I often like to build a mix inside my “room” reverb. I do this if the tracks were recorded in isolation booths, really dry. So to get a sense that the tracks were recorded in a room, I dial in a good room patch on one of my reverbs, solo up the reverb return channel, and then, using the Send levels for each track, I basically do a mix inside that reverb. This is super easy on a desk.
Doing it in the box is a little more tricky, but still easy enough. Specifically, to do this, first, create a new stereo buss by going to
Devices > VST Connections > Output Tab.
Then click “Add Buss”, name it “FX Returns” or whatever, and hit Enter.
Once you’ve created the new stereo buss, assign the its outputs to the same outputs your primary buss is going to. (Yes, you can send multiple busses to the same outputs of your sound card.)
Then, in the Mixer, or from the Arrange Window, select the FX channel/channels you want to be able to hear by themselves, and route them to this new buss - “FX Returns” etc.
Now, all you have to do to hear your FX channels by themselves is Mute the primary buss.
As for building a mix inside your room reverb plugin, one may ask, why not just insert a reverb on the main bus if you want to get it to sound like everything was cut in a room? The answer is that you will get a completely different sound that way. By effectively solo-ing up the reverb returns, and then mixing inside the FX, you get to control precisely how much kick and bass, for instance, you want coming through that verb. The idea is to get a really sweet mix inside that reverb and then, what happens when you bring back the main buss and mix in this “room reverb mix” can often be quite magical sounding. And far more authentic of a sense of space.
Hope this help someone or gives them something to play with.
Cheers