Файл: Sound Tech Terms Dictionary.pdf

W

wavelength response:  The distance spanned by one complete cycle of a sine wave, or the fun-

damental frequency of any complex musical tone, as it travels through an elastic medium, e.g.,
air, or as it is recorded on tape, film, or vinyl disc.

wavetable:  The contents of the waveform ROM.  A set of numbers stored in memory (ROM)

and used to generate a waveform.  The wavetable synthesizer on a soundcard typically plays
sounds whose digital representations have been stored in a wavetable.  See sound synthesis,
wavetable synthesis.

wavetable lookup:  The process of reading the numbers in a wavetable (not necessarily in lin-

ear order from beginning to end) and sending them to a voice channel.

wavetable synthesis:  A method of generating waveforms through lookup tables.  Digitized

waveforms are organized in a bank, the wavetable, where they can be randomly accessed.  In
many wavetable synths, the resulting waveform is used in subtractive synthesis.

weave job:  A type of musical track for a spot in which short segments of lead vocal or in-

strumental lines are interspersed between lines of narration or dialogue.  The music weaves in
and out, taking the foreground whenever there is no spoken copy.

weber:  The basic unit of magnetic flux, defined as one volt-second.

weighting:  In measuring frequency response, introducing a predetermined equalization to the

signal before taking the measurement.  See A-Weighting, B-Weighting, C-Weighting.

weighting network:  A filtering network or active equalizer precisely designed or calibrated for

use in weighting.

Westrex:  The film sound company that, along with RCA, had a monopoly for over forty
years, including the whole recording/playback chain.  This equipment was leased to studios
for royalty fees.  By the mid-1970s, this equipment was being replaced by manufacturers of
more highly specialized devices such as consoles by Quad-Eight, mag machines by Magna-
Tech, and sound format processes by Dolby.

wet:  Consisting entirely of processed sound.  The output of an effects device is 100% wet

when only the output of the processor itself is being heard, with none of the dry signal.

white label:  A small pressing of a record of CD with an anonymous blank (“white”) label,

used for market-testing a track on a limited audience before release.  Also used by artists to
issue a track rejected by the record company to which s/he is under contract.

white noise:  A special type of random noise where the energy content is the same at each fre-

quency.  Strictly speaking, true white noise would have energy extending from DC, or zero
frequency.  In practice, we see only band-limited white noise, e.g., the noise heard when an FM
receiver is tuned between stations is quite close to white noise over the AF range.  Because of
the ears’ peculiar method of determining loudness of sounds, white noise sounds as if it has
more energy at high frequencies than low.  Also (imprecisely) called thermal noise and resis-
tance noise.  See pink noise, noise floor.

whole-step:  The musical interval of a major second in a diatonic scale.  The frequency ratio be-
tween the notes of a major second in just intonation is   

8

9

, and in equal temperament it is the  2

6

,

or about 12%.  See half-step.

W

wide-range curve:  See X-Curve.

wide-range monitoring:  See X-Curve.

wig-wag:  Film slang for the warning lights outside sound stages to indicate when shooting is

taking place.

wild score:  See scoring wild.

wild sound/wild track:  A film soundtrack recorded for motion picture where the audio ele-

ments are not recorded synchronously with the picture.  Wild tracks are frequently used to get
a clean recording of dialog that was otherwise unobtainable because of noise on the set.  The
opposite of sync sound.  See also scoring wild.

window:  (1) The frequency band in which a device is operational, e.g., the passband of a band-

pass filter.  (2) Short for timecode window.

window dub:  See BITC.

windshield/windscreen:  See pop filter.

wiper:  The movable contact in a pot is called the wiper, or sometimes, the arm.

wireless microphone:  A microphone, typically a Lavalier microphone, attached to a miniature

FM transmitter that broadcasts to an FM receiver.  Because the signal is transmitted, no cable is
necessary between the microphone and the rest of the audio chain.

wobble:  To vary between recording or sampling rates.  See variable-rate digital converter.

wolf note:  A term used to describe the inaccuracy in pitch which can occur when an instru-

ment such as a harpsichord, which has not been tuned to equal temperament, is played on a re-
mote key.  Also used to denote the undue stridency of a note on an instrument such as a cello,
where the pitch of that note is related to the resonant frequency of the instrument.

WOM:  Write-Only Memory.  Memory that can be overwritten by the user, but cannot be

read by the user.  An example is WOM/MA (Manufacturer-Accessible) is used by some hard-
ware manufacturers as a sort of “black box” for units returned for service as a means of re-
cording some of the history of the device.

woofer:  A loudspeaker designed to reproduce low frequencies only.

word:  The smallest possible unit of digital audio; a single number (sample word) that repre-

sents the instantaneous amplitude of a sampled sound at a particular moment in time.  See bit
depth.

word clock:  A signal internally by all digital audio devices, and externally for locking together

high-end devices.  Word clock is accurate to a single sample word, usually 44.1kHz or 48kHz,
i.e., the sampling rate.  Specialized hardware is required for syncing a digital audio recorder’s
word clock to SMPTE timecode or some other timing reference, usually through a BNC-type
connector, rather than the XLR connector used by an AES/EBU null clock signal.  See self-
clocking, master clock, Super Clock.

word length:  See bit depth.

