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Glossary of Terms


If you are unfamiliar with any of the technical jargon contained within this website, see below for a full explanation.  If you need further help, contact our customer services team by logging your enquiry through your My Roland account. Your enquiry will be logged and placed in a queue where we aim to respond to your enquiry within one working day.

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E

Echo
A delay-based effect in which copies of a signal are heard trailing off to silence; similar to shouting from a mountaintop and hearing your voice repeat.
Effects
Any of a variety of audio processes that can be applied to a signal to modify it, including reverb, delay, flanging, phasing.
Effect loop
The process of adding an effect to a signal by sending a copy of the signal to an effect and mixing the effect's output with the original signal.
Effect processor
A built-in or external device that produces effects.
Effect return
An input that receives signal from the output of an internal or external effect.
Encode
The process by which sampled audio is prepared for VariPhrase manipulation.
Envelope
A device that changes a basic setting by the desired amount at specified time intervals. Envelopes are commonly used to alter basic waveform pitch settings, as well as basic TVF and TVA settings.

EQ
The process of altering the levels of frequencies that comprise a signal. Also called "equalization."

Equalizer
A device that boost or cuts the volume of specific frequencies in a signal.
Equal temperament
Standard Western tuning that divides each octave into twelve mathematically equal parts.
Expander
A device that reduces the level of a signal when it falls below a specified threshold to exaggerate its dynamic range.
Expansion board
An optional circuit board that can be installed in a device to add additional sounds or effect processing.

EZ Routing
A re-usable template containing mixer routings and other settings. In some V-Studios, walks you through the creation of a setup using displayed questions.
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F
F button
A multi-use button whose function is defined by software.
FX
Abbreviation for "effects."
Fade In
A change in level over time increasing upward from silence.
Fade Out
A change in level over time falling gradually to silence.
Fader
A slider-type device used for the precise manipulation of levels. In some devices, can also be used for the setting of parameter values.
Feedback
The delaying of a delay so that multiple images of the original signal are heard; also, the loud squeal that's heard when a channel is receiving its own output.
Filter
A device that removes specified frequencies from a signal.
Filter envelope
A device that changes the Time Variant Filter's settings over a period of time.
Finalize
The last stage of CD-R/RW writing in which the disk's table of contents (TOC) is written onto the disk.
Fine tune
The adjustment of pitch in the smallest of increments, typically 100ths of a semitone, or "cents."
FireWire Audio Interface
A FireWire interface allows the transfer of audio to and from a computer via a FireWire connection, the use of software drivers is required. EDIROL FireWire interfaces do not require the installation of driver software when being used with MAC OSX.
Flanger
An effect that generates a swirling sound by adding a slightly delayed copy of the signal in which the copy's delay time fluctuates.
Flex Bus
A powerful all-purpose bus available on Roland digital mixers.
Flip
On an in-line mixer, the act of allocating a channel's tools to the control of an input signal or to the control of a multitrack tape return.
Flipping
When working with two signals 180 degrees out of phase, delaying one of the signals so that its phase lines up with the other.
Flying fader
A motorized fader that automatically moves to its current setting.
Formant
Harmonic content of a sound that determine the sound's character, especially important in human vocal sounds, where formants are produced by mouth shape and vocal cord length.
Fragmentation
The breaking up of a large space -- a hard drive or onboard RAM memory -- into smaller, disconnected chunks of space that prevent data from being stored in one continuous area. Fragmentation can cause operational problems.
Frame
In SMPTE and MTC time codes, seconds are divided into frames as determined by the current frame rate.
Frequency
Refers to the number of times per second that a sound wave's cycle repeats, with a greater frequency resulting in a higher perceived pitch; also used as shorthand for describing sound waves in audio by their pitch.
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G

GM, GM2
Abbreviation for "General MIDI" and "General MIDI 2," respectively.
GPI
GPI is short for "General Purpose Interface," a control jack found on some video editing devices.
GS
Roland's extension of General MIDI. GS adds features such as chorus, reverb and panning for more realistic sound, and expands beyond the original 128 sounds of General MIDI to 16,000-plus sounds. This open-ended convention has been licensed by Apple for QuickTime 3.0, 4.0 & 5.0, by Microsoft for their GS synthesizer, and by Nintendo for their sound applications.
Gain
Another term for level.
Gate
A device that turns audio off or down when it falls below a specified threshold.
General MIDI
General MIDI -- or "GM" -- is a music industry standard ratified in 1991. It established a set of 128 synth, orchestral and percussion sounds so that GM files and Standard MIDI Files play back on any GM-compatible instrument with predictable results.
General MIDI 2
General MIDI 2 -- or "GM2" -- is an update to the General MIDI standard. It was ratified in 1991. GM2 was adopted by Roland and Yamaha to extend the set of GM sounds, expressive musical parameters and other features in order to provide for more consistent playback of GM2-compliant files on different instruments.
Graphic equalizer
An equalizer with pre-determined editable frequencies, arranged from left to right to visually depict the EQ shape of a signal.
Ground
A common zero voltage reference in a system of connected audio devices; when devices have different zero voltage references, ground hum may occur.
Grouping
A process by which multiple channels are joined together under a single level control.
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H
Hz
Abbreviation for "hertz."
Hi-Speed USB
Hi-speed USB is another name for USB 2.0. Some EDIROL products will have a switch that allows the choice between USB 2.0 and 1.0 (full-speed.)
Hi-Z
Abbreviation for "high impedance."
Hard drive
A device that uses magnetism to store data on a rigid platter mounted inside its case.
Hash mark
A horizontal line along the path of a fader to help identify its up/down position.
Headroom
The number of dBs above the point at which a clipping warning appears before clipping actually occurs.
Hertz (Hz)
A unit of measurement equal to a sound wave's single cycle.
High impedance
High-impedance devices include electric guitars and basses, and some semi-pro microphones.
High pass filter
A filter that allows all frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency to pass through unaffected.
Hold pedal
Pedal that, when pressed, causes sustaining notes to continue to play until the pedal is released.
Hum
An undesirable low-frequency tone present in a signal as a result of grounding problems or proximity to a power source, typically a 60Hz noise in USA.
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I
IDE
Short for "Integrated Device and Electronics." A set of data transmission standards employed by high-speed disk drives.
I/O
Abbreviation for "in/out," as in "inputs and outputs."
i-format
Music data file format used on MT, KR, HP-G, AT- and V-MT-series products. Files created on any of these instruments are cross-compatible. The Visual MT (V-MT1) can convert any i-format song into the Standard MIDI File (SMF) format.
Impedance
The amount of force with which voltage leaves a connector and the amount of resistance to that force in the jack receiving it -- they should be equal.
In-line
A synonym for "insert effect". Also, a mixer whose input and multitrack tape return controls are contained in each of its channel strips.
Input
A jack that receives audio.
Input level
The level of signal coming into an input jack or input channel.
Insert
A point in a signal flow at which an insert, or in-line, effect can be employed.
Insert effect
An effect routing that interrupts a channel's signal flow, diverting its signal into the effect and then out of the effect back into the channel. An insert effect completely replaces the original signal with an effected version. Commonly used with dynamics processing and modeling effects.
Interactive song files
Since MIDI files contain individual note information, users can interact with their contents, most frequently by changing the files' tempo, key, or number of tracks.
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