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Gain Riding": - The art of constantly adjusting the gain control of a mixing desk, amplifier etc in order to get the maximum possible level of amplitude (signal level) without going too far, and creating distortion though overload.
Gain: - level of amplification of a given signal... Sound professionals tend to use this term where the layman may say "volume". The amount by which a circuit amplifies a signal. : The factor by which a device increases the amplitude of a signal. Negative gain will result in the attenuation of a signal.
Gang", "Ganged" etc: - In electronics, this is where two or more controls / sockets etc operate together, and changing one will automatically affect the other, as they are running in parallel.
Gap: - In tape recorders, the "gap" is the distance between the magnetic poles of the record, playback and erase heads.
Gate": - see "Dynamics Processing" . An electrical signal that is generated whenever a key is depressed on an electronic keyboard. This is used to trigger envelope generators and other events that need to be synchronised to key action. An electronic device designed to mute low level signals so as to improve noise performance during pauses in the wanted material.
General MIDI (GM): A standard set of rules within MIDI that allows for cross-instrument compatibility. General MIDI instruments such as many Roland products all use the same memory areas for sound storage and always use MIDI channel 10 for drum parts. General MIDI files provide access to 128 instruments, are capable of playing at least 16 sounds simultaneously and have at least 24-note polyphony.
General MIDI 2 (GM2): An expanded set of parameters for fuller compositions that allow additional controllers, effects and more instruments. MIDI files that are GM2 will be backward compatible to GM, but for these files to be heard utilizing all of the additional accoutrements that GM2 has to offer, they must be played back on a GM2 synth. The Edirol HQ Hyper Canvas is a software synthesizer specifically designed for GM2 MIDI files, as are the Edirol modules, the SD-20, SD-80, and SD-90.
Generation Loss: - A loss of sound quality between subsequent generations of an analogue recording (usually tape, where a copy of a copy of a copy may sound noticably inferior to the original recording). This is not a problem with digital recording, so long as it is not converted into analogue. This is due to the fact that in its most basic level, the copying of a digital recording is a copying of a vast amount of binary numbers, which can be checked.
Glide: - An effect where a note / pitch is decreased by a semitone, then "glides" its way back up to the original pitch.
Glissando: A rapid slide through a series of consecutive tones in a scale like passage. On an E-mu Sytems Emulator III arpeggiator for example, when two notes are played with glissando on, every note in between the two notes will be played in a sequential order. Similar to portamento except that the pitch changes in semitone steps.
GLITCH: Describes an unwanted short term corruption of a signal, or the unexplained, short term malfunction of a piece of equipment. For example, an inexplicable click on a DAT tape would be termed a glitch.
Global Editing: These are MIDI or audio events which affect an entire file or sequence.
GM RESET: A universal sysex command which activates the General MIDI mode on a GM instrument. The same command also sets all controllers to their default values and switches off any notes still playing by means of an All Notes Off message.
Gobo: - See "Baffle".
GRAPHIC EQUALISER: An equaliser whereby several narrow segments of the audio spectrum are controlled by individual cur/boost faders. The name comes about because the fader positions provide a graphic representation of the EQ curve. A device type that applies a series of bandpass filters to a sound, each of which works on a certain range of the spectrum. The frequencies that fall within the range, typically one-third octave, can be boosted or cut. A type of equalizer that provides control over a fixed set of frequencies. Each filter provides linear cut/boost control over a fixed frequency. The number of filters on graphic equalizers range from three (low, mid, high) to well over eleven. While graphic equalizers generally have more filters than parametric equalizers, they are less flexible, in that the individual filter frequencies are not adjustable.
Gross Shipments: The total amount of manufacturer shipments before returns.
Ground / Earth Loop: - A condition which may occor in an electrical system where there is more than one Ground connection (see above), which causes a circulation, or looping of currents between ground points with cable resistance transforming this into fluctuations in voltage. Its symptom is a low hum @ 50 - 60 Hertz (see Frequency). If you are in the US it will be 60, in Europe 50.
Ground: - In electronics, this is a terminal which has no voltage, (known in the UK as "earth"). Both names arrive from the fact that the eventual end point of the ground / earth channel in an electrical system (eg mains electricity) is a conductive metal spike which must be in contact with the earth, where any voltages are dissipated.
GROUP: A collection of signals within a mixer that are mixed, then routed through a separate fader to provide overall control. In a multitrack mixer, several groups are provided to feed the various recorder track inputs.
GS MIDI": - An extension to the General MIDI system (see above) created by the Roland corporation. Improvements over the standard GM include reverb / chorus effects, panning controls, and the capability of expanding the standard GM set of 128 sounds up to a maximum of over 16,000 !
Guide Vocal: - When a vocalist records an initial vocal track for a multitrack recording which acts as a "guide" for other musicians who record their parts later. When the other tracks are recorded, this is usually then replaced with a "final vocal".