Using send effects

A short post today about send effects. How to use them, why to use them.

For most producers, today's content will be a case of "move along, nothing to see here".

Okay, for the rest of us:

Send effects refer to effects/ processors set up on a sequencer's "send" channels. Rather than being applied directly to an instrument/ a sound, this effect is available for many instruments/sounds to be routed into, at different levels.

Common effects used on send channels are:

REVERB

If reverb is applied to each instrument/sound individually, it can sound like they're all in separate spaces, which can sound very confusing.

Using a send effect and sending more of some instruments and less of others into it means that all the instruments are sharing a space, providing a more convincing sound stage. The effect can be further improved by creating a couple of send channels which feed into the reverb channel, and putting short delays onto these send channels. This way, some sounds can be routed directly into the reverb (far away sounds, where the direct and reverbed sounds will reach the listener at the same time), some sounds can be routed into the reverb via a 25 millisecond delay (such as some lead sounds which aren't absolutely up front of the mix) and others can be routed via a 50ms delay (such as a snare at the front of the mix), which will a while to hit the back of the mix and come back to the listener as reverberation.

A different way of accomplishing this would be to copy each of the tracks going into the reverb, and simply pushing each one back in time the desired amount (with the fader at 0 and the channel fed into the reverb send pre-fader).

Some people set up a number of different send reverbs. I typically set up two for my trance songs - a long "hall" type reverb (which mainly treats my lead sounds) and a short "room" type reverb (which mainly treats my drum and bass sounds).

DELAY

Tempo-synced delays can add some sonic interest to a lot of sounds. If we're applying a distinctive delay to a particular sound it's probably best we apply it to that particular sound, but for more conventional delay effects it's fine to send several sounds through the same delay. I usually have two send delays set up for my trance songs. Both are left-right delays with a bit of feedback, set at different rhythmic patterns (for example, a 2/16ths, 3/16ths delay and a 3/16ths, 6/16ths delay). This way sounds can quickly be spiced up by routing them through one delay line or the other (or even both). Treating a number of sounds with the same delay pattern also adds cohesiveness to a mix.

Less common effects are:

CHORUS/STEREO WIDENERS

I occasionally experiment with these on a send track. As with delays, this provides a quick and easy way to add stereo width to a number of instruments. It generally works best with only two or three sounds running through it at the same time, since if everything is wide, nothing is wide. Using automation, width can be added to instruments at various points during a song.

COMPRESSION

One way of achieving the "New York Compression" effect, where a heavily compressed version of a sound is mixed with the original, uncompressed sound, is via a send. A whole group of sounds (for example, a drum kit) can be routed through the compressor.


An added benefit of using sends such as reverbs is that a high quality, resource hungry reverb can be used - since there is only one instance in the mix rather than ten, we're much less likely to run out of processing power.

EQs can be applied before or after send effects, to shape the frequencies we want passing through the effect and to shape the frequencies coming out of it. Low end is often removed from send effects, since bass can quickly build up. Lifting the high end up will make the effect stick out more, whereas bringing the high end down a bit will blend the effect in.

Send effects also allow for creative mix manipulation - we can bring the level of reverbs and delays up during transitions, or during certain sections of a song. We can briefly drop an effect out, raise its feedback, change its stereo image - there are many possibilities.

I hope some of you found this useful!

Fabian