<scripttype=text/javascript>varbaseurl="https://prokoudine.github.io/ardour-tutorial/en"</script><scripttype=text/javascriptsrc=/ardour-tutorial/js/search.js?1650973059></script></div><sectionid=homelinks><ul><li><aclass=paddinghref=/ardour-tutorial/en/><iclass="fas fa-home"></i> Home</a></li></ul></section><divclass=highlightable><ulclass=topics><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/title=Introductionclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/><b>1. </b>Introduction</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/title=Conventionsclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/conventions/>Conventions</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/title="What is digital audio?"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/introduction/what-is-digital-audio/>What is digital audio?</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/title="Getting started"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/><b>2. </b>Getting started</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour-on-ubuntu/title="Starting Ardour"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/starting-ardour-on-ubuntu/>Starting Ardour</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/title="Overview of the Interface"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/>Overview of the Interface</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/title="Editor window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/editor-window/>Editor window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/title="Mixer window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/mixer-window/>Mixer window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/title="Recorder window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/recorder-window/>Recorder window</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/title="Cue window"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/overview-of-the-interface/cue-window/>Cue window</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/title="Creating tracks and busses"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/creating-tracks-and-busses/>Creating tracks and busses</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/title="Importing audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/importing-audio/>Importing audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/title="Setting up the timeline"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/getting-started/setting-up-the-timeline/>Setting up the timeline</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/title=Recordingclass=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/><b>3. </b>Recording</a><ul><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/title="Recording audio"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/recording-audio/>Recording audio</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/understanding-routing/title="Understanding routing"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/understanding-routing/>Understanding routing</a></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/routing-between-applications/title="Routing between applications"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/recording-audio/routing-between-applications/>Routing between applications</a></li></ul></li><lidata-nav-id=/ardour-tutorial/en/editing-sessions/title="Editing sessions"class=dd-item><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/editing-sessions/><b>4. </b>Editi
<spanclass=links><ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/>Home</a> > <ahref=/ardour-tutorial/en/mixing-sessions/>Mixing sessions</a> > Using sends</span></div><divclass=progress><divclass=wrapper><navid=TableOfContents><ul><li><ahref=#when-is-a-send-useful>When is a Send Useful?</a></li><li><ahref=#creating-the-bus-and-adding-a-plugin>Creating the Bus and adding a Plugin</a><ul><li><ahref=#bus-inputs>Bus inputs</a></li><li><ahref=#bus-output>Bus output</a></li></ul></li><li><ahref=#creating-and-routing-sends>Creating and Routing Sends</a><ul><li><ahref=#post-fader-vs-pre-fader-sends>Post-Fader vs Pre-Fader Sends</a></li><li><ahref=#send-fader>Send Fader</a></li></ul></li><li><ahref=#continuing>Continuing</a></li></ul></nav></div></div></div></div><divid=head-tags></div><divid=body-inner><h1>Using sends</h1><p>A <em>Send</em> is just an extra output for a track or bus with its own separate
fader that can be used to route the signal to other points in Ardour.</p><p>Also known as <em>auxiliary sends</em>, they tap the signal at a specific point in
the signal flow (pre-fader, post-fader, before or after EQs and other plugins,
etc.) and send a copy of that signal somewhere else, without affecting the
