Need help with Ableton Send effects.

ulrichburke · 02-17-2015, 05:46 AM

Dear Anyone.

OK, this'll prob. be easy for you lot, be gentle with a dumb noob.

So I've got Ableton Live 8. Got 4 VST plugin instruments on 4 MIDI tracks. And in the RETURN columns I've got 4 different effects set up, say Reverb, Compression, Flanging and Stereo Widener (for argument's sake.) BUT on my Instrument's MIDI track I've only got 2 buttons, A and B.

Does that mean I can only use 2 effects at once? If so, how do I choose WHICH effects to output the MIDI to? If I wanted to use 3 effects on one instrument (or maybe more!) how would I control the other effects as I've only got two control buttns?

Just pretend that at one point only, I wanted to send an instrument through an effect I'm not using on it anywhere else. Would I have to have a separate instance of that instrument to just use at that point? If so, how would I route it JUST through that effect and none of the others?

Basically what I'm asking is how do you control the amount of signal you're sending to more than 2 effects as you've only got 2 control buttons, A and B?

Please, I HAVE looked in manuals - it's a legit. copy, got the PDF manual - but I'm missing where it's telling me how to do this. I don't know enough to know when I've found that bit of info or where to look for it in the 512 pages! I get how to send the MIDI info to ONE effect, can SORTA do it for 2 effects, any more than that I thought would generate extra control buttons but I can't find them - doesn't matter how many return channels you have, you still only get 2 control buttons which has totally baffled me. Last question.

If you - say - wanted to sent your Guitar's MIDI to Compression and Flanging SOMETIMES in the piece, and Reverb and Stereo Widener at OTHER times in the piece, how do you tell Abelton to stop sending the signal to the first two effects and only send them to the second two, or visa versa, or hopefully any combination of the 4! (I say 4 cos I can only find 4 return tracks, one for each instrument, so I'm assuming you can't have more Return tracks than amount of instruments you've gotten.

Yours hopefully - god, I'm lost here! -

Chris.

02-17-2015, 05:46 AM	#1 (permalink)
ulrichburke Groupie Join Date: May 2014 Location: https://t.me/pump_upp Posts: 8	Need help with Ableton Send effects. Dear Anyone. OK, this'll prob. be easy for you lot, be gentle with a dumb noob. So I've got Ableton Live 8. Got 4 VST plugin instruments on 4 MIDI tracks. And in the RETURN columns I've got 4 different effects set up, say Reverb, Compression, Flanging and Stereo Widener (for argument's sake.) BUT on my Instrument's MIDI track I've only got 2 buttons, A and B. Does that mean I can only use 2 effects at once? If so, how do I choose WHICH effects to output the MIDI to? If I wanted to use 3 effects on one instrument (or maybe more!) how would I control the other effects as I've only got two control buttns? Just pretend that at one point only, I wanted to send an instrument through an effect I'm not using on it anywhere else. Would I have to have a separate instance of that instrument to just use at that point? If so, how would I route it JUST through that effect and none of the others? Basically what I'm asking is how do you control the amount of signal you're sending to more than 2 effects as you've only got 2 control buttons, A and B? Please, I HAVE looked in manuals - it's a legit. copy, got the PDF manual - but I'm missing where it's telling me how to do this. I don't know enough to know when I've found that bit of info or where to look for it in the 512 pages! I get how to send the MIDI info to ONE effect, can SORTA do it for 2 effects, any more than that I thought would generate extra control buttons but I can't find them - doesn't matter how many return channels you have, you still only get 2 control buttons which has totally baffled me. Last question. If you - say - wanted to sent your Guitar's MIDI to Compression and Flanging SOMETIMES in the piece, and Reverb and Stereo Widener at OTHER times in the piece, how do you tell Abelton to stop sending the signal to the first two effects and only send them to the second two, or visa versa, or hopefully any combination of the 4! (I say 4 cos I can only find 4 return tracks, one for each instrument, so I'm assuming you can't have more Return tracks than amount of instruments you've gotten. Yours hopefully - god, I'm lost here! - Chris.