| Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|
| AKG | AKG microphones, I have a pair of AKG 480/ck63 |
| Schoeps | Schoeps microphones |
| SBD | Recording straight from the sound board, may or may not have been down mixed. Usually XLR or RCA. |
| DSBD | Same as SBD, but recorded via digital source and not analog. |
| Matrix | Mix of audience and sound board recording. |
| Neumann | Neumann microphones |
| AT | Audio Technica microphones |
| Dank | Dank records went through a peer review process to certify they were a superior source for a given show and that not audio issues existed with the recording. |
| FOB | Front Of Board - generally any recording created near the stage |
| DPA | Danish Pro Audio microphones |
| Gefell | Microtech Gefell microphones |
| Aud | generic audience recording |
| DAT | Digital Audio Tape, magnetic tape that allowed for digital recordings. First popularized in the 1990's and later superseded by flash based recording devices |
| FLAC | Free Lossless Audio Codec, supports compression of wav files in a smaller non-destructive format. Has built in error checking and can support larger bit and sample rate wav files |
| SHN | SHN - Early attempt at a lossless audio compress codec used for many early recordings in the '90s and early '00s. FLAC is the standard now because it allows for higher bit depths and automatic signature checking, no more md5 files. |
| MD | MiniDiscs were first developed by Sony as a small portable playback and recording device in the early '90s, had digital interfaces usually via optical S/PDIF. Never caught on because of the limited record time and use of compression while recording. |
| Cassette | Cassettes were used in the '70s and '80s, even into the '90s to record live shows. A tape with metal oxide was used to record performances, known for audio hiss and general poor audio quality, but first real portable field recording device. |
| Reel-to-Reel | Reel-to-Reel were generally used in the '60s to record shows, mostly by sound engineers or venue owners because of the size and expense of equipment. |
| B&K | B&K was eventually bought out by DPA microphones. |
| Aud | A recording tape from an area the general public has access to. For most bands they have an official taper section, usually near the sound board. Recordings from the front of house are usually marked as FOB, still technically "Aud." |
| Audix | Audix Microphones |
| DTS 5.1 | 5 channels of audio and a sub-woofer. |
| Earthworks | Earthworks |
| SC | Sound Check |
| LP | Long play records. A 12" format with 23 minutes of music per side. Later it was possible to get 30 minutes. |
| Midside Matrix | Involves using two separate pairs of mics. |
| Oktava | Oktava USA |
| Pre-FM | A recording that is eventually destine for radio broadcasts but recorded before it is broadcast. The idea is to have no static that can be present on OTA radio broadcasts. |
| Radio | Traditional radio broadcast. Its safe to assume the source is FM but always double check. |
| Satellite | Recorded from satellite. |
| cass/* | Recorded or transferred to cassette. The number after the / designates the generation of the cassette. A cass/2 would be the grandchild of the original recording. cass/0 > cass/1 > cass/2 |
