Following on from our earlier example, what if we wanted to add FX to be included in our bounce? Let's say we wanted to include a reverb effect on the backing vocals from the internal FX units.

So what do we need to do? Well, we obviously need to send the vocals to the FX unit, and return the output of the FX back to the extra bus so it too will be added to our bounce.

Follow the earlier example, and when you get to assigning the various tracks to the extra bus, also assign inputs 5 and 6 to the extra bus (press THRU to access the mixer settings for the inputs, and make sure that inputs 5 and 6 show that the extra bus is ON (filled black squares). These two inputs are going to carry our FX return signal, and therefore this is how we add the reverb to our bounce (if you remember, everything sent to the extra bus will be recorded on our destination tracks).

Follow the rest of the example so everything is set up as before, and then return to the MIXER SETUP page (MIXER-->MIXER SETUP - this is the same page that has the extra bus ON/OFF parameter) and set the AUX TYPE to "2 Mono". Reverb units typically mix their inputs into mono before generating the reverberation so it's enough to use one FX unit with a mono input.

Scroll up/left until you get to the AUX B PRE/POST page, and set all 12 tracks to white/empty, press THRU and also set all those to clear/empty (you don't have to do this all the time but we're just making sure you're not routing things to places that may cause unwanted effects for this example). Go to the next page and make sure all AUX B levels are at zero, for all (TRACK) 12 tracks and all (THRU) 8 inputs.

Go to the next page (AUX A PRE/POST) and clear all the squares, and again for the inputs too. The "PRE" setting sends an audio signal to the FX units that is dependent only on the individual channel's send level and the master send level - the channel's fader does not change this (if you have a vocal with reverb, pulling the vocal's fader down will not affect the reverb, so you'll still hear the "ghostly" reverb with no direct signal). In "POST" mode, pulling the vocal's fader down will also reduce the FX send level accordingly, so as you reduce the vocal's volume, the reverb also reduces, which is how you'd normally use it. We'll be using "POST" mode, so make sure tracks 5 to 10 have empty squares to indicate POST mode.

On to the next page, the aux send page. You'll need to turn up the aux send levels for all 6 backing vocal tracks, so they all go through the reverb. In general, you'll usually want the effected signal to be similar to the dry signal, so you should set the aux send levels as a mirror of the fader levels - if the faders for tracks 5 and 6 are fully up, and 7 and 8 are about half way, the aux sends should mirror this, with a much lower send level for 7 and 8 compared to 5 and 6.

Press EFFECT and then AUX-A to select the first FX unit, and quickly dial up a reverb - it doesn't matter what it is for now, as we can't hear it yet! We've got to get the FX unit's output back into inputs 5 and 6 (which we already assigned to the extra bus earlier).

Returning the effects

Press ASSIGN, then FX RTN, and select "1 MIXED STEREO" for the return select. This merges the outputs of both FX units and routes then to inputs 5 and 6, and this is shown by the little diagram onscreen. Still in the ASSIGN pages, press "THRU" and scroll down to inputs 5 and 6 - you'll see that they have been replaced by "FX RTN-L" and "FX RTN-R". Assign them both to THRU MIX so they will be added to the main mix (just for monitoring purposes).

Lastly we need to turn up the input levels for inputs 5 and 6 so we can hear the reverb. Press MIXER then THRU, scroll to the LEVEL page and turn up the levels for 5 and 6, and on the next page (PAN) pan 5 fully left and 6 fully right.

Press play, and you should hear the vocal parts, together with a load of reverb. Go back to the FX A settings and find a reverb you are happy with. If the reverb is too loud, go back to the levels page for inputs 5 and 6 and reduce the input levels until it sounds about right.

Then, as before, record onto tracks 11 and 12 - the reverb will also be included and recorded into tracks 11 and 12 with the other 6 vocal tracks. You can then free up the FX A unit for other duties.

Let's go even further!

How about this: as before, we will bounce our six vocal tracks, plus reverb, to tracks 11 and 12, but we're going to feed our reverb signal generated by FX A through FX B with a chorus setting, and record the whole lot.

How would we go about doing that? Well thinking about it first, we'll do the same as before, but bring the reverb from FX A back on inputs 3 and 4. We'll then use AUX SEND B on those inputs to feed the second FX unit with a chorus setting, and bring that back into inputs 5 and 6, which (as before) are mixed into the extra bus.

