In music production, especially during the mixing stage, effects are used to shape the sound from a technical or aesthetic point of view. After understanding the three types of audio effects (based on dynamics, frequency, and time), we will now learn the difference between their three main applications. The three main uses are as follows:

1. Insert effects. Inserts are effects that are assigned to a single channel or track. Since it is uniquely assigned, this effect only affects that one channel, not touching any other channels. This is good when you want to change the timbre of a single sound in the mix, for example by putting compression on the bass. To use and apply effects as an insert in Cubase DAW, select the track in question and choose an insert from the inspector menu, where a drop-down menu appears listing the available effects.

2.Send effects. Sends are effects that can affect a group of channel strips or tracks. This is a very versatile method when you want to apply an effect to a group of tracks, for example by putting the same reverb on all the vocal parts during the chorus part. Instead of inserting a reverb effect on every track, which not only takes more time but also consumes more CPU power, using a send effect will allow you to set up a reverb and then send it to all the channels you want that effect. You can also determine the amount of reverb each channel receives by adjusting the send level in the DAW mixer. In Cubase, a send effect takes its own channel by right-clicking in the track list and selecting Add Effect Channel Track. After inserting an effect (in the same way as mentioned above), you can now choose send effects from the “Send” menu in the list of inspectors.

3. Master effects. Masters are effects that, according to their name, affect all in the mix. Why would you want to affect everything in the mix? An example of using master effects is putting a compressor/limiter on the master stereo output, which is very commonly done when mixing to bring all the sounds together. You may also want to put a universal reverb as the master effect, so all the sounds sound like they’re in one space. However, the use of master effects rarely goes beyond dynamics and frequency processing.it is rarely used for effects such as reverb, delays, and others based on time.

Those three are the difference between each effect. A good mix is ​​a mix that can use effects efficiently, in terms of sound quality and also CPU resources. We hope this article can help you create better mixes for your music productions.

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