Audio Lingo
Unlike the visual arts, where one can simply point to the screen and
leave a fingerprint smudge where they need something changed, one
of the hardest things in the Audio Profession is to understand your
client’s intentions. Is why the creative professionals will always ask
for reference songs before starting any work hoping to get a clearer
picture of the requirement. Even then sometimes we are subjected to
vocabulary which even the thickest of dictionaries can’t explain and we are left to wonder of the endless possibilities of their meaning.
In my career of 11 years, I have had my share of words that were
completely mis-understood by every single person in the room. So
if you are a budding engineer, musician, an ad agency creative or
someone who needs to deal with music producers and engineers, here
is an A to Z of some words you should prepare for and learn what they
mean..
Airy Bright: Ambiguity Rating: What it actually means: Un-
effected signal
Full
Ambiguity Rating: What you think it means: Breathy
or full of reverb and delay What you think it means: Happy,
exciting, shrill Dynamic:
What you think it means: Just
enough instruments
What it actually means: Shelf
boost above 7.5kHz What it actually means: Clear,
well balanced high end Body Color Ambiguity Rating: Ambiguity Rating: What you think it means: Full,
impactful, strong, bass What you think it means:
Variety, festive, uniqueness,
signature sound
What it actually means:
Saturation, drive, well balanced
mids or a boost around 300Hz
What it actually means:
Harmonics, frequency boosts
Boom Cutting
Ambiguity Rating: Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means:
Something that shakes my house
and wakes the neighbors What you think it means:
Audible, loud, sitting above the
music, half a cup of tea
What it actually means: A
sustained low end. Can also be a
sustained kick or tom What it actually means: No
clashing frequencies or masking
Bounce Ambiguity Rating:
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Hip-
Hop
Dark
What you think it means: Scary,
horror like, Mozart!
What it actually means: Side-
Chain What it actually means: Less
highs, rich in good low and low
mid frequencies, clean harmonics
Boxy Depth
Ambiguity Rating: Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Not
clear enough, not loud enough,
not open enough
What it actually means: Lack
of high-mid, high and presence
or too much of low-mid and mid
frequencies around the 200-400Hz
range.
What you think it means:
Meaning, purpose, passion
What it actually means: A good
balance on the low end
Dry
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Not
enough reverb
48
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Variety
in instruments, colorful, many
different parts
What it actually means: Audible
difference between the loudest
and softest parts
Earthy
Ambiguity Rating:
Ambiguity Rating:
What it actually means: Well
arranged harmonic content
Glassy
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means:
Twinkling, jingling, soft
What it actually means: High end
with sustain, like on cymbals
What you think it means:
Sarangi, table, bansuri, alaap Heavy
What it actually means: Someone
smoked too much What you think it means: Your
super awesome pedal
Ambiguity Rating:
Ambiguity Rating: What it actually means:
An aggressive melody and
performance
What you think it means: Cool,
unique, has an ‘edge’ to it Honky
Edgy
What it actually means:
Percussive, good dynamic range
Feel
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: The
feeling one gets while listening to
Pink Floyd
What it actually means: The
feeling one gets when they are
intoxicated
Flair
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means:
Fashionable, unique, smooth
What it actually means: Well
balanced, saturated highs, like
flutes when recorded right
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Dhol
like, ringing like a bathroom
What it actually means: Most
resonant frequency of a signal
overpowering
Huge
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means: Lots of
drums and instruments, stadium
chanting
What it actually means: Well
balanced reverb, delay and low
end with good stereo imaging
In Yo Face!
Ambiguity Rating:
What you think it means:
Aggressive, loud, profane,
rebellious