FL Studio: one reverb on multiple channels... But how?

[james_laverc]

I'm trying to use a single reverb instance for multiple instruments/channels in FL Studio, instead of loading a separate reverb plugin on each channel. What is the correct way to set this up?

[Benedict]

You need a Send (and return).

FL is a bit, erm, unique in how it handles these things. Usually you create a Send which sends a copy of that channel's signal off to another place - usually a reverb - that comes back on a Return channel - which is summed to the Masters.

Mostly in a DAW these days you simply create the Send (and maybe the Return if the system didn't make it for you) and insert the reverb in the Return channel so now you hear the snare at the Sn channel and the reverb sent from that Sn at the Return (usually named 'Verb) at the Masters just like you put that reverb on the Sn itself.

Except now you can send some of every channel to that Reverb send. The win being a) one reverb for the whole piece and b) you can send more of the backing singers so they seem 'behind' and less of the Ry Bus (Drums + Bass) so they stay forward and clear.

Now, thinking on it but not looking at pics, I am pretty sure FL added Sends so do some of the ole RTFMing as I am sure it will be there.

[Nug Wrangler]

There is two ways actually. First you need to click on the little upways arrow below the fader:

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Send from eg. insert 1 to insert 2. Put a reverb on insert 2 then click on insert 1, then click on the upwards arrow below insert 2s volume fader. Then a send amount knob will appear.

Second is a dedicated send plugin.

[Ciderwell]

Patcher

[carrieres]

1. CTLR click and slide to select all your multiple instruments/channels (called insert in FL), you need to slide while maintenaing CTRL.
2. Right click on the upwards arrow below volume fader at the bottom of FL mixer on another channel (your return track), in the menu, Select Sidechain to this track, then a send amount knob will appear.
3. You will insert your reverb on any slot (up to 10 FX can be inserted on your return track)
4. You can dock to the right your return track by Right clicking on it and select Dock to the right to get the classic look of a mixer

[sjm]

Generally what is posted above. Also read https://www.image-line.com/fl-studio-le ... /mixer.htm which covers most of what you need to know and should be your first port of call.

One thing to add: set the mix knob of the plugins on the send to 100% (the dry signal is on the channels you are sending from) and use the knob that appears when you set up the send to determine how much of each signal to send there and balance the instruments. Bear in mind that if you do it this way, the send is post mixer fader and panning, and includes all FX on the channel you are sending.

There is also a Fruity Send plugin you can use. This can be placed anywhere in the chain, so you don't need to send post-FX and can send mid-chain. It's a little more complicated to set up and requires you to set the send amount in the mixer to zero and use the plugin to set the send amount instead. You can also pan the signal you are sending, e.g. to have the dry signal on the left and the wet signal on the right.

There's a few things to look out for, and instead of typing it all out, watch this:

[Ciderwell]

The Send plugin can put a limitation on the mixer channel fader, as the Send sets the level internally. Though some prefer to just use the Send, Patcher does have the advantage of a visual routing lay out, room for lots more plugins light on CPU usage, and the option to build a dashboard for all the individual control knobs, etc.

Unless I've gone down the wrong rabbit hole this Video is quite interesting. Just substitute the idea of a Reverb where the Delay is being shown.

[sjm]

The Send plugin can put a limitation on the mixer channel fader, as the Send sets the level internally.

I hope I'm understanding this correctly, it's rather unclear.

I'd say it depends a lot on where you are in the process. Having the mixer fader also adjust the wet amount can be useful while you're still sketching out a track and need to make general sweeping changes to the balance of each instrument as you add more parts - one fader to set the overall level of the instrument (dry and wet) is quite useful at this stage.

Later on, I'd argue that the other way round is preferable. You've dialled in the amount of reverb you want and at most are making fine adjustments to each instrument's fader to balance them in the mix. At this stage, changing the mixer fader often means also having to adjust the send amount the other way to get the right balance of all inputs on the send FX again. The Send plugin avoids this. The disadvantage is that adjusting the send amount now requires opening a plugin window, rather than it being right there in the mixer.

However, you can create dashboards if you want - yes, these aren't restricted to Patcher, which I personally think is a poor choice for simple use cases like this. It makes troubleshooting harder, overcomplicates something simple (a favourite of Patcher users in particular) and hides the setting deep in another plugin. Setting up a dashboard is quite a bit of overhead, especially when you can just do this all from the mixer/a plugin in the mixer that is quickly opened. Patcher is great for complex parallel routing that would take multiple mixer channels to implement and is a nightmare to untangle from the routing in the mixer. It's not a good choice for simple bread and butter stuff.

The other day, I got sent a project to troubleshoot, where the user had multiple Patcher instances with 10 plugins each spread over multiple mixer channels. And what were they trying to do? Sidechain something to the kick for compression. Just add Fruity Limiter to the target channel, set up the sidechain and choose the key track as the input. Dial in compression settings and done. You don't need to build your own complex compressor to do this I'm not surprised the other user couldn't figure out why they were having issues - it was a complex mess to debug, and the solution wasn't to fix it in Patcher, but to set it up properly in the first place. I know that's not what you are advocating for per se, but it's worth bearing in mind - adding layers of abstraction introduces complexity and additional steps that might not be worth the overhead. Or it can neatly encapsulate something inherently complex in a single container where the signal flow is much easier to understand. The trick is knowing what use case you have, and choosing the right approach accordingly.

My personal preference is to start out with FX either on the instrument directly or on a send without Fruity send. Then later, I'll add Fruity Send to the channels and use that instead, adjusting the placement of the Send plugin according to where it makes the most sense. In other words, I don't introduce the Send plugin until I actively want to have separate dry and wet controls, one being the fader, one being the send amount. Thankfully, it's easy to copy plugins to new mixer channels, so you can easily move a delay or reverb to a new send channel in seconds.

The real disadvantage of the Send plugin is the bug in FL that causes routings to get messed up if you reorder mixer channels and/or add new routings between channels. It's caused by the reference to the source channel (in Fruity Limiter, Vocodex etc.) or target channel (Fruity Send) being an integer index, not a reference to the channel itself. Add or remove routings, and the indices change and everything breaks. It's not mentioned in the previous video, but is covered in the one I posted and is really something you need to be aware of if you use sidechain routing at all. This is another reason I don't use Fruity Send until late in the process, as the chance of adding new routings or changing the order of mixer channels is much lower at this stage.

Either way, I'd recommend the OP tries out all the options once you've understood the basics (i.e. routing in the mixer) so that you understand how they all work and the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Then you can choose which one you prefer/which one makes the most sense in context. There's no right or wrong answer; I have my preferences, but they make sense for my way of working, not yours

[james_laverc]

Thank you all so far. ^^

[Ciderwell]

There's no right or wrong answer; I have my preferences, but they make sense for my way of working, not yours

Yeah, some preferances differ depending on the process. I'm using Patcher for what I'm working on and found I could delete the EQ's from the mixer fx slots and drop them in with the Verb. My CPU is no heavy weight and this helps me run more FLEX synth automation. All's well that ends well!