manual/include/signal-routing.html

<p>
  Ardour does most of its internal <dfn>signal routing</dfn> via JACK: 
  all track and bus inputs and outputs are JACK ports, as are sends and
  inserts, which means they can be tapped into by other JACK clients.
  Only the signal flow inside a track or bus (i.e. from <a
  href="/working-with-plugins/processor-box/">processor to processor</a>) is
  handled internally.<br>
  By default, Ardour will create the following connections for you:
</p>
<ul>
  <li>
    <dfn>Track inputs</dfn> are optionally auto-connected to hardware inputs, in round robin
    order, depending on the setting you chose in the 
    <a href="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog/"><kbd
    class="menu">Session &gt; New Session</kbd> dialog</a>.
  </li>
  <li>
    <dfn>Bus inputs</dfn> are left disconnected.
  </li>
  <li>
    The number of <dfn>track and bus outputs</dfn> are equal to the number
    of inputs of the master bus.
  </li>
  <li>
    Track and bus outputs are always auto-connected to the master bus inputs.
  </li>
  <li>
    Master bus outputs are connected to hardware outputs.
  </li>
</ul>
<p>
  This configuration is sufficient to do basic tracking and playback of many 
  sessions without any adjustment by the user. If you are using Ardour and 
  start to change these connections, be certain that you have a good reason 
  to do so&mdash;it is generally not necessary and often leads to problems.
</p>
<p>
  However, for many workflows during mixing, more complicated signal routing 
  is required. Ardour offers many possibilties for connecting things in the 
  way you may need or want them.
</p>