How do you setup your return tracks in live?

[nicogrubert]

Hi there

I'd like to share some experiences/tips/tricks on how you configure your return tracks in live for a studio setup?

My setup is:

Return 1: Reverb, small room [Powercore VSS3 or Powercore DRV2]
Return 2: Reverb, mid room [Powercore VSS3]
Return 3: Reverb, large [Powercore VSS3]
Return 4: Reverb, Plate [UAD Plate 140]
Return 5: Reverb, special [UAD Space Echo]
Return 6: Reverb, reverse [Powecore VSS3]
Return 7: Delay, standard [different vst plugins]
Return 8: Delay, tape delay, dub delay [different vst plugins]
Return 9: Chorus [UAD Boss 201]
Return 10: Special FX [different vst plugins]

How do you setup your Return tracks in live?

cheers
Nico

[Guff Tong]

Basic template for me:

1: Reverb (with chourus and low cut filter) Only use one reverb per track so the space is universal

2: Delay 1

3: Delay 2

4: Delay 4

(delays at various settings suitable for dubstep)

May also add some saturation, paralel compression and beat repeat/glitch to returns depending the mood...

[feyshay]

Sends 1-4 are from a Kurzweil KSP8 with a 2 delays and 2 reverbs. Send 5 is usually a PSP 84 delay. Send 6 is usually Speakerphone or Altiverb. I'll then have 2 blank ones to put in VST effects.

[JEB]

This is basically my live setup, but I start out all recording like this as well

Return 1: external Holy Grail Reverb
Return 2: external Delay + Distortion pedals (for tweaking on the fly)
Return 3: Ableton Low Cut Resonator/Delay rack for dub type spring sound
Return 4: EQ to get only low Frequency from Drum Tracks for routing back into sidechain gating and compression

[abletony84]

beat repeat/glitch to returns depending the mood...

How would that sound like?

Return 4: EQ to get only low Frequency from Drum Tracks for routing back into sidechain gating and compression

what do you mean by this actually? what sort of sidechain magic are you onto?

[JEB]

Return 4: EQ to get only low Frequency from Drum Tracks for routing back into sidechain gating and compression

what do you mean by this actually? what sort of sidechain magic are you onto?

I have a return track, with about 200hz and up filtered out, so i get just the bass drum hits out of a drum rack, impulse or drum loop and that set to go to returns only, then from a gate or compressor you can grab that return track for your sidechain input.

[schnerg]

Nico - are you saying that you set up 10 return tracks in each track you produce? Or that you have ten configurations and you use some of them in a track, but not all? 10 seems crazy!

For me, mine are pretty standard compresor for bass/kick, a general reverb, that's about it so I won't go on at length.

[de wouzer]

I use a simple delay in combination with a high pass filter.
put them in an audio effect rack

change the tab and nudge buttons on apc 40 to return 1 2 and 3 select, so i can tweak

_______________-
the other 2 return I use for pingpong depay and reverb (long tail)

[Guff Tong]

Guff Tong wrote:
beat repeat/glitch to returns depending the mood...


How would that sound like?

Sort of beat repeaty and glitchy














....Best results mapping the device settings & sends to some knobs or faders. Set limits on the beat repeats ranges to give some extra control. Combine with some long dub delays...tasty!

Same with d-blue glitch...worth getting right into tweaking the settings rather than random-ness though setting the whole timeline to random produces great results.

Record the results though as you may never get the same sound twice.

You can put anything on the returns really, there’s even a method of setting up new york (parallel) compression using lives returns (Google it)...

I big up the wet settings on returns too....(other wise the effect is weak, that’s for me anyway, that's how I roll)

[yur2die4]

I still get a kick out of the Utility Phase Trick

Fun with Beat Repeat as well!!

[ionic]

ultility phase trick? enlighten me...