What is Signal Flow in Audio Production?

Signal Flow is the journey of an audio signal from somewhere to somewhere else, including all the cables, gear, processors and conversions along the way. (Examples below)

It’s good to know the signal flow of all your audio signals because it helps with identifying problems, understanding why the audio sounds like it does, and understanding that adjustments anywhere along the flow will affect all the subsequent processes that that signal flows through.

General examples:
From your microphone, to a channel strip (which contains many processes), to an audio interface, to your computer, to your DAW software, through a plugin and then recorded.
In post-production, the recorded track can flow through many plugins (one after the other in a chosen order) and then be mixed with all the other tracks, and then flow through the mastering processing, and then rendered as a final episode.

NOTE: Along the way there are many opportunities for the signal to be degraded; that’s another reason to know your signal flow.

Podcast production tips email list signup: http://eepurl.com/geOdAD

*CAREER Option: Learn how to produce podcasts professionally from home and earn a great living doing it! — https://podcastengineeringschool.com/product/pes-online-program/