Outboard gear
Encyclopedia
Musical "outboard equipment" or "gear" alter how an musical instrument sounds. Outboard, (external effects units) can be used either during a live performance or in the recording studio
. These are separate from the effects that may be applied by using a mixing console
or a digital audio workstation
. Some outboard effects units and digital signal processing
(DSP) boxes commonly found in a studio are:
methods. Typical early units such as the "Wah-wah pedal
" were used to produce phasing
effects on stage with the electric guitar. The "Leslie speaker
" was another early effect unit for use with an electronic organ, this introduced a doppler effect
into the sound distribution within the room. Mechanical devices are also available, such as the "finger glide" used on a Hawaiian guitar used to produce pitch changes. Another device is the "mute", for use with wind instruments such as the clarinet of trumpet. This device removes the resonance from the produced notes and makes them sound "short" or longer as the end of the instrument is uncovered.
has seen a leap forward in the way that the sound of musical instruments is produced on stage or in the recording studio. The modern keyboard produces digital signals when the keys are depressed, these signals are processed by external effects units to reproduce original sampled instrument sounds, such as a classical piano or string and wind instrument. This allows the user of such a device to reproduce the sound of virually any instrument.
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. These are separate from the effects that may be applied by using a mixing console
Mixing console
In professional audio, a mixing console, or audio mixer, also called a sound board, mixing desk, or mixer is an electronic device for combining , routing, and changing the level, timbre and/or dynamics of audio signals. A mixer can mix analog or digital signals, depending on the type of mixer...
or a digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
. Some outboard effects units and digital signal processing
Digital signal processing
Digital signal processing is concerned with the representation of discrete time signals by a sequence of numbers or symbols and the processing of these signals. Digital signal processing and analog signal processing are subfields of signal processing...
(DSP) boxes commonly found in a studio are:
- analog-to-digitalAnalog-to-digital converterAn analog-to-digital converter is a device that converts a continuous quantity to a discrete time digital representation. An ADC may also provide an isolated measurement...
and digital-to-analog converters
- musical instrument digital interfaceMusical Instrument Digital InterfaceMIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
s (MIDIs)
- microphone preamplifiers ("microphone preamp", "mic preamps" or "preamps")
- dynamics effects units: compressors/limiterLimiterIn electronics, a limiter is a circuit that allows signals below a specified input power to pass unaffected while attenuating the peaks of stronger signals that exceed this input power....
s, noise gateNoise gateA Noise Gate or gate is an electronic device or software that is used to control the volume of an audio signal. In its most simple form, a noise gate allows a signal to pass through only when it is above a set threshold: the gate is 'open'. If the signal falls below the threshold no signal is...
s
- time-based effects units: reverb, flangingFlangingFlanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
, delayDelay (audio effect)Delay is an audio effect which records an input signal to an audio storage medium, and then plays it back after a period of time. The delayed signal may either be played back multiple times, or played back into the recording again, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.-Early delay...
, echoEcho (phenomenon)In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single...
, chorusChorus-Musical:* Choir, a vocal ensemble* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound; signal processors design to simulate the effect* Refrain or chorus of a song, pre-chorus may refer to bridge...
etc.
Devices
Most 'analog' effects gear is considered 'outboard equipment' when integrating the sound of the instrument with digital recordingDigital recording
In digital recording, digital audio and digital video is directly recorded to a storage device as a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in air pressure for audio and chroma and luminance values for video through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or...
methods. Typical early units such as the "Wah-wah pedal
Wah-wah pedal
A wah-wah pedal is a type of guitar effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect, mimicking the human voice...
" were used to produce phasing
Phasing
In the compositional technique phasing, the same part is played on two musical instruments, in steady but not identical tempo...
effects on stage with the electric guitar. The "Leslie speaker
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects using the Doppler effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ but is used with a variety of instruments as well as vocals. The...
" was another early effect unit for use with an electronic organ, this introduced a doppler effect
Doppler effect
The Doppler effect , named after Austrian physicist Christian Doppler who proposed it in 1842 in Prague, is the change in frequency of a wave for an observer moving relative to the source of the wave. It is commonly heard when a vehicle sounding a siren or horn approaches, passes, and recedes from...
into the sound distribution within the room. Mechanical devices are also available, such as the "finger glide" used on a Hawaiian guitar used to produce pitch changes. Another device is the "mute", for use with wind instruments such as the clarinet of trumpet. This device removes the resonance from the produced notes and makes them sound "short" or longer as the end of the instrument is uncovered.
Vocal effects
Most units either introduce a reverberation (echo) effect, or some kind of pitch transformation or "colouration" of the singers voice. Digital units have been designed that can compress or expand the duration of sound, these alter the speed of length of the original sound.Digital units
The invention of the midi interfaced electronic keyboardElectronic keyboard
An electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:...
has seen a leap forward in the way that the sound of musical instruments is produced on stage or in the recording studio. The modern keyboard produces digital signals when the keys are depressed, these signals are processed by external effects units to reproduce original sampled instrument sounds, such as a classical piano or string and wind instrument. This allows the user of such a device to reproduce the sound of virually any instrument.