A digital synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses digital signal processing (DSP) techniques to make musical sounds, in contrast to older analog synthesizers, which produce music using analog electronics, and samplers, which play back digital recordings of acoustic, electric, or electronic instruments. Some digital synthesizers emulate analog synthesizers, while others include sampling capability in addition to digital synthesis.
Digital music technology encompasses the use of digital instruments to produce, perform or record music. These instruments vary, including computers, electronic effects units, software, and digital audio equipment. Digital music technology is used in performance, playback, recording, composition, mixing, analysis and editing of music, by professions in all parts of the music industry.
An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording and mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enough to record a single singer-guitarist, to a large building with space for a full orchestra of 100 or more musicians. Ideally, both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician or audio engineer to achieve optimum acoustic properties.
Akai is a Hong Kong-based manufacturer of consumer electronics. It was established as Akai Electric Company Ltd in Tokyo, Japan, in 1946.
Alesis Digital Audio Tape, commonly referred to as ADAT, is a magnetic tape format used for the recording of eight digital audio tracks onto the same S-VHS tape used by consumer VCRs, and the basis of a series of multitrack recorders by Alesis. Although originally a tape-based format, the term ADAT later also referred to hard disk recorders like the Alesis ADAT HD24. In 2004, recognizing the ADAT for "beginning a revolution of affordable recording tools," it was inducted into the first-ever TEC Awards TECnology Hall of Fame.
A digital audio workstation is an electronic device or application software used for recording, editing and producing audio files. DAWs come in a wide variety of configurations from a single software program on a laptop, to an integrated stand-alone unit, all the way to a highly complex configuration of numerous components controlled by a central computer. Regardless of configuration, modern DAWs have a central interface that allows the user to alter and mix multiple recordings and tracks into a final produced piece.
In digital recording, an audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is saved to a storage device. To play back a digital recording, the numbers are retrieved and converted back into their original analog audio or video forms so that they can be heard or seen.
Elektron is a Swedish developer and manufacturer of musical instruments founded in 1998, as well as having its headquarters, R&D and production in Gothenburg, Sweden. They produce mainly electronic musical instruments, but have also made effects units and software. Since 2012, there have been branch offices in Los Angeles and in Tokyo.
Line 6 is a musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer, best known as a pioneer in guitar amplifier and effect modeling. The company's products include guitar effects, modeling guitar amplifiers, software, electric guitars, and wireless systems. Line 6 has an active user community, and provides software that allows users to easily download and share patches or device settings for many of the company's products. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Calabasas, California, the company has been a subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation since 2014.
M-Audio is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets audio and MIDI interfaces, keyboards and MIDI controllers, synthesizers, loudspeakers, studio monitors, digital DJ systems, microphones, and music software. The company has independent offices in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France and Japan.
The Alesis Andromeda A6 is a 16-voice, 16-channel multitimbral analog synthesizer by Alesis, which was released in 2000 and discontinued in 2010. It combines a pure analog audio signal path with digital control technologies. The VCOs have a pitch correction function, a feature missing on older synthesizers.
The Alesis Ion is an analog modeling synthesizer. It was announced during the NAMM Summer Session in 2002. Unlike the Alesis Andromeda, Alesis's analog synthesizer, its sounds are synthesized using DSP chips to mimic the sound of analog audio circuitry and components.
An electronic drum module is an electronic or digital music device in an electronic drum kit that serves as the central processing unit and sound module. The drum module creates or produces the drum kit sounds or other sounds selected by the drummer. By itself, a drum module cannot play or sound drum beats. It only produces drum sounds when a performer strikes electronic drum pads or acoustic drum kit instruments that have electronic "triggers" attached to them. When the electronic drum pads or trigger-equipped instruments are struck, this sends a signal to the drum module, which produces the corresponding electronic drum sound. Even when drum pads and/or triggers are connected to a drum module, the drum module by itself does not make any audible sound. Like other electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, the drum module only outputs an electronic signal. The performer can hear this signal by connecting headphones to the drum module or by plugging the drum module into an amplifier and loudspeaker or PA system for audible practice or live performances. The drum module's output signal can also be patched into an audio console for concerts or sound recording. The nomenclature varies. For example, electronic drum modules are called "percussion sound modules" in the case of Roland Corporation, or sometimes simply modules. A common colloquial term for this device is drum brain..
RADAR is a product line of professional digital multitrack recorders capable of recording and playing back twenty-four tracks of audio.
Musical outboard equipment or outboard gear is used to process or alter a sound signal separately from functionality provided within a mixing console or a digital audio workstation. Outboard effects units can be used either during a live performance or in the recording studio.
ION Audio is a privately held consumer electronics manufacturer based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, United States. It is part of inMusic Brands. The company was founded in 2002 with the stated aim of providing easy-to-use audio products at an affordable price.
The Prophet 2000 is a sampler keyboard manufactured by Dave Smith's Sequential Circuits (SCI) and released in 1985. It was the company's first sampler, and, despite its low audio fidelity and technical limitations by modern standards, marked a shift toward affordable samplers with better audio quality than its predecessors. It is also considered to be one of the earliest multitimbral samplers.
inMusic Brands, Inc. is an American enterprise that is the parent company for a family of brands of varying audio products used in the DJ, music production, live sound, musical instrument, pro audio, software, stage lighting, and consumer electronics industries. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Cumberland, Rhode Island, with additional offices in Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, and Bulgaria.
A professional audio store is a retail business that sells, and in many cases rents, sound reinforcement system equipment and PA system components used in music concerts, live shows, dance parties and speaking events. This equipment typically includes microphones, power amplifiers, electronic effects units, speaker enclosures, monitor speakers, subwoofers and audio consoles (mixers). Some professional audio stores also sell sound recording equipment, DJ equipment, lighting equipment used in nightclubs and concerts and video equipment used in events, such as video projectors and screens. Some professional audio stores rent "backline" equipment used in rock and pop shows, such as stage pianos and bass amplifiers. While professional audio stores typically focus on selling new merchandise, some stores also sell used equipment, which is often the equipment that the company has previously rented out for shows and events.
