Wednesday 11 November 2009

Auxiliaries

Definition of an auxiliary; An auxiliary is a duplicate of the original signal.


The auxiliary is used so you can send the signal to an external device such as a reverb unit.

It can be sent to either;

1) A complimentary effect (An effect that compliments it. E.g.. Reverb, phase, flange etc.).

2) A dynamic effect (An effect which you cant really hear the working of. E.g.. Compression, etc.).

There are 3 auxiliary mode's;


1) Pre Auxiliary (Before the fader, You don't need the channel fader up, to hear it).

2) Post Auxiliary (After the fader, You need the channel fader up, to hear it).

3) Monitor Auxiliary (Allows You to send a certain channel, for a monitor mix etc.).

Channel Auxiliary

The channel auxiliary feeds the channel input signal to the auxiliary master, In record mode you can also take it to tape.

Pre Signal Auxiliary

A Pre Signal Auxiliary takes it's feed before the channel fader.

In Pre mode the auxiliary signal is not controlled by the channel fader, the signal goes straight to the auxiliary master and is not channel fader dependant.

Post Signal Auxiliary

The signal to the auxiliary send comes after the channel fader, So the channel fader has total control over the signal being fed to the auxiliary master. This means the channel fader must be up and make sure that the track is on and not in mute.

The Advantage's Of Pre Signal Auxiliary's are;

1) If the channel is muted then the signal going to the auxiliary master will not be affected.

2) If the channel is set at unity gain then the auxiliary send will also be at unity gain.

3) Can also generate effects returns without having any dry signal added to it.

The Advantage's Of Post Signal Auxiliary's are;

1) In a mix when having effect's on a sound source if the channel is muted then so too is the auxiliary send going to the effect's unit.

2) You can create a better level send to the effect's unit.

When To Use The Auxiliaries In The Following Desk Modes;

Record Mode

In record mode the channel auxiliaries are used to send the signal to an external effects unit, such as reverb etc, this is because we want to record the effect down to 2 tracks of tape (Stereo).
The channel auxiliaries are used because the signal is present at the input stage.

Playback Mode

In playback mode we send the signal from the monitor auxiliaries solely for the purpose of having any complimentary effect being present for monitoring purposes only.

This is because the tape returns in record mode feeds the monitor section.

So any signal present during record or playback will have the effect applied to it also.

Mix Mode

In mix mode we use the channel auxiliary sends for applying effects, because the tape returns now feed the channel inputs.

Always Check The Status Of The Channel e.g.. Mix/Record Mode

This Is How To Gain More Auxiliaries In Mixdown Mode.

You can gain extra auxiliary sends by using the group outputs, Patch a lead in from the group outputs.

(Always remember its fader dependent though)

For more audio production information and advice visit; http://www.ampthetex.co.uk/
 

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