CHAPTER 14. MIXING
192
in a return track lets it receive audio from any number of tracks and add echoes to them.
The Send Controls and
Pre/Post Toggle.
A clip or group track's Send control regulates how much of the track's output feeds the
associated return track's input. What's more, even the return track's own output can be
routed to its input, allowing you to create
feedback
. Because runaway feedback can boost
the level dramatically and unexpectedly, the Send controls in Return tracks are disabled by
default. To enable them,
(PC) /
Ctrl
(Mac) on a Return track's Send knob and select
Enable Send or Enable All Sends.
Every return track has a Pre/Post toggle that determines if the signal a clip track sends to
it is tapped before or after the mixer stage (i.e., the pan, volume and track-active controls).
The Pre setting allows you to create an auxiliary mix that is processed in the return track,
independently of the main mix. As the return track can be
routed to a separate output
, this
can be used to set up a separate monitor mix for an individual musician in a band.
The Master track is the default destination for the signals from all other tracks. Drag effects
here to process the mixed signal before it goes to the master output. Effects in the Master
track usually provide
mastering
-related functions, such as compression and/or EQ.
You can create multiple return tracks using the Create menu's Insert Return Track command,
but by de nition, there is only one Master track.
14.5
Using Live's Crossfader
Live includes a crossfader that can create smooth transitions between clips playing on
different tracks. Live's crossfader works like a typical DJ-mixer crossfader, except that it
allows crossfading not only two, but any number of tracks
including the returns.