Sends. Busses. Auxes. For some of us these 3 words are no biggie. Part of daily life even!
For some of us though, the concept of Sends, Busses and Auxes can feel a little hazy. What do these words actually mean? And when should we even bother using a bus?
It’s a fair question. The words sends, busses, and auxes don’t really make it any easier to understand either.
And with the most recent Logic updates, the concept of Sending audio becomes even murkier with Sends on Faders and Independent Pan.
So let’s peel it back a bit.
Today I wanted to update the WLPR books on all things related to Sends, Busses and Auxes. A step-by-step walkthrough of:
- What a Send, Bus, and Auxiliary Channel actually is
- When and why we use these tools in our Logic Projects
- What the difference is between Post Pan, Post Fader, and Pre Fader
And once you’re comfortable in the fundamentals for Bussing, how to kick it up a notch with Sends on Faders and Independent Pan.
Ready to dig in? Then let’s make like Super Mario and pipe our audio around our Logic Projects.
Thank you Chris. Once again, you have clarified the murkiness in another useful topic. The question for me is, how long before the murk returns. (That’s not your fault, though).
I think that my biggest problem in working with a program of this complexity has been and will continue to be, remembering all the possibilities that are available.
For me at least, “getting used to” all these features is harder than it is for you because I don’t mix and master other people’s projects all day. I only use Logic for my own songs and video soundtracks. It is sometimes several weeks or more before a similar situation would come up where I would use the same technique. By then, I have to scratch me head and dig in my notebooks until I blunder into the technique I’m searching for.
I was an IBM mainframe systems programmer for 25 years. I got very spoiled by the detailed and thoroughly indexed manuals that were always available to us. The world of Macs and PCs is so much more complex, yet the documentation is usually embarrassingly poor. Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us.
Hey Bobby, thanks so much for your comment. Your struggle to remember all of the details of Logic very insightful. Is there anything technique-wise you consistently find yourself scratching your head to remember?
HI Chris.
It was good to see your face. You should come out from behind the camera more often.
As I mentioned elsewhere, I have been spoiled by IBM’s incredible documentation. To me, the hardest part about Logic (and every other program designed for “personal computers” of any kind, has been finding easily accessible information when I need it.
Apple started it all with their wonderful and informative “OK” button that appeared when some operation fails. Then they continued the obfuscation with their terrible online guides. That style of pseudo-documentation has been perpetuated by a bunch of expensive third party manuals that you are forced to read as if it were a novel. A well designed index is apparently a thing of the past,
Whenever I get your WLPR email, I always watch the video from beginning to end… usually more than once. I even take notes (which I never manage to go back and organize). Then the next month or next week (or sometimes the next day) when the need for the technique arises, I can’t remember the technique and I can’t find the video again. YouTube channels are great, but you really can’t find anything easily. The description isn’t even big enough to show the whole title of the video when you view the main page.
Chris, you have done so many great videos already, that in my opinion, the first and best thing that you could do for all of us out here; and also to get the biggest bang for your (time) buck, would be to put together a “Tools & Techniques” index page on this site so we can find the videos that we need. That way, WLPR users can bookmark that page as our central access point to your hard-earned knowledge.
So my suggestion is for you to organize the links to all the great work that you’ve already done and then put them into hierarchical categories that would narrow down our search for answers. Then, whenever you do a new video, just add the link into the hierarchy where it best fits (even multiple times if it can apply to different things) and all of a sudden, we’ll be able to find it again when we inevitably forget.
As always, you are my Go-To guy for Logic questions. I wish you continued success in all of your ventures and look forward to more insider-info on this amazing program.
B