W

workprint:  Copies of the original film or video used as a reference during the sound and/or

picture editing process or a linear editing system.  Also used during sweetening.  The workprint
is usually the first print made of the camera negative with all or selected takes included in their
entirety, slates and all, also called dailies.  (2) The edited dailies of a film in an assembly, rough cut
or fine cut.  Workprint is often loosely used to refer to all the edited materials, including mag-
netic film tracks, etc.  A film copy, usually black-and-white, is sometimes referred to as a slop
print, and is used to save stress of repeated rollback during the mix on the much-spliced work-
print.  Workprints include Acmade edge numbers and key numbers.  Video copies with BITC are
known as window dubs.

workstation:  A synthesizer or sampler with which the tasks usually associated with electronic

music production such as sequencing, effects processing, rhythm programming, data storage
on disk, and the editing of stored sequencer data can all be performed by components found
within a single physical device, sometimes called a DAW by the acronym-friendly.

worktrack:  The sound analog of the workprint.

worldize:  To re-record a track or tracks, usually music, in the space where it would naturally

occur in a film.

WORM:  Write Once Read Many.  Any form of memory which allows data to be stored once

only, but the information can be read an unlimited number of times.  Recordable CDs are an
example of this, although the term generally refers to programmable ICs.

wow:  A type of frequency modulation distortion which manifests itself as a relatively slow

variation in frequency of reproduced sound caused by slow speed variations in the transports
of turntables, tape recorders, etc.  Pitch fluctuations of 1Hz-2Hz are classed as wow, while
faster variations are called flutter.

WPC:  Watts Per Channel.  A unit intended to give an indication of the output of a power ampli-

fier.  It should be qualified by a load condition such as the impedance of a loudspeaker, e.g.,
200WPC/4

Ω

, otherwise it is meaningless.

wrap:  The parameter of tape-head alignment that determines how large an area of tape oxide

is in contact with the front surface of the tape head, i.e., the surface containing the gap.  Also
called contact.  The correct wrap is different for heads of different frontal design.  The combi-
nation of wrap and tape tension determines whether the tape makes adequate contact at the
gap itself.

write mode:  In mixer automation, the operational mode in which the system scans channel fader

levels and perhaps other parameters, making continuous note of the engineer-specified initial
conditions for each channel and all changes made by the engineer in real-time during a
mixdown.  The scanned data is continuously written to storage, either on one track of the multi-
track tape itself, or onto a floppy or hard disk.  If stored to disk, the multitrack tape and disk
must carry identical timecodes for later reproduction of the mix by the system when operating
in its read or update mode.

X-Y-Z

X-copy:  An exact, 1:1 copy of audio and/or video material.

X-Curve:  eXtended-Curve.  As opposed to the Academy curve, the X-Curve is also known as

the wide-range curve and is codified in ISO Bulletin 2969.  Specifications call for pink noise, at
listening position in a re-recording studio, or two-thirds of the way back in a theater, to be flat
to 2kHz, rolling off at 3dB per octave after that.  The small-room X-Curve is designed to be
used in rooms with less than 150 cubic meters, or 5,300 square feet.  This standard specifies flat
response to 2kHz, rolling off 1.5dB per octave after that.  Sometimes a modified small-room
curve is used, starting the roll-off at 4kHz, rolling down 3dB thereafter.

XG:  A GM specification for MIDI instruments by Yamaha.  XG instruments support reverb,

chorus, and variation effects sends.  Over 20 variation effects are available, including delay,
flanging, phasing, rotary speaker simulation, distortion, and tremolo.

XLR:  Xtended Locking Round.  Developed by ITT/Cannon, XLRs are rugged, locking, multi-

pin connectors frequently used in pro audio equipment.  While 3-pin XLRs are most com-
monly seen on microphones and console inputs, other configurations also exist, such as 4-pin
XLRs (a standard for stage intercom systems) and 5-pin XLRs (often used on stereo micro-
phones).  A designation of “M” after the pin number, such as “XLR-3M” indicates a male con-
nector.  Sometimes also called a Cannon connector.

X-track:  Portions of production track that are split off into a separate unit or separate track on a

workstation because they will be replaced by ADR.

X/Y function:  Also called a Lissajous.  Used to determine the phase of microphone set-ups, an

X/Y function shows phase patterns on an oscilloscope.  A mixer’s left output channel is con-
nected to the X (vertical) input on the scope; the right output channel is connected to the Y
(horizontal) input.  If these two channels are panned center and are in-phase, they will show up
on the scope as a diagonal line that moves up and to the right.  If they are out-of-phase, the di-
agonal line will move down and to the right.

X-Y or XY pair:  See coincident pair.

XYZ controller:  A 3-axis touch pad that transmits voltages based on finger position along the

horizontal and vertical axes (X and Y) and aftertouch-type pressure (Z).

Y-connector:  A Y-connector, also called a Y-cord, consists of two short audio-type cables with

the same type of connector at one end, the other ends of both cables being joined to a single
connector of the same type, but of different gender.  Used to create split feeds, where the same
signal is sent to two different places.  Sometimes a Y-connector is used to short two channels
of a stereo signal together as a sort of mixer, to make a mono signal.  This can be problematic in
low-impedance circuits because each half of the y-connector loads the other one, necessitating
a series resistor in each signal path.

Y-cord:  See Y-connector.

Yellow Book:  See Red Book, CD.

yes:  When used to indicate agreement to a verbal contract, potentially the most dangerous

word in any language.  Use wisely and sparingly.  See no.

Z:  The symbol for impedance.