normal signal flow downwards to the channel fader.</p><p>In Ardour, you can easily add <em>sends</em> to tracks and busses through the mixer
strip. Sends are processors, just like plugins.</p><h2id=when-is-a-send-useful>When is a Send Useful?</h2><p>In earlier chapters, we built a drum kit pattern with four separate tracks:
plugin.</p><p>Here’s the overview of how we will do this:</p><ol><li>Create a single bus with the desired plugin.</li><li>Add a send to each drum track to which you want to apply the effect.</li><li>Route these sends to the bus.</li></ol><h2id=creating-the-bus-and-adding-a-plugin>Creating the Bus and adding a Plugin</h2><p>Create a bus (<code>Track > Add Track, Bus, or VCA...</code> in the menu), name it
<em>ACE Reverb</em> plugin to the bus.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-ace-reverb-in-mixer-strip.pngalt=sends1></figure><h3id=bus-inputs>Bus inputs</h3><p>The “-” display in the bus input button indicates that nothing is routed to
this bus yet. We will take care of this later.</p><h3id=bus-output>Bus output</h3><p>Before routing a send to this bus, first make sure that the bus outputs are
routed to the <em>Master</em> bus, as shown below (button at bottom reads “<em>master</em>”).</p><figure><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Sends_2.pngalt=sends2></figure><p>Also, open the plugin window (double click on the <em>ACE Reverb</em> rectangle) and
set the plugin’s signal mix to 1.0 <em>Blend</em> value.</p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-ace-reverb-settings.pngalt=sends3></figure><p>This ensures that the bus carries all of the processed signal from the plugin,
and none of the unprocessed signal to the <em>Master</em> bus. Remember, the
unprocessed, ‘clean’ signals are still available from their original tracks,
so there is no need to duplicate them in this bus.</p><h2id=creating-and-routing-sends>Creating and Routing Sends</h2><p>Now we can create sends in the other tracks and route them to the bus inputs.</p><p>Like plugins, sends are also created in the processor box. Go to each of your
drum tracks, right-click in empty space of the processor box, and create a
<em>New Aux Send…</em> directed to the appropriate bus (in our case, named <em>Drums</em>).</p><p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-adding-aux-send.pngalt=sends4></figure></p><divclass="notices tip"><p>If you do <em>not</em> see the <em>New Aux Sends…</em> option in the menu, it’s probably
the bus.</p></div><p>You should now see the send displayed in the processor box:</p><p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-post-fader-send.pngalt=postfader></figure></p><p>The little <em>Send</em> slider you see just below the green rectangle is the send
fader, which controls how much sound will be sent from this track to the bus.</p><h3id=post-fader-vs-pre-fader-sends>Post-Fader vs Pre-Fader Sends</h3><p>Notice that the image above shows a post-fader send (it sits <em>after</em> the fader
rectangle). In post-fader sends, the send level is controlled <em>first</em> by both
the track/Bus Fader and <em>second</em> by the send fader.</p><p>In a <em>pre</em>-fader send, on the other hand, the send level is controlled only by
the send fader, independently of the track/bus fader. A pre-fader send would
look like this:</p><p><figure><imgsrc=en/ardour7-pre-fader-send.pngalt=prefader></figure></p><p>You can drag the send rectangle up and down the processor box to make it pre-
or post-fader as needed.</p><divclass="notices tip"><p>The choice of pre- or post-fader depending on the type of effect plugin used and
the desired result. For this exercise, either one will work.</p></div><p>A send behaves just like any other plugin in the processor box. You can
deactivate it temporarily by clicking on the small LED, and you can right click
on the rectangle to access other options, including <em>Delete</em>.</p><h3id=send-fader>Send Fader</h3><p>To control the level of each send, simply click and drag the send fader to
increase or decrease its volume.</p><p><figure><imgsrc=en/Ardour4_Send_Fader.pngalt=sendfader></figure></p><p>The <em>Drums</em> bus is now receiving the sum of all tracks, and applying the effect
to it. A single plugin applied to the bus controls the effect for the mix of all
drum sounds routed there. This way, you have independent control over the “dry”
sound of the original tracks, and the “wet” sound of coming out of the bus.</p><p>Because sends are very useful for this kind of work with effect plugins, they
are also commonly called “Effect Sends”.</p><h2id=continuing>Continuing</h2><p>Now that you know how to add plugins to a track, as well as how to add sends
to tracks to create plugin busses usable by any number of tracks, it might be
helpful to learn about a few other plugins useful in the mixing process.
Please continue on to the following chapters covering <em>dynamics</em> and
