What is a GOVENOR ?

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 14 Jan 2007 6:00 am

This is especially for those that know about mastering and levels in general !!

see this topic :-
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=100148

What does this technical term "Govenor" mean ?

I was asked by Jerry Byrd to never put a governor on any of his tracks

erik · Post by **erik** » 14 Jan 2007 6:40 am

Is there a real device with that name? In general a governor limits or restricts something to a set limit. The term is most often used with fossil fuel vehicles.

Jay Fagerlie · Post by **Jay Fagerlie** » 14 Jan 2007 8:03 am

Limiter?

Fred Shannon · Post by **Fred Shannon** » 14 Jan 2007 11:29 am

Basil, maybe used in the sense of what I read perhaps it's an automatic volume limiting device. Other than that--------

Phred

Rick Campbell · Post by **Rick Campbell** » 14 Jan 2007 11:45 am

A "govenor" is like the president except just for a state.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Dave Boothroyd · Post by **Dave Boothroyd** » 14 Jan 2007 11:51 pm

I have a vague memory of hearing the term used to describe an AVC circuit (Automatic Volume Control).
I also remember my father saying that one of his engineeering colleages was the inventor of the AVC, which came into use during WW2- which would be just about right for it to be marketed to Radio Stations in GB's era under a name devised by marketing people.
I would not want my music put through one of those either!
Electronic items are often given names in their early days which do not "catch on"- an example being "Expander" which was what "Sound Modules" were called when they were just sold as add-ons to electronic keyboards.
Cheers
Dave

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 15 Jan 2007 5:45 am

Watt's steam engine had a flyball governor I believe... That was a few years before internal combustion engines...

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 18 Jan 2007 6:01 am

It is a form of limitor/compressor.

Some times called a Brickwall limiter.

The Waves L1 Ultramaximizer is a software example.
I use it to final mix and also master tracks.

The Aphex Dominator is a very nice hardware example.
[ We recomended that to Tina Turner for her big album tour
and it prevented her voice, and the lead players solos,
from breaking up the system in one of the freq bands of their 5 way PA.
It saved them adding something like $65,000 more to the PA for only $1,200,
She made us dinner backstage, (veggies) and sent us a nice card and bottle of wine later.]

Basically it sets an absolute output level,

say radio station maximum signal power,
or in a studio or pa system digital clipping or distortion point

and either brings the level up to close to the max,
and then "brick wall's" as in run into a brickwall.
But the Dominator has a look before feature that senses
a peak coming and gently and invisably as possible prevents
it from passing the max output.

The Waves L1 lets you bring your mix level up and set a ratio
of hard limiting over threshold so you can not get digital clipping
from your peaks, but get as hot a track as possible..

I like a brickwall limiter for small clubs with many different performers
and and underpowered system.
Let-em be stupid as stumps with the volume
they ain't NEVAAA gonna blow up a systen that cain't distort!!!!

basilh · Post by **basilh** » 19 Jan 2007 3:31 am

When I said

What does this technical term "Govenor" mean ?
I was asked by Jerry Byrd to never put a governor on any of his tracks

I WAS being obtuse and facetious.

It was a comment on the terminology in use..

I was simply deriding the level of expertise of the quoted poster.

Or Is that a COMMON terminology amongst the technical gurus ?
This side of the pond it's NOT.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 19 Jan 2007 6:19 am

In the ole USA it would be on a car, truck, go-kart, lawnmower
or steam powered traction engine or factory machinery,
for sure.

But I haven't heard it used on a sound system or playback
methodology
except by those not profesionally using those tools.

It would of course get the idea across to those with automotive
or steam engine knowlege.

In the old movies you might see some balls spinning around
a vertical shaft,
on an anceint steam tractor.
The faster they spin the more centrifugal force makes them raise,
and that in turn lowers the steam preasure.
thus slowing the spin and keeping the output with in limits.

In the Jerry Byrd case,
he is asking to never have compression on his tracks.
Must be a 'southernism'.
I suspect some studio engineer explained to him
how a limiter works in automotive terms
a LOOONG time ago.

Mark Vinbury · Post by **Mark Vinbury** » 23 Jan 2007 8:36 pm

" had a flyball governor "

We had one here in Rhode Island----Told him to take a bath

I've never heard govenor used in connection with music production before. Possibly Jerry used it as a blanket term for the whole family of limiting ,compression and volume regulating,noise reducing Dolby devices.
I know as a player /mechanic and not a recording engineer,it is a word I might grasp in conversation to mean any device that altered the dynamics of a recording
Unless I'm missing the point--Isn't the Steel Radio issue more about getting a device to do just what a DJ would do ?
If a recording had an overall low volume wouldn't they boost the output level for the whole tune.
The problem as I see it comes with modern devces that track the dynamics throughout the tune and alter the output on the fly. I could see objecting to the latter but the DJ scenario seems like accepted practice since early broadcasting.