Craig Anderton's Sound, Studio, and Stage

[Beck]

Originally Posted by Ernest Buckley

Yeah well... I`m married.

Celibacy, eh? Yeah, I remember that when I was married too.

[Kendrix]

I agree a workstation should include all those pieces.
Remember the all-in one workstations from Yammy and Akai?

Anyway... I propose:
Digital Audio Playstation.
Cause this feels way more like play than like work.

[Geoff Grace]

Originally Posted by Beck

I just had to get this off of my chest before the world ended. I’ve seen people referring to programs like Reason, Logic Pro and Adobe Audition as DAWs for some time now, like in eBay listings and polls, “Which DAW is best” and whatnot. But that’s all wrong.

DAW: Digital Audio Workstation

A PC-based DAW includes the computer, digital audio interface, perhaps a control surface and any software used with it. Everything together is a DAW. Any one part by itself is not a DAW.

And a spell checker is actually the software plus the computer, but rarely is the application referred to as "spell checking software." I, too, get hung up sometimes on the literal meaning of things. But, really, it's a lost cause and probably not worth the trouble—except in circumstances in which a strict definition or especially clear communication is essential.

We live in a world in which "wait a minute" and "hold on a second" mean the same thing. Except when they don't.

Originally Posted by Anderton

Or my personal favorite, "MIDI Interface" - which translates as "Musical Instrument Digital Interface interface." Or how about "LCD display?" I'm sure we all enjoy our Liquid Crystal Display displays.

Don't forget to add RAID Array to that list.

Best,

Geoff

[MrKnobs]

Originally Posted by Beck

I just had to get this off of my chest before the world ended. I’ve seen people referring to programs like Reason, Logic Pro and Adobe Audition as DAWs for some time now, like in eBay listings and polls, “Which DAW is best” and whatnot. But that’s all wrong.!

Well, on the other hand, I've never seen anyone use Audition or Reason ONE SINGLE TIME without a computer. So, that's kinda understood. And, pretty much no computer is without SOME sort of audio interface, however crappy or however analog.

Terry D.

[Ernest Buckley]

Originally Posted by Beck

Celibacy, eh? Yeah, I remember that when I was married too.

That. Was. Low.

[Beck]

Originally Posted by MrKnobs

Well, on the other hand, I've never seen anyone use Audition or Reason ONE SINGLE TIME without a computer. So, that's kinda understood. And, pretty much no computer is without SOME sort of audio interface, however crappy or however analog.

Terry D.

True, but I have seen people waving an unopened box with software in it claiming its a DAW. And the perception that any computer with any old crappy sound card is a DAW is likely what's wrong with recording today.

Originally Posted by Ernest Buckley

That. Was. Low.

And you look so cute in that hat. Sooner or later we all get taken for granted no matter how cute we look in our hats.

Originally Posted by Geoff Grace

... But, really, it's a lost cause and probably not worth the trouble—except in circumstances in which a strict definition or especially clear communication is essential.

You say more than you may realize here. The loss of common terminology in a profession is only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath lies a discipline in disarray with more and more people that not only can't tell you what something is called, but also how its done... how it works.

[Ernest Buckley]

Originally Posted by Beck

And you look so cute in that hat. Sooner or later we all get taken for granted no matter how cute we look in our hats.

On to something new in February!

[Geoff Grace]

Originally Posted by Beck

You say more than you may realize here. The loss of common terminology in a profession is only the tip of the iceberg. Beneath lies a discipline in disarray with more and more people that not only can't tell you what something is called, but also how its done... how it works.

I'm pretty sure that has more to do with the collapse of the record industry than the collapse of language.

Best,

Geoff

[blue2blue]

I still think using the descriptive phase on what are actually polarity switches is a much worse semantic offense than the DAW shorthand.

After all, a so-called phase switch does not truly effect phase. It effects polarity. It's not -- in any real way -- like a phase-timed delay that will -- for a specific frequency -- allow the user to delay the signal by half the chosen frequency's period. That is not at all the same as inverting the polarity of the whole signal. It's apples and oranges.

The issues related to this 'innocuous' button and its frequent mislabeling continue to cause massive confusion in a manifestly very large number of recordists -- including some who apparently own professional studios. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen from folks who just don't get it.

So, you know, if we're going to start worrying about real misuses of technical language in our field, I'm thinking the good o' "phase" button is a good place to start.

[Geoff Grace]

Agreed.

My current pet peeve is the word "outro" when we already have the perfectly fine word, "coda." For the life of me, I can't find the word "outroduction" in the dictionary.

Best,

Geoff

[MikeRivers]

"Outro" has been around for many years. I think it's from jazz, where they ain't got no codas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DUEAG5eO6c

[MikeRivers]

Originally Posted by blue2blue

I still think using the descriptive phase on what are actually polarity switches is a much worse semantic offense than the DAW shorthand.

I've been on that crusade for 30 years, maybe more. Some people are coming around to writing it now but the button is always labeled "φ." I suppose it takes too much space to print "polarity." And I suppose if the label was "+/-" or "±" then they'd have to explain it.

[Anderton]

Originally Posted by blue2blue

I still think using the descriptive phase on what are actually polarity switches is a much worse semantic offense than the DAW shorthand.

And it's a problem for writers. If I say "polarity," people think I'm talking about batteries or something, nor can they find the "polarity" switch on their mixer ("Gee, I guess my mixer doesn't have that feature"). And phase is sorta correct in that everything is thrown 180 degrees out of phase, but of course, none of that is frequency-dependent so that particular component of the "phase thang" is conveniently forgotten.

[elsongs]

Originally Posted by MikeRivers

These are cases where the acronym describes both the technology (MIDI) and the device (the card or box that connects to your computer and allows it to communicate, using the MIDI protocol, with other devices that use the same protocol. LCD describes the technology, or the component, but LCD Display says that you're talking about a functional end product.

Remember this next time you put a DAT into your DAT player.

There's ATM Machine, but I think people are getting away from adding "Machine," probably because with their smart phone, they don't need one anyway.

Tuna fish?
Hot water heater?

I would GLADLY take "MIDI Interface" over "a midi" meaning a cheesy instrumental soundfile that played through your PC's SoundBlaster card circa mid-1990s.

[MikeRivers]

Originally Posted by elsongs

I would GLADLY take "MIDI Interface" over "a midi" meaning a cheesy instrumental soundfile that played through your PC's SoundBlaster card circa mid-1990s.

It's worse than that. People used to "play my MIDI" meaning they were playing their keyboard instrument, even if it wasn't connected to anything else.