Category: Hardware

Crystal Microphones

Crystal microphones are quite inexpensive and have both high output and high impedance. When a long cable is used, both the high output voltage and the high-frequency responses are altered. Crystal microphones have an output impedance of over 100,000 ohms and an output level that ranges between -48dB and -60dB. Some can produce small emf’s…
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Liquid Microphones

Liquid microphones are not, and never were, the best option for projecting sounds. In this day and age we know they are not the most functional devices for the production of music. Regardless, the history of their creation is worth telling. And it is not only because the physics it involves. It is also because…
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MEMS Microphones

MEMS microphones, short for microelectromechanical systems microphones, are one of the smallest types of microphones. They have an extremely high-performance level and provide good sensitivity, low power consumption, as well as a high SNR. This type of hardware remains steady when performing and has great features regarding temperature. Importantly, the performance after reflow soldering is…
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ROMplers

In essence, ROMplers are ROM-based sample players. People use this term to refer to software sample players that involve a fixed group of waveforms. It comes from a slang term given to sound modules that feature stock presets that are based on samples stored in ROM. The term ROMpler is a combination of ROM and…
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Soft Synths (aka Software Synthesizers)

Software synthesizers, commonly known as soft synths, are speaker computer programs or plugins that produces digital audio. Over the years, there have been many advances in terms of processing speed. These have allowed them to achieve the same tasks with simpler hardware. In brief, today soft synths are more affordable, more portable, and easier to…
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Sampler (Musical Instrument)

A sampler is a digital or electronic musical instrument that resembles a synthesizer. The main difference between the former and the latter is that the sampler can produce new sounds with sound recordings of real or artificial instrument sounds, instead of with voltage-controlled oscillators. People call these sound recordings samples. The Sampler: a Brief History…
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Step Sequencer

Originally, a step sequencer was a hardware module that produced a limited number of control signals in a stable and pulsed sequence that was continuous while active. In it, you usually sent the output of the signal to an oscillator or an audio filter. When the step sequencer was active and the musician played a…
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Woodwind Instruments

Woodwind instruments are instruments made of metal, wood, plastic, ocarinas, or a combination of these. They have a great variety of forms, although they are all narrow cylinders or pipes with holes. In addition, all have an opening at the bottom as well as a mouthpiece at the top. Metal caps, known as keys, are…
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Brass Instruments

Brass instruments, also known as labrosones, produce sounds by a vibration of air in a tubular resonator that is in sympathy with the vibration of the player’s lips. This means that they are lip-vibrated instruments, as well as aerophones, because the musician must blow air into them. There are a variety of involved in the…
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String Instruments

String instruments produce sounds when their string(s) vibrate. They exist in all music cultures. And all have three main parts: the body, the neck, and the head. The bodies are often made of different kinds of wood, while the strings are often made of nylon, steel, or gut. There are two main techniques to produce…
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