Adding effects without affecting perceived volume

Hi,

 

I have a possibly unusual scenario: I'd like to be able to add effects to a live track, i.e. reverb, delay and distortion, without affecting the perceived volume for that track. Ideally by simply adjusting one control/fader. Not sure how to go about it, or if it's even possible. Using aux sends doesn't seem to be an option because they add to the signal, and when the send level is high, there can be a noticeable increase in perceived volume. To clarify, my ideal scenario is to be able to change the levels of those three effects, and no matter the combination I get *roughly* the same volume.

 

This is for a live project, where the music is generated dynamically, in case anybody wonders why on earth would anybody want to do this.

 

The closest I've come to this is by using Guitar Rig, which has a plugin that allows you to create two independent signal paths, and mix them just moving one slider. I can nest some of these, which quickly gets messy, but not impossible. But I'm wondering if there's a more generic way to do this (plus using an instance of Guitar Rig on every track might prove to be too much for my gear).

 

Thanks in advance!

Gonzalo

If you want to use faders, aux sends is the only way to do this for delay and reverb.

Otherwise you have to enable inserts for delay and reverb and you have to turn them on individually.

For distortion you can use an insert and set the output of the plugin to match the clean sound.

Thanks triplets,

I think using an inset for distortion doesn't really work, I can only set it on and off (having balanced the output for the on state), but I can't add more or less distortion maintaining the perceived volume, right? And the same with inset reverb or delay, as I add more or less effect, won't the perceived volume will also change?

Here's a diagram of my approach using splitters in Guitar Rig:

 

http://dense13.com/hosted/effect_chain.jpg

 

It shows only the first splitter, but at the output of it there should always be (roughly) the same perceived volume, so I could chain further splitters, and the volume would remain constant, whatever the position of each splitter. I think. (still fiddling with this, but it should work).

 

My hope is that I can achieve the same result by simply routing in the DAW, in a more generic way (without needing to insert a new instance of Guitar Rig on every channel). Something like an "aux sends with volume compensation" technique.

I think you want the computer do the work for you 

When you're using amps and pedals you have to set a lot of presets that you recall with a foot switch. Even AxeFX and Fractal Audio are like that.

The computer cannot simplify that with all the requirements you want.

No, it's a requirement of the project. The music is generated live, and needs to morph according to external factors that I can't predict, nothing about being lazy.

 

I guess I'll stick to the Guitar Rig splitters, but if someone has any other ideas, please bring them in!

Did you put a limiter on your FX return?

No I didn't. This is so I could at least limit the amount of gain that will be added, right? I'll still be adding to the overall volume, but with a bit more control? Anyway, I'll try, thanks. Btw I'm not particularly savvy with mixing concepts, I go a lot by trial/error. Let's see.