XIII. Glossary

• A. Signal-Based Terms

  • i. Clipping

  • ii. Distortion

  • iii. Signal

  • iv. Noise

  • v. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)

  • vi. Impedance

  • vii. Signal Chain

  • viii. Mono

  • ix. Stereo

  • x. Field

  • xi. Balance

  • xii. Pan

• B. EQ-Based Terms

  • I. Frequency Response

  • ii. Equalization/EQ

  • iii. Filter

  • iv. Band-Stop

  • v. Band-Pass

  • vi. Low/High Pass

  • vii. Shelf

  • viii. Peak/Valley

  • ix. Q

  • x. Cutoff

  • xi. Parametric EQ

  • xii. Graphic EQ

  • xiii. Notch EQ

• C. Tone-Based Terms

  • i. Tone

  • ii. Fizz

  • iii. Buzz

  • iv. Grinding

  • v. Crunchy

  • vi. Chunky/Punchy

  • vii. Fuzzy

  • viii. Cold

  • ix. Warm

  • x. Hot

  • xi. Dry

  • xii. Wet

  • xiii. Dark

  • xiv. Bright

  • xv. Smooth

  • xvi. Squishy/Saturated

  • xvii. Djenty

  • xviii. Splatty

  • xix. Crackly

  • xx. Clanking

  • xxi. Ice-Pick

  • xxii. Harsh

  • xxiii. Muddy

  • xxiv. Thin

  • xxv. Brittle

  • xxvi. Thick

  • xxvii. High Gain

A. Signal-Based Terms

I. Clipping

Clipping is a form of distortion where the amplitude of a signal is too powerful for the medium transmitting it. This could be a cable, a vacuum tube, or a digital device's internal resolution. Looking at the resulting waveform, it appears that the peaks of the signal are "clipped" off. Different devices clip differently, and while some forms of clipping are desirable (most often tube clipping), others are usually undesirable (cables or digital clipping).

II. Distortion

Any transformation of a signal can technically be called distortion. For guitars, it usually refers to a specific, desired transformation - the sound of vacuum tube clipping, even if these are emulations by solid state analog devices like stomp boxes, or created by digital algorithms in modelers.

III. Signal

A signal is the physical embodiment of information communicated from one device to another. In guitar terminology, this usually means the strings inducing electric potentials in guitar pickups, which are passed on through cables into amplifiers, then into speakers where it is converted to sound and sent to the audience's ears. The signal is the message desired to be communicated. Hum, noise, and other interference are generally not considered the signal. In fact, they are considered to degrade the signal.

IV. Noise

Noise is essentially randomness in the signal. Being chaotic, noise transmits little information, other than that it is noise. Whereas a signal indicates timbre, pitch, and harmony, noise does not convey any of these qualities. The timbre of a guitar can change based on playing style, string gauge, pickups, woods, build quality...noise is always noise.

V. Signal-to-Noise Ratio (snr)

A measure of the noticeability of the signal compared to the noticeability of noise. The higher the ratio, the "cleaner" and more "high fidelity" the sound.

VI. Impedance

Electrical resistance to an alternating current. Direct current circuits amount of current is limited by the voltage of the power source and the resistance of the circuit. Similarly, impedance determines the amount of current flowing in an alternating current. Where the two concepts are fundamentally different is that impedance is variable depending on frequency. Normally, devices will have a resonant frequency where the impedance is least around a certain frequency, allowing a stronger flow of current at that frequency, while frequencies above the resonant frequency has increasingly high impedance and roll-off high frequencies.