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442 Glossary
single trigger mode This term is associated with synthesizers such as the ES1. In this
mode, envelopes are not retriggered when tied (legato) notes are played.
SMF See Standard MIDI File.
SMPTE Abbreviation for Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. The
organization responsible for establishing a synchronization system that divides time
into hours, minutes, seconds, frames, and subframes (SMPTE time code). SMPTE time
code is also used for synchronizing different devices. The MIDI equivalent of SMPTE
time code is MIDI Time Code (MTC). See MTC.
software instrument Software counterpart to hardware samplers or synthesizer
modules, or acoustic sound sources such as drum kits or guitars. The sounds generated
by software instruments are calculated by the computer CPU, and played via the audio
interface outputs. Often colloquially called softsynths or softsamplers.
solo A way to temporarily highlight one or more tracks or regions or events, allowing
them to be heard in isolation.
SPP Abbreviation for Song Position Pointer, a MIDI clock timing pulse sub-message
that indicates the current “song” (project) position. It is accurate to bars (and beats for
some devices), but is not as accurate as MIDI Time Code (MTC).
S/P-DIF Short for Sony/Philips Digital Interface, a standard transmission format for
professional stereo digital audio signals. The format is similar to AES/EBU, but uses 75
ohm coaxial or optical connectors and cabling. Depending on the type of devices
involved, AES/EBU and S/P-DIF coaxial interfaces can communicate directly. Most digital
audio interfaces available today will feature S/P-DIF connectors.
Standard MIDI file (SMF) Standard file format for exchanging songs between different
sequencers or MIDI file players. Standard MIDI files are not specific to a particular
sequencer program, type of computer, or device. Any sequencer should be able to
interpret at least the type 0 MIDI file format. Standard MIDI files contain information
about MIDI events, including time positions and channel assignments, names of
individual tracks, instrument names, controller data, tempo changes, and more.
status byte First byte in a MIDI message, which determines the type of message.
step sequencer While all sequencers, including Logic Express, step through a series of
events, this term is used to describe a device from the seminal years of analog
synthesizers. Essentially, two rows of knobs (usually 8) were individually adjusted to
control the gate time (note length) and pitch of a connected synthesizer. The
sequencer would step through these knob settings once, or repeatedly. Many modern
software instruments, particularly drum synthesizers, include an integrated step
sequencer that synchronizes with Logic Express playback. Ultrabeat incorporates a step
sequencer which is considerably more flexible than its ancient analog cousins.