Advice regarding Bus needed [SOLVED]

[hira78]

hi

 

Firstly, no matter what i have read and the video's i have watched i still can not seem to get my head around the technique of using 'Bus' in a project, all i can so far make out is that it lessens the load on your CPU. However after watching a video Tutorial I now think I have not been using it correctly.

 

I have been selecting a Bus for each of my channel strips & understand that Logic automatically creates an AUX channel, then all the sound is being routed to this AUX channel, but i have realised that all of my inserts are located on my original channel in the mixer where as in the video I have just watched he has them located on the AUX channel, i then realised my AUX channel volume meter levels are not even responding when i play the project.....so i am guessing that i am not doing this correctly as the project in the video tutorial had his AUX channel volume meter responding when he played the project.

 

I am basically selecting a bus from the sends located under the inserts of a channel i have selected......

 

Please Advise

 

Cheers!

[Scott Jackson]

I have been selecting a Bus for each of my channel strips & understand that Logic automatically creates an AUX channel, then all the sound is being routed to this AUX channel

 

None of your signal is reaching the Aux channel strips.

 

If you want all of the signal to go to the Aux you need to bus from the Output slot where it currently says "Stereo Out". If you want just some of the signal to go to the Aux you would use your Sends but the way you have set it up, no signal is going to the Aux channel strips because you have not turned the Send knob up.

 

Learning About Effect Routings

[David Nahmani]

On top of Scott's (really good) advice, you have a send to Bus 1 on Aux 1 that receives Bus 1. That's unnecessary, so click-hold that send and remove it.

 

All you need to do is click-hold the middle of the little round knob next to "Bus 1" on channel strip #13 and drag upward to raise the send level.... and insert the desired effect on Aux 1.

[Antiphones]

Firstly, no matter what i have read and the video's i have watched i still can not seem to get my head around the technique of using 'Bus' in a project, all i can so far make out is that it lessens the load on your CPU. However after watching a video Tutorial I now think I have not been using it correctly.

 

It sounds like you are unsure how and why you should be using buses. They have two common uses. One is for effects like reverb where you want to send some of the signal from one of your channel strips to an effect, but you don't want the entire signal to go through it. So normally effects like reverb and delay are put on a bus / aux and you use the send on the channel strip to send some of the signal to the buss / effect.

 

The other common use for busses is for sub-grouping instruments. So you might have 10 drum channels and you rout them all to a bus /aux, by selecting the bus in the output section of your channel strips. This will then allow you to control the volume of all these 10 drum channels with one fader - the bus/aux fader. It also allows you to put one effect, like compression, on the entire drum kit.

 

There isn't much point in using buses / auxs unless you understand what they are useful for. I've given the two most common uses above, but there are others. One I use a lot is if I have channel with a lot of automation, and I want to turn the whole lot down or up without having to edit the automation, I just send that one channel to a bus/aux and I can adjust it post automation.

 

There is no reason to send or rout all your channels to buses, only if you have good reasons to - like the ones above.

 

Hope this helps.

[hira78]

Thanx Scott!

 

But what level should the knob be turned up to?

 

Why would you want just some of the signal to go to the AUX?

[hira78]

okay cheers david

[David Nahmani]

But what level should the knob be turned up to?

That's entirely up to you.

 

Why would you want just some of the signal to go to the AUX?

For example if you're sending signal to an Aux that has a reverb plug-in on it, adjusting the send level allows you to adjust the amount of signal that will reach the reverb plug-in. That means the send level knobs becomes your way of adjusting how much reverb you add for that particular instrument.

[hira78]

It sounds like you are unsure how and why you should be using buses. They have two common uses. One is for effects like reverb where you want to send some of the signal from one of your channel strips to an effect, but you don't want the entire signal to go through it. So normally effects like reverb and delay are put on a bus / aux and you use the send on the channel strip to send some of the signal to the buss / effect.

 

So for example, i have a instrument track with lets say a compressor, space delay and tremolo on it, i just want to use the bus for space delay, how do i do that? do i have to select the space delay from the AUX channel in the mixer from the start and not from the inspector?

 

 

Thanks very much....i think I am beginning to understand a little more

[David Nahmani]

So for example, i have a instrument track with lets say a compressor, space delay and tremolo on it, i just want to use the bus for space delay, how do i do that? do i have to select the space delay from the AUX channel in the mixer from the start and not from the inspector?

