Noise Terms

• 14k:
  • Unwisely spending a large amount of borrowed money on a noise release.
• Anti-Record:
  • Anti-Records are more art object than an actual playable audio recording. The most common anti-record is made by destroying the grooves of an existing record to the point of them the original sounds being unrecognizable. Anti-Records could also be a piece of tar paper with a hole drilled in the middle. Anti-Records are not to be played on your audiophile turntable.
• Artist copies:
  • These are copies of a release that are given to the artist. Sometimes these copies have special art or sometimes the artist never receives them at all.
• Blackboard:
  • Nickname for the old Tronixs forum because it had a black color scheme
• BRVTAL:
  • An overused adjective for describing noise in nosie reviews
• Clamshell:
  • A type of cassette or CHA tape enclosure usually for holding two or more tapes.
• Contact Mic:
  • Otherwise known as a piezo transducer and a common tool in the noise makers arsenal. They are used to capture sounds from all sorts of objects that are not necessarily instruments. They put the electro in electro-acoustic music
• C10:
  • A cassette tape with a total running time of 10 minutes
• DOD:
  • A manufacturer of guitar pedals
• Floop:
  • Short for feedback loop
• Grip:
  • How one expresses interest in buying a noise release when posting online
• Hipster:
  • It's almost impossible to define who is a hipster but many have tried. The noise scene has a love/hate relationship with them.
• HNW:
  • Harsh Noise Walls
• Krell patch
• KVLT
• Lazernoise:
  • A type of floop noise that utilizes digital delay with lots of repeats with decay
• Limited Release:
  • A release where the number of copies is more than 1 but less than 12
• Matrix Mixer:
  • A type of mixer (usually DIY and passive) where there are two sets of inputs placed in a grid and any input can be combined with any other input using poteniometers
• Merch:
  • Short for merchandise, you can tell someone is a seasoned noiser when they say they got merch for sale
• Merzbutt:
  • A derogatory term for Merzbow
• NG:
  • Short for Noise Guide, used to reference http://forums.noiseguide.com
• No Input:
  • No input audio mixer feedback
• Noiser:
  • A person who makes noise, sometimes used in a derogatory fashion
• One Sided Record:
  • Typically an LP that only has audio on side as a way to reduce cost of putting out a vinyl recording
• Record Collector Scum:
  • These are the type of collectors who drive price upward in the market and thrive on paying ridiculous amounts for obscure records. RCS are closely related to hipsters.
• Passive Mixer:
  • A type of audio mixer that only uses passive components to mix audio signals. They can also be used as a mult in order to send one signal to multiple devices.
• Polycase/Softcase
• Prison Cassette:
  • A clear cassette that are often used in prison because you can't as easily hide contraband inside them
• Shaker Box:
  • Any kind of container filled with loose objects with a contact mix contained
• Shitnoise:
  • Lo-Fi noise
• Special Packaging:
  • A brick that you have glued your latest C10 release to.
• Side Project:
  • Doing the same thing you usually do but this time with a new name and its about a different serial killer than your last project
• Tape Loop:
  • Before sampling delays people made tape loop, these days if you want to be KVLT you make tape loops even if they are time consuming and a pain in the ass
• Y-Adapter:
  • Y adapters typically are audio cables with two connector on one end that merge into one connector on the other. They are a poorman's passive mixer. They can also be used as a mult in order to send one signal to multiple devices.