Every term, in plain English
The
glossary.
A
- AlnicoMagnet type
- A magnet alloy (aluminium–nickel–cobalt) used in guitar speakers — typically responds musically under load, compressing and blooming before thermal failure.
- AttackFeel · envelope
- The leading edge of a pick hit. Derived from the BL-to-Mms ratio: more voice-coil force per gram of cone mass = sharper attack.
B
- Band (nine-band)Voice
- The guitar-relevant frequency range split into nine named bands: thump, punch, body, wood, growl, bark, bite, edge, air. → methodology
- BarkBand
- The upper-midrange band, roughly 1–2 kHz — where vocal quality and forward snarl sit in a speaker’s voicing.
- Bass controlScale · from Qts
- How tightly a speaker stops bass notes. Derived from Qts — low Qts is tight, high Qts is loose and bloomy.
- BLThiele-Small
- Voice-coil force factor: magnetic field strength × voice-coil wire length. A high BL grips the cone tightly; a low BL lets the cone sing its own voice.
- BloomFeel
- A brief overshoot after the initial attack — characteristic of underdamped speakers with high Qts and alnico magnets.
C
- Clean ceilingHeadroom
- The SPL a speaker reaches at its rated power before thermal or magnetic compression sets in. Projected from sensitivity + 10·log₁₀(P).
D
- Dynamic rangeHeadroom scale
- Four zones — Wide · Open · Forgiving · Gluey — describing how a speaker behaves when pushed past its clean ceiling.
E
- EdgeBand
- The top-end band, roughly 4.5–7 kHz. A boost here reads as ice-pick or piercing; a cut reads as dark or rolled-off.
F
- FeelLens
- One of three lenses on the speaker page. Describes how the speaker responds to a pick hit — attack, decay, grip, amp interaction.
- Flat passbandReference
- The mean SPL across 200–500 Hz, used as the zero against which every other dB measurement is referenced. → methodology
- FsThiele-Small
- Resonant frequency — the speaker’s natural "note" when stimulated. Drives bass register and decay behaviour.
G
- GripFeel · amp control
- How tightly the amp controls the cone. Iron-fisted grip: the amp’s dynamics go straight through, and switching amps changes the whole feel. Loose grip: the speaker sings its own voice regardless of the amp. Derived from BL ÷ Mms; engineering term, "motor grip".
H
- HeadroomLens
- One of three lenses. Describes what happens under sustained drive — power rating, clean ceiling, dynamic range zone, and breakup character.
O
- Origin voicingClassifier
- One of five families: Vintage American, Modern American, Vintage British, Modern British, Modern Neutral. Assigned by rule from FR shape.
P
- Presence peakVoice feature
- The primary upper-midrange peak on the FR curve — its frequency, its rise above the flat passband, and its Q together define the speaker’s "bite".
Q
- QtsThiele-Small
- Total Q factor: how damped the speaker is at resonance. Low Qts = tight and clamped; high Qts = loose and ringing.
S
- SensitivityScale
- dB SPL produced by 1 W of input at 1 m. Differences of 3 dB double the perceived loudness per watt.
- Sound pressure level (SPL)Unit
- The measured amplitude of sound, in decibels. Published FR curves show SPL across the audible band.
T
- Thiele-Small parametersData source
- The standardised engineering parameter set (Fs, Qts, BL, Mms, Vas, Sd, and others) that, with a frequency response curve, is the only raw input the model uses.
V
- VoiceLens
- One of three lenses. Describes the frequency-response side of the speaker — band features, voicing, presence character.
- Voicing familyClassifier
- See origin voicing.
Z
- ZoneScale endpoint
- A named position on a perceptual scale — e.g. Tight · Loose on Bass Control, or Wide · Gluey on Dynamic Range.