Glossary: Capacitor | Sweetwater.com

Expert Center > Glossary > Capacitor

«Back to Glossary Menu

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9

Capacitor: An electronic component, also sometimes called a condenser. Capacitors, which come in many shapes and sizes, basically do nothing more than store electrical voltage, somewhat like a battery. They are comprised of two (or more) electrical conductors (plates) separated by an insulator. Current cannot flow "through" a capacitor without breaking it (by breaking down the insulator). Thus they do not pass any DC, but do pass AC in varying degrees by the charging and discharging of the two plates. In electrical circuits their behavior in terms of the time it takes them to store and release their voltage charge can be used in more ways than your credit card at the mall. Their use can be as simple as removing a DC component from an AC signal or short-term power for memory in electronic instruments, but they are also used in very sophisticated audio and digital circuits (as control elements). Capacitors are important ingredients in most EQ circuits, power supplies, oscillators, clocks, filters, and the list goes on and on. They are everywhere. A typical mixing board could have hundreds or thousands of capacitors.
There has been a great deal of eyebrow raising (an exercise much practiced in the audio industry) about the relative merits of different types of capacitors used in audio circuits. Many audiophiles hold that the quality of these components can have a significant impact on the audio quality (especially long term) of a device. This type of thing is one of many that may separate more expensive equipment from the cheap stuff.

C-weighting	Cabinet	Cabinet Grand
Cache RAM	Cadence (or Close)	Cadillac Tailpiece
Camber	Canned Music (Slang)	Canon
Cans	Cantilever	Cantus Firmus
Capacitance	Capacitor	Capo
Capstan	Capsule	Capture
CardBus	Cardioid	Carillon
Carrier	Cart Machine	Cartridge
Carved-top Guitar	Case Candy	Cassette Tape
Cat's Eye	Cat 5	Cat 6
Cathode	Cathode Biased	CBR
CBS Era	CCIR	CCIR 468-weighting
CCIR ARM-weighting	CC Number	CD+G
CD-ROM	CD-RW	CD24
CDDA	CD Extra	CDR
CD Text	Cedar	Celesta
Cent	Center Frequency	Center block
Center Tap	Centronics	Centronics 50
Challenge/Response	Chambered Body	Chamberlin
Chamfer	Channel Separation	Channel Status Bit
Channel Strip	Channel Voice Messages	Chart
Chase	Chatoyancy	Chipset
Chitarra Batente	Choke	Chooser
Chops	Chord	Chordophone
Chorus	Chroma	Chroma Keying
Chromatic (Chromatic Scale)	Chromatic Tailpiece	CIRC
Circle of Fifths	Circuit Breaker	Circumaural
CISC	CITES	CITES
Cittern	Clamping Voltage	Class-D Amplifier
Class A	Class AB	Class B
Class H	Classic	Claves
Clavinet	Claw/Drum Claw	Clear Coat
Clearwood	Clef	Click and Hold
Click Track	Client Ref	Clipboard
Clipping	Clock	Close-miking
Closed Ear	Cluster	CLV
CMOS	Common Mode Rejection	CMRR
CMYK	CNC	Coaxial Cable
Coda	Code	CODEC
Coercivity	COI KB 2200	Coil
Coil Tap	Coincident	Coloration
Comb Filter	Combination/Combi	Combo Amp
Combo Organ	Comb String Converter	Commission
Common Time	Comp/Comping	Compact Disc
Compact Flash	Companding	Compass
Compensation (guitar)	Compilation Score	Compile
Component Video	COM Port	Composite Track
Composite Video	Compound Interval	Compound Meter
Compound Radius	Compression	Compression (data)
Compression Driver	Compressor	Concertina
Concert Pitch	Condenser Microphone	Conductor
Confidence Monitoring	Conform	Conga
Consecutive interval	Console	Consonance
Con Sordino	Constant Directivity	Constant Q
Contact Mic	Contact Pressure (Headphones)	Continue
Continuity	Continuo	Continuous Controller
Contour Amount	Control Panel	Control Room
Control Surface	Control Voltage	Conversion Latency
Convolution	Cool	Copy
Copyleft	Copyright	Coral Sitar
CoreAudio	CoreMIDI	Corrupt/Corruption
COSM	Coulomb	Counter
Counterpoint	Count off (Count in)	Coupling
CPU	CPUCycle	Crash
CRC	Crescendo	Crest Factor
Critical Band	Critical Distance	Cross-Modulation
Crossfade	Crossover	Crossover Cable
Crossover Distortion	Cross Platform	Cross Stick
Cross Stick Crosstalk	Cross Switch	Crosstalk
Crotchet	CRT	CRV
CS-80	Csound	CS Update
Cue	Cue List (Cue Sheet)	Current
Current Limiting	Cursor	Cut
Cut-Only Equalizer	Cutaway	Cutoff Frequency