Mixing with Effects

There are two schools of thought for using effects. One is to add effects during recording. The other is to record your tracks dry (with no effects) and add effects later. The VS-1680 can accommodate either way. If you record your tracks with effects (printing or recording wet), you will not be able to change or edit the effects later. For most things, I highly recommend you record your tracks dry and add effects later, during the mixing stage. This allows you to experiment with different effects settings before deciding which is best for your tracks.

Each effects board is given its own control area. These areas are called EFFECT A and EFFECT B, as shown in Figure 11.6.

Figure 11.6. The first effects board is called EFFECT A and it controls FX1 and FX2. The second effects board is called EFFECT B and it controls FX3 and FX4

Follow these three general guidelines when using an effect:

1.	Select the effect patch to use.
2.	Determine if the effect should be used as an insert or loop effect.
3.	Connect the effect to the appropriate mixer (track or insert).

Loop effects are generally reverb, delay, and chorus effects. These are also known as "time-based" effects. Insert effects are usually compressors, guitar processors, and voice transformer effects. These are also known as "dynamic-based" effects. If you are not sure whether an effect is a loop or insert effect, see the "Preset Patch List" in your Appendices booklet under "Type." The type of effect determines if it should be used as an insert or loop effect.

Assigning a Loop Effect

To assign a loop effect to a track using FX1, do the following:

1.	Hold SHIFT and press F3 (FX A).
2.	Press F1 (FX 1).
3.	Press F2 (Sel). Use jogwheel to find the loop effect you wish to use.
4.	Press F5 (Exec).
5.	Press F6 (Exit). Press PLAY/DISPLAY.
6.	Route the selected effect's return to the destination track.
7.	Press the channel edit button for the track to which to add the effect.
8.	Press the PAGE button until you see FX1 above F1. Press F1 (FX1).
9.	Use the jogwheel to set the effect to PST. (Post Fader)
10.	Use the down cursor to move to the send value.
11.	Use the jogwheel to change the send value to the desired amount of effect.
12.	Press PLAY/DISPLAY to exit.

Assigning an Insert Effect

To assign an insert effect to a track using FX1, do the following:

1.	Hold SHIFT and press F3 (FX A).
2.	Press F1 (FX 1).
3.	Press F2 (Sel). Use the jogwheel to find the insert effect to use.
4.	Press F5 (Exec).
5.	Press F6 (Exit). Press PLAY/DISPLAY.
6.	Press the channel edit button for the track to which to insert the effect.
7.	Press the PAGE button until you see FX1In above F1. Press F1 (FX1In).
8.	Press ENTER.
9.	Use the jogwheel to select Ins, InsL, InsR, or InsS, as shown in Figure 11.7. Figure 11.7. The insert effects screen allows you to insert a stereo or mono effect to a track. You can also adjust the insert send and return levels here Inserting Effects If you don't need to use the insert effect in stereo, you can select either InsL or InsR. If you are using the insert effect in stereo, you can use either Ins or InsS. When you select Ins or InsS, both sides (L and R) of the stereo effect are assigned to that track and cannot be used on any other track. "Ins" means the signal is routed to both sides of the effect simultaneously . "InsS" means the signal is routed to both sides of the effect in series. "InsS" means the signal goes through the left side first, then that affected signal is sent through the right side. When you select InsL or InsR, only one side of the stereo effect is used. The other side is still free to be assigned to another track. If you have two effects cards installed in your VS-1680, you can assign up to eight insert effects on eight different tracks at once using InsL and InsR on each channel.
10.	Use the cursor keys to move to the Send and Return levels, and use the jogwheel to change the settings. The default setting is 0db.
11.	Press PLAY/DISPLAY to exit.