Have control over send / return effects in Reason

[QVprod]

Not sure I understand you exactly correct here but this is my thought;

• Create one new mix channel for each of your send effects

• Disconnect the Outputs of the effects from the mixer return and route them to the new channels instead

• Route all these new channels to a new Output Bus (this will be your return bus)

Then all your sends will return at the mixer and can be treated in one single bus.

Already done in one of my attempts! Logically I should have solved it, but it didn't work out. For some reason those effects no longer had the same influence on the instruments.
But now I intend to try again, maybe I did something wrong while I was freaked out ...

This is exactly how you would do it. The downside is that there is no solo safe mode for mix channels in Reason, so any time you solo something the send fx will be muted as well. Not the end of the world though. It's a fairly advanced mix technique though so take your time with it. Stuff like this can easily go wrong. The basic concept of processing busses as Selig mentioned is pretty common though.

[Savah]

wait maybe there is a misunderstanding!
I can create mix buses!
I make great use of it, believe me!
But what I can't do is route send effects in a mix bus as I would like, because send effects don't have a mixer channel ...
But you answered this further on and I'll try to do as you wrote, thanks again!

Oh yeah, so I understood it at first, then the other commenters confused me. Good thing I already gave you the answer you needed, then

That's right! Thanks again...

[Savah]

Already done in one of my attempts! Logically I should have solved it, but it didn't work out. For some reason those effects no longer had the same influence on the instruments.
But now I intend to try again, maybe I did something wrong while I was freaked out ...

This is exactly how you would do it. The downside is that there is no solo safe mode for mix channels in Reason, so any time you solo something the send fx will be muted as well. Not the end of the world though. It's a fairly advanced mix technique though so take your time with it. Stuff like this can easily go wrong. The basic concept of processing busses as Selig mentioned is pretty common though.

When I read that answer, it was the first thing I thought about in what was one of my first attempts: "Jesus, do you want to see that when I soloed the channel I forgot to solo the rest as well?" ? "..
Now I can't wait to stop leaving work to do what I like best by following your valuable advice!

[selig]

I read up on “brauerizing" and I’m thinking,
“Isn’t this what we’ve all been doing on the SSL for decades?”…
Almost everyone uses sub-mixes and subtle compression at multiple stages in modern mixing. Beyond that, copying Michaels exact setup, like copying Ton Lord-Alges exact setup etc. can be a great starting point, but maybe a not so great destination!
But even those guys change things up over time, so IMO its more important to understand the basic concepts behind the specific techniques so you can apply them to your mixes using your own style and approach.
For example, engineers I know choose different instruments to include in subgroups, depending on personal preference, genre, and style. And many of the exact effects are not important, which is again going back to the idea of understanding the intent of the process rather than just learning the steps involved in the process.
But bottom line, yea, you can do all this and more in Reason, and it’s possibly a life long journey discovering all the possibilities!
I suggest starting small, getting your head around bus channels and how compression interacts differently with individual vs groups of instruments. When you can hear and appreciate those differences, move on to the next level, etc. - no use jumping into the deep end and drowning before you can at least tread water IMO.
Happy to help with specifics/questions to get you up and running!

I totally agree with everything you've written, and it's my approach to a bit too.

But this mix-bus thing about room effects gets me excited and I absolutely have to try it!

For the rest, you are absolutely right!

I forgot to mention that using Mix Channels as returns (don’t call them sends; sends are the knobs/etc you use to send, returns are the place they are ‘returned’ to the mix), there is no reason under normal circumstances for them to sound different. What did you do to trouble shoot the setup?
Could you describe what you mean specifically by the room effects? Maybe we can focus on that one part and solve it for you in Reason.

[crimsonwarlock]

I looked at the explanation given by Michael Brauer himself. First obvious thing is that he uses an SSL desk. Secondly, he does use the sends and return them on separate bus-channels. However, he clearly states that he does nothing on these return busses, he even states that they are always set at unity, and he doesn't touch those. This basically equals using the 'normal' send-returns instead. Where it becomes interesting is that he uses a (small) stack of FX (including one compressor) on each send-channel.

You can simply set this up on the Reason SSL mixer by setting up the separate FX-stacks on each send, set the sends on each mixer channel to PRE-fader and drop the channel fader to zero signal. This way, the only signal you get from the mix channel is what you dial in to the sends, and you are mixing into the separate compressors and additional FX. This is exactly as he describes it.

I've also seen videos (from other people) where they set up six or seven parallel compression channels to process a vocal. I seriously question the usefulness of such a setup. Brauer says he sometimes uses two separate compression-sends for vocals, which to me sounds like the age-old dual compressor trick for vocals (either parallel or in series).

You can check out Michael Brauer's explanation yourself (I set the time index to where he starts describing it):