using the AUX things

[shackrock]

if i'm correct, the AUX sends are for putting, for example, an effect (such as lo fi)...then you can send an unlimited number of tracks to that AUX (or that effect), making each track you send to it have that lo fi sound....right?

well if that IS what its for..how come i can never get it to work with ntrack? ha...any help would be appretiated..ha.

thanks

 

[Aren]

Hmmm....
I never had any problem with the Aux sends....
The way to use them is to "plug" an effect into the Auxilary channel (Reverb is probobly the most common use for and Aux cahnnel), then set the track that you want to be proccessed's Aux1 send level to 0dB. Then, while playing the track, pull Aux1's return level up, until you can hear the effect.
That's the most basic use for it. Fiddle around with it for a while.
It should work.

Oren

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Aren's got it right. The returns are on the mixer, and it's not laid out very well. You can also specify post/pre fader and all that crap in the settings of each aux channel (there's a button on the mixer).

I use aux channels a lot for reverb, when it's beneficial to have a snigle reverb on many channels....like drums for instance....and I simply control the amount of each track that gets processed using the send faders.

Also notice that you can draw send to aux envelopes!

Slackmaster 2000

 

[shackrock]

how abouty using a compressor set for vocals on an aux?

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Maybe...but you really want to use aux channels when you want to apply processing to a "group" of tracks. The tracks are mixed and processed as one, just as if you had a single compressor on an aux channel on a mixer.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[Aren]

how abouty using a compressor set for vocals on an aux?

Probobly not a good idea. A compressor effects the overal characteristics of the sound, so it is better to use it in an insert point.

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Aren brings up a good point. For effects that don't have wet/dry controls, using an aux channel for even a single track will allow you to mix in just the right amount of processing. I agree that this wouldn't be a good application for a compressor in most cases.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[J Wah]

I dont' understand. Why is it not good to have comps on aux channels? If you overdub or have multiple vocal tracks, couldn't you have a comp on an aux and send both or all vocals to that aux. Is it better to have a comp on each channel?

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Well there might be times when you'd put a compressor on an aux channel, but not often.

1) A compressor doesn't do much good unless it *replaces* the incoming signal with a compressed signal; mixing a compressed signal in with the original signal isn't a normal thing to do. Now you could totally cut the volume on a track, set the aux send to 0db, set the aux channels return level to 0db, and then control the actual level with the aux return faders, but that's not really very much fun.

2) It would be very rare to use the same exact compressor settings on more than one track, unless the tracks contained basically the same information (like multiple takes). While you might use similar compression settings on multiple tracks, the threshold you specifiy will rarely be the same. Besides, when you send two tracks to an aux bus the tracks are mixed and the compression would be acting on the sum of the two tracks. There are times when you might do this, but usually you'll run compressors on each track that needs one. Luckily, they don't steal much CPU juice.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Actually JWah, if I understand you correctly, then you are making sense. If you have are using bits and pieces from many vocal tracks to come up with one good vocal take, then it would make sense to put the effects that you want on the vocals on an aux bus and route all the tracks to aux like I mentioned in #1 above. Then you'll be mixing with the aux returns (note you could mix with the aux sends, but the compressor is dependent upon incoming level, so that's no good).

I think that track grouping might be something to look into in this case. I've never used it, but I think it solves this problem.

Slackmaster 2000

 

[Aren]

What I do when I have a bunch of vocal takes, is go through them carefully, mute the unnecessary parts, and then mix them down to one channel, on which I plug the compressor onto.
To me it seems like the easiest thing to do.

Oren

 

[sonnylarsen]

I do this stuff alot.

Put your effect into aux 1 or 2.
Move corresponding slider up to desired level (I usually max it here). These sliders are located on the mixer to the right of the effects box for the master channel. The left slider is for aux 1, the right for aux 2.

Move corresponding slider on each track to desired level. The sliders are located under the track on the mixer. The top slider is for aux 1, the bottom for aux 2. You will find the setting for each aux by pushing the little 'p' button under the black boxes for each aux.

(You can also set the number of aux busses in your preferences under the options tab.

I tried to give you the exact procedure here, hopefully I am being clear...

 

[J Wah]

Thanks Slack for another good answer.

 

[MichaelF]

I know this is an old post but it's the subject I'm looking for so...here's my question. I am trying to use an aux channel for a simple effect (reverb, echo, etc.). So, I put the reverb effect on aux channel 1. Then I pull up the "mixer" for the track I want the effect on. There are two little sliders below the 'efx' window which, I believe are "aux sends"? Per the n-track manual, I set the aux channel one slider to 0db. The manual then explains something to the effect of adjusting the "aux send" while playing back the track until you can hear the effect. BUT, I can't find an "aux send" slider, button, whatever, anywhere.

I know I'm close but the manual is not very specific...any help gang?

thanks

Mike in Orygun.

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Using Aux busses does add a bit of complexity to the way you mix.

There are two primary things to grasp here, send and return. You control the send (the amount of signal to send from a track) using the Aux Send fader contained in each track mixer, and you control the return (the level the aux channel will return to the master bus) using the Aux Return faders, which are at the top of the main mixer to the left of all the aux channels.

How you use the aux channels really depends on what you want to do.

For example, let's say you want to apply the same reverb to 5 tracks. One way to do this is to put the reverb on the aux channel, and adjust it's wet/dry settings until they are exactly what you want. Then you can set the return from that aux channel to 0db (100%), configure its sends to be pre-fader, set each track volume slider to -inf (0%), and control the level of each track using the Aux send slider on each track.

Another way to set that up is to put your reverb on an aux channel completely wet (e.g. all reverb, no dry sound mixed in), with a return level of 100% and its sends as post-fader. Then you would set the levels of each track normally, and control the amount of reverb per track using the aux sends.

Yet another way to set that up is to put your reverb on an aux channel completely wet, set the levels of each track normally, set the send to aux on each track to 100%, and use the aux return to control the reverb applied to the combination of all 5 tracks.

...and so on and so forth. Note that all three of these examples, while similar in nature, will produce different sounding results!

Also note that the aux channels can each be configured to be pre-fader, post-fader, or pre-insert, by clicking the "P" button underneath each aux channel in the main mixer.

pre-fader = the signal is sent to the aux bus BEFORE the track's volume fader and effects (also pan...whenever I say volume, I could also be saying pan because they are processed together in n-track)

post-fader = the signal is sent to the aux bus AFTER the track's volume fader and effects.

pre-insert = the signal is sent to the aux bus AFTER the volume fader but BEFORE the track's effects are applied.

Cripes, lots of stuff to digest. Try thinking about things as if you were using a real mixer with real effects, because that is what all these options are replicating. Once you get the swing of it, you'll understand both the creative freedom and ease of mixing properties of the aux channels.

Good luck, and sorry my descriptions are so poor tonight, but it's pretty late...

Slackmaster 2000

 

[MichaelF]

Thanks Slack! I finally figured out how to display the full mixer window (no wonder I couldn't find the return faders). And thanks for the different methods of applying the effects. This should keep me busy for awhile.

Mike