> the beginner’s guide to live
Sends and returns
The technique of using return channels dates
back to the days of analogue mixers and
outboard gear, when having dedicated effects
units on every channel was a logistical
impossibility. To share a single effect unit –
typically a reverb or delay – between multiple
channels, the engineers would put it on its own
dedicated ‘return’ buss channel, which meant
they could route (or ‘send’) as many channels as
they liked to the effect together. Of course, using
a single unit meant it was only possible to use
one effect setting at a time per return channel to
process all those tracks, but it was at least
possible to control the amount of effect applied
to each track by adjusting its send level.
> Step by step 14. Feedback effects with send and return channels
1 2
Drag the Testing 1-2.wav vocal sample
onto an audio track in the
Arrangement view. Live’s default project
includes two return tracks with effects
already loaded, but we’re going to make
our own from scratch. Click the return
tracks’ names and press Delete to remove
them. Select Create»Insert Return Track,
or press Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+T to add a new,
empty return track.
4 5
The send level’s automation envelope
will have appeared automatically
when you clicked its fader. Click two
different points on the envelope to create
two breakpoints, and move them into the
positions illustrated above. This sets the
send level to -inf dB until the word “two”,
at which point it jumps to -12dB. As only
the last word is delayed, we end up with a
much cleaner-sounding effect. (Audio:
Clean delay.wav)
28 / ABLETON LIVE: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE 2015
Returns had certain other advantages, too.
For one thing, they made it possible to process
the effected signal further without altering its
source. This meant that the producer could
route a bassline channel to a reverb on a return,
then place a high-pass filter after the reverb to
stop its low end from clogging up the mix,
without taking the low end out of the
unprocessed bass.
Another useful technique made possible by
the return channel is what’s known as ‘spin
delay’. This involves turning the send level to a
delay plugin up at a particular moment in order
to apply delay to a specific part of a track – the
end of a sung phrase, for example.
Drag Ping Pong Delay from the
Audio Effects folder onto the return
track. Because we’re going to hear the
unprocessed vocal directly from the audio
track, we don’t need to have any ‘dry’
signal coming from the send, so set the
Ping Pong Delay’s Dry/Wet knob to 100%
– ie, fully ‘wet’.
The Ping Pong Delay has built-in
feedback, but we can also set the
return to feed back into itself. So, rather
than having feedback in just the delay
effect, we can create our own custom
feedback loop, involving as many effects
as we like! Turn the Ping Pong Delay’s
Feedback down to 0%, then click the
arrow button on the return track to unfold
it. The send fader is disabled as a safety
precaution to prevent excessive feedback.
These days, as the processing power of home
computers grows ever greater, we don’t have to
worry so much about using too many effects,
and it’s totally feasible to use dedicated reverbs
and delays on a huge number of channels.
However, thanks to its unique capabilities, the
return channel is still a wholly relevant inclusion
in all DAWs.
Live can host up to 12 return channels,
though only the most complex and involved
projects would require that many. In the
walkthrough below, we’ll show you how to set
them up, automate them for spin delay effects,
and even route them back into themselves to
create feedback loops.
3
In the audio track’s Mixer section,
you’ll see a small horizontal fader,
which controls the send level to the return
track. Turn this up to -12dB, and when you
play the vocal sample you’ll hear the delay.
Let’s apply the delay to just one specific
part of the vocal. (Audio: Full delay.wav)
6
Right-click the fader and select Enable
Send. The send level now controls the
amount of feedback; set it to -6dB. Drag a
Frequency Shifter and a Limiter from the
Audio Effects folder to the return track.
Set the Shifter’s Frequency to 360Hz.
Now, on playback you’ll hear the return
track’s signal feed back into itself, giving
us both feedback delay and feedback
frequency-shifting effects. (Audio:
Frequency shifting.wav)