Re: Mixology 201: Effects
Muting FX returns between songs is easier to do on returns than individual sends, but I do most FX mixing on the sends.
For "dub style" repeats, turning up the FX send for the specific phrase only can allow many repeats without having to "edit" the off-beat stuff on the return.
With multiple singers taking turns at lead and background, a different balance of reverberation and delay will allow the lead to be more "out front", so the FX sends on the individual singers need to be adjusted to achieve that.
A common scenario in clubland is a too-loud guitar player. Since FX returns may be set for vocals and/or drums, to enhance a lead, the guitar channel can be left out, not assigned or low in the mix, and sent to the FX, giving a "big" lead sound with little additional volume.
The FX sends on the FX return channels can also be used for regeneration controls or to send a bit of delay to reverb. Between muting one or the other, and sending various amounts of effects to each other on sends, one can instantly achieve a near infinite variety of FX without even changing the effect parameters.
