"Signal Flow"....one of the most overlooked aspects of Recording & Producing!

[Ihsaan Khatim]

The very first thing we tune into stepping into the studio and approaching a project is the Signal Flow !

…one of the most overlooked aspects of recording and producing. It is the foundation of a great recording, and if life is also a song, it would be also a critical aspect of ones life, that ultimately the recording is an extension of.

We’re always addressing this issue…checking to see if: the room is clean and in order, cables and connections are proper and secure, hearts and minds are clear of issues of clutter and low resonance. As a producer, we find ourselves as having to stay sharp on keeping the vibe flowing without it getting colored by big ego’s from great musicians and such, and channeling all of the energy involved in such a way that it communicates a love for being in the room together, creating something in harmony that none of us alone could have created without the mixed vibe of everyone involved, usually when the groove breaks down it’s because someone that’s contributing feels impeded, for whatever reason they don’t feel free enough to give the best of who they are ( provided they have the musical skills to do so ).

As it relates technically…. we continue to see that more times than not, when their is a problem with a piece of equipment not working, no sound showing up where it should, it’s usually as simple as the plug is not all the way in the socket, or the cable that the sound is to travel through is no longer any good….really that simple….

So in wrapping up, it’s a great benefit to always keep signal flow at the forefront of the session, from start to finish… We recall a friend calling us to help another friend get his studio up and running. They had several guys come in and could not get the room wired correctly and producing sound….So the first thing we did when we arrived, was notice that wires were everywhere, the room was filled with clutter and unrelated items in the way….that we could not even hear how to think, or get into the flow of the room. So our first three hours consisted of cleaning the whole room up, sweeping and mopping, sorting the cables and wires etc… We spent the next hour and a half reading the manuals on the gear we were not familiar with, and an hour and a half later…….the room was bumping!!!!!!! See order is the first Law of the Universe…and the studio is Our Universe …..so order is the first order of the day….it’s the beginning of having Great Signal flow all the way to the recorder and onto a hit record !!!!

Within Love,

Ihsaan Khatim