Is it bus or buss?

[My3gger]

i’m trying to remember why Buss is stamped in my brain. I did a city in guilds audio engineering course in the late 90’s run by a former Neve Engineer. Then I did a short SAE dimploma in London, then worked at Metropolis studios. I don’t know where I picked it up, but the first time my spelling was questioned was on this forum.

Buss stamped in my brain when reading old manuals, thinking; "Wow, if this thing can boost the signal up to Buss level, it must be better than some connections we call bus"
A few weeks ago i mailed manufacturer about "...Buss level..." at the top of their FB page. Looks like they prefer buss because of aesthetics.

 

[Scott Harmonic]

No matter how you spell it, I think I got on the wrong Bus some time ago.

 

[soapfoot]

It’s bus.

The only reason it’s debated at all is that the incorrect spelling has (for whatever reason) been repeated with unusual frequency and consistency/persistence over decades

It’s obviously a bit pedantic to insist on one spelling, but in this case “bus” does have cultural context that conveys meaning with more clarity.

A bus (in audio) is a mechanism for several individual signals to combine and travel to a common destination.

The motor vehicle that non-coincidentally shares the name is a pretty illustrative analogy for someone just learning the concept

 

[Ricardus]

I think we can all settle on BUSSS.

 

[Gold]

I think it’s time to take a blunderbuss to the thread.

 

[5v333]

Is it track or truck?

 

[Barry Hufker]

“Is it track or truck?”

That's exactly the kind of question that makes me piste.

; > )

 

[5v333]

In Sweden you can get a "puss" on the cheak If you are lucky.

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

I think phase used on switches is a matter of abbreviation for phase reversal, ø also being much easier to fit on or below a switch than Polarity. From memory the usage of buss was as a verb - buss to a bus, bussing cables and so on.

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

“Is it track or truck?”

That's exactly the kind of question that makes me piste.

; > )

If you piste on the piste after getting piste in the bar it would get all the other skiers piste

 

[JohnRoberts]

I think phase used on switches is a matter of abbreviation for phase reversal, ø also being much easier to fit on or below a switch than Polarity. From memory the usage of buss was as a verb - buss to a bus, bussing cables and so on.

Since I have been whining about this for decades, and designed consoles, I have commented about this too... using the greek phi symbol ø for polarity, is compact, and looks neat, except it fails the important test of being universally understood. When designing console control surfaces understanding what everything does is paramount. IMO if your customer does not understand what every control does you have failed.

JR

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Since I have been whining about this for decades, and designed consoles, I have commented about this too... using the greek phi symbol ø for polarity, is compact, and looks neat, except it fails the important test of being universally understood. When designing console control surfaces understanding what everything does is paramount. IMO if your customer does not understand what every control does you have failed.

JR

There were some consoles I have used and worked on where the panel logic was just a head scratcher, this from major makers as well as obscure. There seems to be a common terminology used today which allows you to go from one to another and work it all out. I think the hardest thing to explain to customers is normalling in patchbays - how it works, what it’s for and why there are options like half and full normalling.

 

[Barry Hufker]

@JohnRoberts That's what manuals are for! ; >)

 

[totoxraymond]

@JohnRoberts That's what manuals are for! ; >)

Who reads them anyway?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I used to write owners manuals too but good design means not having to RTFM to get sound to come out....

JR

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Front panel and rear panel/patch bay logic (should) = operational logic (hopefully) = what’s in the manual for a well laid out desk, so for example if you do a “walk in” mix engineer job to a live gig without the benefit of a sound check you can start cold and know what’s what without having to RTFM. I speak from experience of having done many gigs this way - not just live but studio as well - the audience or studio client don’t want to wait while you read a 200 page book or many books if it’s a Neve or the like.