Using Aux Inputs for FX

OK, so today we're going to learn about how you can use the Aux Sends in Pro Tools to put an effect on a bunch of tracks at once.

First of all, what the #*!& is an Aux Send?

An Aux Send is a part of a mixing board that lets you take the signal from one track and direct it somewhere else.

Why would you want to do that?

One big reason is to have a multiple tracks going to the same FX processor.

Why would you want to do that?

• versatility - isn't it more useful to have an effect be accessible to every track rather than just one track? Also, you can get really creative by sending sounds to different places and doing different things in the mix.
  
• simplicity - instead of putting an reverb on every track, you can just have one reverb and send whatever you want to it
• less processing power - why make your computer do a bunch of extra work if you don't have to
• gives your mix a more consistent sound.
  

So, where do you find the Aux section in Pro Tools? In the Mix Window, it is the light grey section under the Inserts.
When you click on one of the double arrows, you will be asked to choose either interface or bus. What is the difference?

Interface refers to something outside of the computer - you are talking about running something into or out of Pro Tools.

Bus refers to directing a signal to somewhere else inside Pro Tools, like another track.

Actually, you can create a special type of track in Pro Tools that is meant for being used with the Aux Sends. It is called an Aux Input and you can create it the same way you would create an audio track: Track>New Track

From there you just change the type of track from audio to Aux Input.
To setup a basic Aux track with a reverb on it, just do the following:

{Do D.A.T. collabo_pt. 3}

Hopefully by now you're pretty close to finishing up a beat for your remix of "Color Scheme". Today we're going to focus on mixing the vocals to sound as good as possible.

The areas I want you to focus on are:

• Balance the volume levels of the vocals and your beat
  
• Compressing the vocals
• Panning
• Using reverb with an Aux track.

Volume Balance
Since this is a song that has a strong vocal on it, you want to make sure that the main vocal really stands out so you can hear it. Listen closely to your beat and how loud it is relative to the vocal. If the beat is as loud or louder than the vocal, TURN IT DOWN a bit. Go to the Mix Window and pull down the fader of the Aux track that has Reason on it.

Also, the doubles tracks and adlibs should not be as loud as the main vocal. Try turning them down a bit so that they are supporting the main vocal, but not competing with it.

Compression
You should all be somewhat familiar with using a compressor and what it does to the sound of a vocal track. I want you to spend some time compressing Dat's vocals and getting them to sound nice and fat. In a professional recording, usually almost every vocal track has some compression. If you want to compress them all, go for it. At the very least I want you to compress the main vocals on the verse and the chorus:

• DAT v1.01
• DATchorus
• DATchrsl 1

If you forgot how to use a compressor, here is a link back to the Friday Night assignment where we learned how to compress.


Panning
Panning allows you to place certain instruments/tracks to the left or the right side of the stereo field. Doing this you can make your mixes richer and more interesting. Take a minute to listen to a bit of this track by Daedalus and hear how he's using panning. Pay attention to where the instruments are, from left to right:


If you go to your Mix Window, each channel has a section that looks like this:
To pan the track, just click and drag the slider to the left or the right. Generally, you want to keep the main vocal in the middle, and the backing tracks (doubles, adlibs, etc.) somewhere to the left or the right. For this song, one place to use panning would be on the chorus where Dat is repeating certain phrases ("black faces", "white cops", etc.).

I would also encourage you to pan some of the instruments in your beat. In Reason, you can adjust the panning with these knobs in the Mixer:

Reverb on an Aux track
The last thing I want you to do is to set up an Aux track with Reverb on it and see what it sounds like to send some of the vocals to it. To set this up, do the following:

1. Create a Stereo Aux Input track.
2. In the Inserts section of that track, create a D-Verb reverb processor (Multi-channel plugin>Reverb>D-Verb)
3. In the Inputs section of the Aux track, select Bus 1-2
4. In the Sends section of one of the vocal tracks, select Bus 1-2.
5. You should see a floating fader that pops up. Raise this fader to start sending the track to the reverb.