like the ones that come out of musical instruments or people’s mouths, get…
The 12AX7 is a type of small electronic tube. It has two parts inside called triodes. Triodes help make electric signals stronger. The 12AX7 tube is also called the ECC83 in Europe. The 12AX7 tube was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It was used in many different electronic devices, such as radios, televisions,…
1U is a way to measure things that go in computer racks and audio racks. 1U is short for “one rack unit” or “one rack space.” A “rack” is a big metal box that holds equipment like computers, audio gear, and other machines. The rack keeps everything neat and tidy and safe. How Big is…
When we talk about 32-bit in audio and music production, you should know it means the musical data has 32 bits to describe each sample. This 32-bit business is all about the resolution – the detail with which the audio is captured and represented digitally. Understanding Bit Depth Bit depth tells you how many bits…
12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in blues music. You’ll also hear it in rock and roll, jazz, R&B, country, folk, and other styles that have roots in the blues. It’s been around since the early 1900s and is the basis for thousands of songs. Characteristics A 12-bar blues has a…
A tribute album, also called a “cover album,” is when a music group or musician records songs that were first done by a different artist. The new versions are meant to honor or “pay tribute to” the original artist. The original artist is usually very famous or important, and the artist making the tribute album…
