Signal Routing Philosophy

3. Signal Routing Philosophy

Understanding how audio flows through the console is crucial at GKM:

• Inputs -> Groups: ALL input channels are routed to one or more Groups in the center section. No input channel goes directly to the main Left/Right Master bus.
• Subgroups -> Main Groups: Individual drum elements (Kick, Snare, etc.) are grouped into subgroups, processed individually, and then sent to main drum groups (Drum Dry, Drum Comp).
• Groups -> Master Bus: All main Groups (Drum Dry, Drum Comp, Bass, Guitars, Keys, Tracks, Vocal Dry, Vocal Comp) are routed to the main LR Master Bus.
• Master Bus -> Matrices: The main LR Master Bus feeds the Matrices.
• Matrices -> Physical Outputs: The Matrices send the final processed audio to the amplifiers via the stage racks, feeding the different speaker zones (PA Left, PA Right, Subs, Fills, etc.).
• Parallel Compression: We use parallel compression extensively, especially for Drums and Vocals. This involves sending the signal to both a “Dry” group (lightly compressed or uncompressed) and a “Comp” group (heavily compressed), then blending them for punch and control.