Glossary

[jgventura]

Ok, I'll be honest, I'm not always 100%, or even have a clue in some cases, knowledgable on some terms that float through here and just in general.. So, maybe people who do know what their talking about can take some time and just contribute their wealth of amp, guitar, electronic, sound, etc.. knowledge and maybe put it in semi-laymens terms for some of the people that might be in the same boat as myself.

For instance: clipping? OHM (sorta familiar, i mean i can hook up my head and cab), and right now, it's like i'm putting myself on the spot so I really can't think of any others, but they are out there. Thanks if anybody replies!

 

[PDad]

Well, "clipping" is an easy one to visualize. Remember those waveform graphs you've seen with the wavy line going up and down across a horizontal center line?

Nomally, the wave has nice, smooth, rounded tops and bottoms. When the amplitude (volume, usually in decibels) of a signal gets too high, the amplifier is unable to deal with that amount of signal. The wave gets too tall and bumps against the top and bottom of the graph where it gets cut off.

Those smooth top and bottom curves appear to flatten out on the graph. They get "clipped." See http://www.geofex.com/effxfaq/distn101.htm for some decent, if crude, illustrations.

"Headroom" is a related term describing how much room the signal has (again, in decibels) before it "bumps it's head" against the top--or bottom--of the graph.

 

[Guitarzan]

Ok, I'll be honest, I'm not always 100%, or even have a clue in some cases, knowledgable on some terms that float through here and just in general.. So, maybe people who do know what their talking about can take some time and just contribute their wealth of amp, guitar, electronic, sound, etc.. knowledge and maybe put it in semi-laymens terms for some of the people that might be in the same boat as myself.

For instance: clipping? OHM (sorta familiar, i mean i can hook up my head and cab), and right now, it's like i'm putting myself on the spot so I really can't think of any others, but they are out there. Thanks if anybody replies!

Ok dude...here is a good Glossary

 

[RR]

Ok dude...here is a good Glossary

The Best guitar tube amp glossary on the web :wink:

 

[Guitarzan]

Ok dude...here is a good Glossary

The Best guitar tube amp glossary on the web :wink:

Your welcome.

 

[PDad]

Strangely, it doesn't define "clipping" or "headroom." And the definition of "feedback" isn't what any new electric guitarist would be thinking of!

Some other helpful amplifier concepts not mentioned in the glossary are resonant frequency, harmonics, noise reduction, and "class" v. "configuration." I'm sure you guys can come up with a dozen others...and then there are all those guitar technique terms like palm mute, pinch harmonic, mode, etc.

 

[Guitarzan]

You can always suggest another website. Being that you have an extensive knowledge base this shouldn't be a problem. Right?

 

[jgventura]

No no, the site is good, but he does make a point. I mean, i'm not a new guitarist really, but I just never really took the time to figure out the terms... It'd be great for people to define all that stuff.

 

[Guitarzan]

I'd love a road map to the meaning of life, but....

 

[Platypus]

I am putting together a 'FAQ' for this board that we can sticky at the top to hopefully define some common words, topics discussed, etc because I see a lot of repeat topics discussed and it would be beneficial to those new to tube amps or mesa in general.

If that sounds like a good idea to anyone I'd love some help compiling stuff.

 

[jgventura]

awesome! that is exactly what I was aiming for. I can't wait til it's up!

 

[Platypus]

Everyone is welcome to help, I'd love for it to be a community effort!

 

[PDad]

You can always suggest another website. Being that you have an extensive knowledge base this shouldn't be a problem. Right?

Ouch!

Seriously, I interpreted his question as a request for the forum users to share stuff here on these pages ("one-stop shopping," so to speak), in addition to links to helpful sites. No offense intended, my knowledge base notwithstanding.

 

[RR]

PDad:

For me, apologize accepted. Among tube guitar amp restorer - repairer, or doing mods, or just getting some inside, or hobbiests dabbling in tube amps, this Aikem website is like a bible to us, well for me. It give some inside about tube amps even if you are amatuer or hobbiest.

But there should be a guitarist glossary somewhere I would think.

 

[phantomlord2oo]

Here are 2 FAQs from guitargeek.com.

SPEAKERS & OHMS!!!! Everything you need to know about SPEAKERS & OHMS!!!
http://guitargeek.com/chat/showthread.php?s=&threadid=46544

Tube Amplifier FAQ:
http://guitargeek.com/chat/showthread.php?s=&threadid=34740

+Mike+