Are Parallel Channels Pre or Post Fader Copies?

[Scruffager]

Do parallel channels take the pre or the post fader signal from their source? And also if the source is a bus, does it take from the channels going into the bus or the bus itself? (like is it a copy of the bus itself or is it a copy of the raw audio from the bus?). I'm kind of thinking myself in circles after eating an insane amount of marshmallows, so I'm sorry if I don't make much sense.

[jam-s]

It should be the pre-fader audio that arrives at the channel/bus.

[PhillipOrdonez]

It should be the pre-fader audio that arrives at the channel/bus.

It is.

[Scruffager]

Ok, thank you guys!

[buddard]

Do parallel channels take the pre or the post fader signal from their source? And also if the source is a bus, does it take from the channels going into the bus or the bus itself? (like is it a copy of the bus itself or is it a copy of the raw audio from the bus?). I'm kind of thinking myself in circles after eating an insane amount of marshmallows, so I'm sorry if I don't make much sense.

It's pre fader, but not only that: It's "pre everything", because the parallel signal bypasses the entire channel strip, including the input gain!

[gbuck]

Chocolate covered marshmallows?

[selig]

It's pre fader, but not only that: It's "pre everything", because the parallel signal bypasses the entire channel strip, including the input gain!

That last bit is SUPER SUPER SUPER important IMO - and BTW, it is the ONLY way to get access (via cables) to the direct output of an audio track from the sequencer!
It's basically like having a simple audio splitter on the input of every mixer channel.

[mcatalao]

If you want to make them post you can use a print bus in the middle.

[Scruffager]

It's pre fader, but not only that: It's "pre everything", because the parallel signal bypasses the entire channel strip, including the input gain!

That last bit is SUPER SUPER SUPER important IMO - and BTW, it is the ONLY way to get access (via cables) to the direct output of an audio track from the sequencer!
It's basically like having a simple audio splitter on the input of every mixer channel.

Thank you, Buddard and Selig! That's really good to know.

[Scruffager]

If you want to make them post you can use a print bus in the middle.

Totally. I have a really well built computer than can handle many instances of plugins, so I just copied the plugins and their settings and pasted them onto the parallel track that I had wanted to be post-fader, but you are correct, I could totally print them to save cpu if I needed to. It was really nice to be able to move my maxed-out compressor (I was using it for parallel compression) to different spots in the fx chain though. And I ended up wanting to change some other parts of the fx chain anyways, so that worked out great for me.

[mcatalao]

If you want to make them post you can use a print bus in the middle.

Totally. I have a really well built computer than can handle many instances of plugins, so I just copied the plugins and their settings and pasted them onto the parallel track that I had wanted to be post-fader, but you are correct, I could totally print them to save cpu if I needed to. It was really nice to be able to move my maxed-out compressor (I was using it for parallel compression) to different spots in the fx chain though. And I ended up wanting to change some other parts of the fx chain anyways, so that worked out great for me.

I think I didn't explain this well. If you want a Paralel to be post fader, you can create it after a bus over the channel you want to paralel.

For example you want to process a drum sample with paralel processing. Usually you'd create a paralel and add an aggressive comp over it. But the paralel would be the pre-fader and pre insert sound. So instead, create a bus over the drum sample. Then create a paralel over the bus. The effects in the original sample will be pre bus.

[Ottostrom]

Totally. I have a really well built computer than can handle many instances of plugins, so I just copied the plugins and their settings and pasted them onto the parallel track that I had wanted to be post-fader, but you are correct, I could totally print them to save cpu if I needed to. It was really nice to be able to move my maxed-out compressor (I was using it for parallel compression) to different spots in the fx chain though. And I ended up wanting to change some other parts of the fx chain anyways, so that worked out great for me.

I think I didn't explain this well. If you want a Paralel to be post fader, you can create it after a bus over the channel you want to paralel.

For example you want to process a drum sample with paralel processing. Usually you'd create a paralel and add an aggressive comp over it. But the paralel would be the pre-fader and pre insert sound. So instead, create a bus over the drum sample. Then create a paralel over the bus. The effects in the original sample will be pre bus.

Your comment made me look into what a print bus was cause I had never heard of that concept before! Always fun to learn about mixing techniques

[mcatalao]

I don't know if it's called a print bus, but that's what I called it because it does more or less the same as printing the channel to the sequencer without really having to bounce to audio. It allows for more versatility as you can change the main channel if you need it. Of course bouncing to audio offloads the initial hit from the cpu, but for the folks that are copying the inserts to the parallel, you only have to put what you need on the parallel.

I did sort of a special use case where someone needs more sends, and with this technique it's possible to create additional fully functioning sends, but it breaks latency compensation, and it's imho overkill as a fully functional send would need 2 or 3 additional channels per initial channel plus the sends. It's overkill. However the "printing bus" is useful for these situations when you need to parallel stuff.