Aux FX: Series or Parallel?

[producer2g]

Hi Charles how are you? Your article is very informative and inspiring. My question is, when you use the aux fx are are they in series or parallel?

[Charles Dye]

producer2g,

Thanks. I'm glad you liked HDL.

Re aux fx: if you mean reverbs, delays, harmonizers, flangers, etc., I predominately use them in parallel. In a sense the phrase aux fx basically implies parallel processing. And this is the way it's usually done on consoles, and just like on consoles it is a way to share effects by using them on more than one instrument. On a DAW it is a more efficient use of DSP.

The steps to do this in PT are:

• 1. Label an available bus in the I/O Setup with the name of the effect I'm going to use (e.g. Rev1-Drum Plate).
  2. Create a new Aux Input and set its input to the new bus and its output to the stereo bus.
  3. Insert the plug-in (e.g. Reverb One) in the Aux Input and make sure the plug's mix/balance setting is set to 100% wet.
  4. Place the bus you labeled in step 1 on the channel you would like to add the effect to. Turn up the bus to add the effect to the dry signal from the channel.

OTOH, I would insert the same effects as above (reverbs, delays, chorus, flangers, etc.) directly onto a channel when I want to dedicate that effect to that instrument. As if I were inserting a gtr effects pedal (e.g. MetaFlanger's Mutron Biphase) or a mono reverb (to emulate the instrument being recorded at a distance on a single mic picking up a lot of the room).

Hope this helps.