Operation Manual

ADOBE AUDITION 3.0
User Guide
274
bus In hardware mixers, a channel that lets you combine several other channels and output them together. In Adobe
Audition’s Multitrack View, you can similarly use software buses to combine several tracks.
C
click track An audio track comprised of clicks that occur on the beat, like a metronome. Click tracks are often used
at the beginning of a session to provide timing information for musicians and then removed from the session before
mixing down.
clip A visual representation of individual audio, video, or MIDI files in Adobe Audition’s Multitrack View.
clipping In digital audio, distortion that occurs when the amplitude of a signal exceeds the maximum level for the
current bit depth (for example, 256 in 8-bit audio). Visually, clipped audio produces broad flat areas at the top of a
waveform. If you experience clipping, lower the recording input or the source output levels.
codec (compressor/decompressor) An abbreviation for the data compression schemes used by the ACM, AVI,
MPEG, and QuickTime formats and the analog-to-digital converters on some sound cards. (Note that codecs only
compress file size; to compress audio amplitude, apply a compressor effect.)
compressor An effect that reduces dynamic range by lowering amplitude when an audio signal rises above a
specified threshold. For example, a compressor can compensate for variations in level caused by a vocalist who
occasionally moves away from a microphone. Or, during mastering, a compressor can produce consistent levels for
full program material, providing a solid, professional sound for web, video, and radio presentations. (See “Mastering
effect” on page 161.) Adobe Audition provides two compressor effects: Dynamics Processing and Multiband
Compressor.
crossfade A fade from one audio clip or track to another.
crosstalk Undesired leakage of audio from one track to another, a common problem with analog tape. Crosstalk is
impossible in Adobe Audition because each track is stored as a separate digital audio file.
D
DAC (digital-to-analog converter) The hardware that converts a digital audio or video signal into an analog signal
that you can play through amplifiers and speakers.
DAT (digital audio tape) A standard two-track digital audio tape format. DAT tapes are sampled at 16 and 24 bits,
and 32,000, 44,100, and 48,000 samples per second. (The latter is often described as DAT quality.)
DAW (digital audio workstation) A computer system used to edit, process, or mix audio.
dBFS Decibels below full scale in digital audio. The maximum possible amplitude is 0 dBFS; all amplitudes below
that are expressed as negative numbers. A given dBFS value does not directly correspond to the original sound
pressure level measured in acoustic dB.
DC offset Some sound cards record with a slight DC offset, in which direct current is introduced into the signal,
causing the center of the waveform to be offset from the zero point (the center line in the waveform display). DC
offsetcancauseaclickorpopatthebeginningandendofafile.TocompensateforDCOffset,usetheDCBiasAdjust
setting provided by the Amplify command.
decibel (dB) In audio, the decibel (dB) is a logarithmic unit of measurement used for amplitude.
delay A time-shifted signal that you can mix with the original, nondelayed signal to provide a fuller sound or create
echo effects. Adobe Audition offers a variety of delay effects such as Reverb, Chorus, and Echo.