In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal.[1] The term can also be used for lighting in theatre, in much the same way. A recorded song may be gradually reduced to silence at its end (fade-out), or may gradually increase from silence at the beginning (fade-in) For example, the songs "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf and "Hey Jude" by The Beatles both fade out. However, "Born to be Wild" fades out in a matter of seconds, whereas "Hey Jude" takes over 4 minutes to completely fade out. Fading-out can serve as a recording solution for pieces of music that contain no obvious ending. The term fade is also used in multi-speaker audio systems to describe the balancing of power between front and rear channels.
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Fader
A fader is any device used for fading, especially when it is a knob or button that slides along a track or slot. A knob which rotates is usually not considered a fader, although it is electrically and functionally equivalent. A fader can be either analogue, directly controlling the resistance or impedance to the source (e.g. a Potentiometer); or digital, numerically controlling a digital signal processor (DSP).
Crossfader
A crossfader essentially functions like two faders connected side-by-side, but in opposite directions. It allows a DJ to fade one source out while fading another source in at the same time. This is extremely useful when beatmatching two phonograph records or compact discs. There are many software applications that feature virtual crossfaders. For instance, burning-software for the recording of audio-cds.
References
- ^ Nisbett, Alec (1966). The Technique of the sound studio. Focal Press.
- Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music, p.95-6. Philadelphia: Open University Press. ISBN 0-335-15275-9.