Yes, exactly.

[hira78]

so if i have already selected these inserts from the inspector there is no way of now using them separately through the AUX with the settings i already have on them?

[Scott Jackson]

Thanx Scott!

 

You're welcome!

 

So for example, i have a instrument track with lets say a compressor, space delay and tremolo on it, i just want to use the bus for space delay, how do i do that? do i have to select the space delay from the AUX channel in the mixer from the start and not from the inspector?

 

Just in case you do not already know. If you currently have an effect or effects on your instrument track that you would like on the Aux channel strip you can simply move it by pressing Command and dragging it over to the Aux channel strip.

 

[Edit] I see you posted while I was typing. I just answered your last question.

[hira78]

Wicked Scott, niceone lad

 

But i do not seem to be lowering my CPU usage by doing all of this??

[David Nahmani]

i do not seem to be lowering my CPU usage by doing all of this??

In your case, you are not lowering your CPU usage at all.

 

The reason why you've heard that it allows you to save on CPU resources is because when you start sending several tracks to the same Aux so that you can apply the same effect to them, you are only using one plug-in for all those tracks, vs inserting one plug-in for each one of those tracks' channel strips.

[Scott Jackson]

Wicked Scott, niceone lad

 

But i do not seem to be lowering my CPU usage by doing all of this??

 

You're still using the same number of and type of plug-ins.

 

You will save on CPU when you have several tracks which all need the same effects because you can output them or send them all to the same Aux channel strip.

[hira78]

Okaaaay.....but if i am using say reverb on 3 tracks, i have my reverb settings all different for each track....so why would i want the same setting being applied to all three tracks?

[David Nahmani]

Okaaaay.....but if i am using say reverb on 3 tracks, i have my reverb settings all different for each track....so why would i want the same setting being applied to all three tracks?

 

It's entirely up to you.

 

When you cook for 3 persons, do you use 3 skillets? Maybe, if you're cooking 3 different things. Maybe not, if you're cooking the same thing for the 3 persons. Do you want to cook 3 different things? Or the same thing for 3 persons? In one case, you'll have less dishes to wash. But no professional chef can tell you whether you should cook the same thing for 3 persons or not: that's your decision.

 

Does that help?

 

There are many cases in music production where you want to apply the same amount of reverb, delay or any other effect to multiple tracks (for example multiple backup vocal tracks, or multiple drum tracks), only with different amounts. Sending those tracks to a bus and placing the effect on the corresponding Aux allows you to do that in a more CPU-efficient manner than inserting as many effects as you have tracks.

[Scott Jackson]

Okaaaay.....but if i am using say reverb on 3 tracks, i have my reverb settings all different for each track....so why would i want the same setting being applied to all three tracks?

 

You wouldn't. In that case you either would not use Aux's and place the reverb on each track or you would use three separate Aux's if you only want to send part of the signal from each track to their corresponding Aux's.

 

And therefore in that case you would not save on CPU by using Aux's.

[Rev. Juda Sleaze]

With the reverb example, say you want 3 instruments to sound like they're all in the same room, but at different distances from the listener; you could create this effect by sending different levels via a bus to an aux channel with a reverb on it. Basically, the more signal you send to the reverb aux, the further away the instrument will sound (that's a simplification, but true enough for this example).

 

So, instead of having 3 reverb plug-ins, each with the wet/dry mix set for each instrument, you can do roughly the same job with 1 plug-in on an aux channel.

 

Also, if you have instruments that have been captured on multiple mics, like a guitar amp or drum kit, you can apply the same effect to each channel without needing a seperate plug-in for them.

 

Make sense?

[hira78]

Okaaaay.....but if i am using say reverb on 3 tracks, i have my reverb settings all different for each track....so why would i want the same setting being applied to all three tracks?

 

It's entirely up to you.

 

When you cook for 3 persons, do you use 3 skillets? Maybe, if you're cooking 3 different things. Maybe not, if you're cooking the same thing for the 3 persons. Do you want to cook 3 different things? Or the same thing for 3 persons? In one case, you'll have less dishes to wash. But no professional chef can tell you whether you should cook the same thing for 3 persons or not: that's your decision.

Does that help?

 

Excellent

 

Many thanks for all ur help peoples 8)

Edited January 16, 2013 by hira78

[David Nahmani]

Cool.