User Manual

25 NEUTRON User Manual
13. Glossary
NEUTRON GLOSSARY
This glossary provides an explanation of useful symbols, terms and abbreviations.
32'/16'/8': Used to describe the range of an oscillator, this term originates from
pipe organs. for example, an 8' pipe is one octave higher than an 16' pipe.
ADSR: Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release, an envelope with four stages.
Aftertouch: Aftertouchis MIDI data sent when pressure is applied to a keyboard
after the key has been struck, and while it is being held down or sustained.
Attack Time: The rst stage of an ADSR envelope, used to control the initial
part of a sound. Specied as the duration of time for an envelope to reach the
maximum level after it has been triggered on by a key press or gate signal.
Attenuate: To reduce the level of a signal.
Band Pass Filter (BPF): A lter that passes frequencies within a certain range
and rejects (attenuates) frequencies outside that range.
Bipolar: a signal that includes positive and negative values.
Cent: Unit of measurement for pitch tuning. There are one hundred cents in a
semitone.
Control Voltage (CV): A voltage signal used to control a parameter. Was
common on synthesizers before MIDI and is now found mostly on modular
synthesizers.
Cut-O Frequency: The frequency which the lter is set to. Beyond this
frequency the sound is cut depending on the type of lter used. See LPF, BPF and
HPF.
dBu: A unit of measurement of sound used in professional audio.
DC Oset: A DC voltage which is added to an AC waveform.
Decay Time: The second stage of an ADSR envelope. Specied as the duration of
time for an envelope to reach the sustain level after the maximum level has been
reached during the attack stage.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW): A computer-based recording system.
More commonly used to describe the software package used to record,
process and mix.
Distortion: An eect which adds harmonic content to a signal.
Drive: Provide a gain boost to produce soft clipping.
Eect: One of a number of audio processes that can be applied to a signal to
modify it, such as reverb, anging, phasing, delay etc.
Envelope Generator (EG): An envelope signal which can be adjusted to a
specic shape in order to control the way a sound behaves over time.
Feedback: A loop created between an audio input and an audio output of an
audio circuit, system or processing block.
Filter: A device that attenuates certain frequencies while letting other
frequencies through. Using a lter to reduce harmonics, changes the timbre or
color of the sound.
Frequency Modulation (FM): Using one frequency to modulate another
frequency's pitch. When the modulation source is in the audio range, it can be
perceived as a change in the timbre or color of the sound. FM can be used to
create a wide range of rich and complex sounds and is often described as having
a clear and distinctive timbre.
Frequency: Measured in Hz.
Gain: The amount of signal level increase provided by an amplier stage.
Gate (Synthesizer): A signal used to trigger an event, such as a note or
an envelope.
Harmonics: A series of integer-related sine waves at varying levels creating
dierent timbres. Waveforms (other than a pure sinusoidal) generate various
harmonics which help dene the character of the sound.
High Pass Filter (LPF): A lter that attenuates lower frequencies below the
lter cuto point, leaving the higher frequencies unaected.
Invert: To change it to its opposite, e.g. change a positive value becomes
negative etc.
Keyboard Tracking: Allows the control signal from received midi notes to
adjust another parameter. The Neutron uses keyboard tracking to move the lter
cut o frequency relative to the played note.
Kilohertz (kHz): A unit of frequency equal to one thousand cycles of a wave
per second.
Level: Used to describe the magnitude of a sound, often relative to an arbitrary
reference.
Line Level: A nominal operating level used by audio equipment.
Low Frequency Oscillator (LFO): An oscillator that commonly runs at a very
low speed and is used to modulate another parameter.
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface): A technical standard that
describes a protocol, digital interface and connectors and allows a wide variety of
electronic musical instruments, computers and other related hardware/software
devices to connect and communicate.
MIDI Clock: A clock signal which is broadcast over MIDI to ensure that devices are
synchronized. Also known as MIDI Beat Clock or MIDI Timing Clock.
MIDI Message: Data or information transmitted from one MIDI device to
another.
MIDI Gate: The MIDI Gate typically controls the note on-o.
Mix: The balance of level between one signal and another.
Modulation: The process of controlling one or more properties (destinations) of
a signal using another signal (source).
Modulation Wheel (Mod Wheel): A wheel located to the left of a keyboard
that allows you to change specied parameters in real-time.
Monitors: Studio quality loudspeakers, providing an accurate representation of
the audio signals.
Mono: Signal channel audio.
Monophonic: Only one note can be played at any given time, as there is only a
single voice.
Mute: Function that allows a signal to be silenced.
N/A: An electronic device which generates a periodic signal .
Noise: A circuit that produces white noise.
Note-Priority: Determines which note is played when more notes are held
simultaneously than the number of available voices (often: low/high/last).
Octave or Oct: Unit of measurement for pitch. Every time the frequency of a
waveform doubles, the pitch increases by one octave.
Oscillator: An electronic device which generates a periodic signal used to form
the basis of a synthesizer program.
Output: The signal sent out by a device or process. Also used to describe the
physical socket where a signal leaves a device.