Jumper

In the music technology game this word classifies as jargon. It is most used to describe a circuit connection in circuit boards that is made by attaching a (usually) small piece of wire between two points. Jumpers are usually used to either modify existing circuits or to provide a way for the end user to make easy changes. Jumpers are often designed so end users can move or remove them to change the configuration of equipment. For example, it is often possible to change a mixing board’s auxiliary send from taking its signal out before the fader (commonly used for monitor mixes) to taking it after the fader (commonly used to drive signal processing). Another example would be changing a patch bay from full-normal to half-normal operation. A third example would be changing the SCSI ID on a hard drive mechanism. Jumpers come in varying shapes, sizes, and configurations and are more or less easy to change depending upon the intentions of the manufacturer of the equipment.