Follow the procedure as before, but for the ASSIGN-->FX RTN setting, select "2 STEREO PAIRS" instead of "1 MIXED STEREO". Looking at the diagram you can see that in this mode, FX A is returned to inputs 3 and 4, and FX B is returned to inputs 5 and 6 - coincidentally, this is exactly what we need!

Now all we need to do is go to the MIXER page, press THRU to again get at the input settings, scroll to the AUX B level page, and turn up the AUX B sends for inputs 3 and 4. Now the reverb that's being returned on inputs 3 and 4 is also being sent, via AUX B, to the second FX unit. Make sure you turn up the levels for inputs 3 and 4 otherwise you won't hear the reverb signal. Then press EFFECT and AUX B to access the second FX unit and dial up an appropriate chorus effect.

(If you want to also add the unchorused reverb, assign inputs 3 and 4 to the extra bus as well. You may also want to try having unchorused reverb on the left, and chorused reverb on the right, so a really spacious sound - set the extra bus ON for inputs 3 and 6, and OFF for 4 and 5).

These examples just go to show how flexible the mixer in the DPS12 is, and hopefully will give some ideas as how to use some of these features for your own ends. You do have to be careful to avoid feedback if you have sends turned up all over the place (for example, if you turn up AUX B on inputs 5 and 6, which send these to the FX B, which comes back on inputs 5 and 6, which feeds FX B etc etc, you'll get feedback. This is why it's important to turn down sends fully on channels you don't want to include in the bounce.

If you want some more ideas on routing examples, check out Chapter 7 in the DPS manual, "Advanced Techniques for Mixing".

Other bouncing methods

Using the extra bus is not the only way to bounce tracks, there are a number of other ways to do it. If you investigate the record source options (ASSIGN-->SOURCE), as well as the 6 analog inputs, 2 digital inputs and the extra bus, you can also select AUX A, AUX B, and Master L and R as sources. This means these are also prime candidates for track bouncing.

AUX Bouncing

If you set the record sources for tracks 11 and 12 to be AUX A and AUX B, then whatever you send to the aux busses will therefore be sent to tracks 11 and 12, and can thus be recorded. In our example, you would select AUX PRE mode for all 6 backing vocal tracks, so the aux sends are not affected by the source tracks fader positions, and turn up the faders on tracks 11 and 12 (so you can hear what you are doing!). Select AUX TYPE: STEREO on the MIXER SETUP page, and you would then mix the vocal blend by adjusting the aux send levels and pans of tracks 5 to 10. Then just record on tracks 11 and 12.

This is a less flexible method than using the extra bus as it ties up the aux sends, so if you want to add FX to your bounce you are limited in the control you have over the dry and effected signals, but the option is there.

Using the Masters

You can also select the Master L/R as a record source. The Master L/R is basically the whole main output of the DPS12 - so anything you can hear, can end up in two tracks. This is what you would use in preparation for putting your song onto a CD using the DPS12's inbuilt CD writing functions.

You setup your mix of up to ten tracks (you can bounce tracks together to get the track count down to ten if need be), which can feed the FX processors adding reverbs or delays in real time, adjust all the EQs and pans until the mix is just right. Assing the record source of tracks 11 and 12 to Master L and Master R respectively will enable you to record your entire mix to stereo. Make sure all aux sends and the faders for tracks 11 and 12 are turned down when recording, otherwise you may well get feedback.

That is the main use for track bouncing using the masters, although you can also use it to bounce certain tracks together - the main disadvantage here is that you can't hear anything that shouldn't be in the bounce. If you wanted to bounce our backing vocals together, you'd have to mute the backing music tracks while recording, otherwise these would also end up in the bounce!

Advanced Bouncing

Of course, you can always use a combination of these methods to achieve the results you are after. You can even use them at the same time! You could for example bounce 4 tracks down to mono using the aux sends, and at the same time bounce 5 tracks to stereo using the extra bus, all in one go! You can also route things out of the auxilliary and main outputs and bring them back on the inputs for even more bouncing possibilities.

Well, that just about wraps up this little tutorial, I hope it demostrates the possibilities and practicalities of how to bounce within the DPS12. While it's impossible to walkthru every eventuality, this should be enough to get you bouncing on your own. If there is a certain bounce you are trying to achieve but are getting a little lost on how to set up the routing, post a description to the DPS12 mailing list and we'll see if we can step-by-step it for you.

Happy Bouncing!