This is video #5 in our Mixer Fundamentals course — check out the full playlist:
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In this video, we look at aux sends, which are how we send the signal directly from the channel strip to an auxiliary output. First, we cover pickoff points, and how they are -pre, or -post. Then, we discuss how we use auxes, which is usually for monitors and FX. And, we see how aux masters control the overall level of the aux send.

When we plug an input into the console, the signal runs through the channel strip. What aux sends do is pick off the signal and send it to an auxiliary output. Some manufacturers do use different terminology, like, Yamaha consoles say mix instead of aux, but they mean the same thing.

As we look at the signal chain, you can see that there are two different places the signal can be split. These are called pickoff points. Aux-pre is picked off directly after the preamp section, which means it is pre-EQ and pre-fader, and aux post is picked off at the end of the channel strip, which means it's post-EQ and post-fader.

So, with aux-pre, only the settings in the preamp section affect the signal. This includes not only the gain and pad, but also the polarity, HPF and Insert — so, keep in mind, this means that compressors and gates still affect the aux-pre send. But if we make any adjustments to the EQ, or to the fader, it does NOT affect the aux-pre send.

But with aux-post, all of the sections of the channel strip affect the signal. Most importantly, this means that any changes we make to the EQ — or any adjustments we make to the fader — will affect the aux-post send. If we make an EQ cut in the mids, the aux-post send will also have that same EQ cut. Plus, if the fader is set to-1 0dB, the aux-post send will also be cut by 10dB.

If we're mixing both monitors and the main speakers from the same console, using aux-post doesn't work very well. Because, if we change the EQ, or adjust the faders for the mix in the room, this is also going to affect the aux sends, which we are using for monitors. This is why when mixing monitors from the same console as the main speakers, it's best to use aux-pre.

But, for sending signal to FX, we want to use aux-post. This way, any EQ or fader moves DO change the FX. For instance, say we have a microphone that sounds muddy, and we're sending it to a reverb. When we turn down the low frequencies to clean up the sound, we also want the Reverb to have that nice clean signal.

Aux sends also have master knobs or faders that control the overall level of the aux output. So, even if the sends on the channels are up, we will only get signal to the output if the master is also up.

Many analog consoles use knobs for the aux masters, but on most digital consoles, the aux master is on a fader, but on a different fader bank than the inputs. If these faders are showing my inputs right now, I have to switch to a different bank to see my outputs. And my master aux sends are here, so these have to be up, in addition to the channel aux sends, to get signal to the outputs.

In this video, we discussed pickoff points, how we use auxes for monitors and FX, and how aux masters control the overall level of the aux send.


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