![]() ![]() For example if you’re automating the lead vocal level, the reverb wet/dry balance will stay consistent.Ī pre-fader send will not give you this option. Most of the time, this is how we expect sends to work. Turn it down and less signal will go to the fx return.Īnother way to think of it is that it keeps the effect level proportional to the level of the channel that’s sending to it. Turn your original track up on the fader, and you’ll be sending more signal to the fx return channel. If you use a post-fader send, the level of your effect will be affected by the fader of your original track. It’s easier if I explain post-fader first, as you’ll soon see: ![]() Whether you always give them a specific color, or always put them in the same spot in your mixer layout, there are ways you can help prevent yourself from losing track of them. To help avoid this, try to get in the habit of consistently organizing your return channels the same way. Ask any engineer-it’s something even the most seasoned pros have to hunt for from time to time. It’s hard to keep track, and very easy to wind up with duplicated audio playing at full bore. Indeed, adding sends, returns, busses, and auxiliary tracks into your life is a double edged sword. Turning down the return’s fader, after the compressor, means less level from the compressed track overall-but the amount of compression will remain the same. Turning down the send to a parallel compressor means less compression on the fx return. As such, they should also be considered in your gain staging! If you want to turn them down, it’s often wise to do that from the plug-in output, or the return track fader, and not from your send. We can also use them for things like compression or saturation, often referred to as parallel processing.įor things like compressors and distortion, be mindful that these are not meant to introduce noticeable time shifts. However, we can use aux returns for more than just time-based effects like reverb and delay. Why? Without an effect on your fx return, the track is essentially a duplicate, and you’re messing with your gain staging-adding more of the original sound than you quite possibly need! Much of the time, you’ll want to default to 100% wet on a delay or a reverb. Things work differently with return channels. Too low, and the effect won't have much effect at all. If the wet setting is too high, you will draw listeners’ attention to the effect and take away from the music. Whenever you insert a time-based effect directly on a track, the dry/wet knob is a crucial parameter. These choices can yield dramatically different results, which is why avoiding the next mistake is vital:ĥ. Or, you can automate the fader of the return track, and the automation will take place after all the effects processing. ![]() You can automate the level you send to the return track, and this will control how much signal hits the effect. Where you choose to automate can also result in a mistake. You can also automate any plug-in on the return aux itself-don’t forget that this is a possibility! At the same time, you might want to automate the pan dial on the reverb return to make the effect wider. For example: when the chorus kicks in, automate the lead vocal send higher on the reverb, then revert it back to a lower, dryer setting for the verse. With multiple tracks under a single fader, automating returns is a powerful mixing move.ĭon’t be afraid of automation while mixing. Avoiding automation on sends and returnsīecause many DAWs hide their FX return channels-or tuck them off to the side, like Logic-it's easy to forget that a send or return can be automated. ![]()
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