Glossary – LinPlug Octopus User Manual
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Glossary
Amplifier:
A signal processing device that changes the
amplitude, and hence the volume, of a signal.
Effect:
A signal processing device that changes some
aspect of the input signal. An enormous number of
different effect types are available. These include
Chorus (which produces a thickening of the signal),
Delay (adding echoes to the signal) and Distortion
(which changes the shape of the waveform usually
adding overtones).
Envelope:
A time-varying signal used to control the
development of another signal after it has been
triggered. Envelopes are most often used for
controlling a signal's amplitude. The shape of the
envelope is determined by the number of control
parameters.
Filter:
A signal processing device that suppresses or
filters out specific parts of a signal's frequency
spectrum. Numerous types of filter are used in
audio synthesis. These include Low Pass, High
Pass, Band Pass and Notch. The tone controls on
a stereo amplifier are one example of an audio
filter.
FM:
FM or Frequency Modulation is a process where
the frequency of one oscillator (the carrier) is
controlled by another (the modulator). When the
frequency of the modulator is periodic and below
the audio range (less than 20 Hz) vibrato is
produced. When the modulation frequency is within
the audio range, Frequency Modulation is
produced.
Harmonic:
A harmonic is a signal whose frequency is an
integral (whole-number) multiple of a reference
frequency. The term can also refer to the ratio of
the frequency of such a signal to the frequency of
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