Applying effects in the Multitrack Editor

    Apply effects to clips or tracks

    In the Multitrack Editor, you can apply up to 16 effects to each clip, track, and bus and adjust them while a mix plays. (Apply clip effects if a track contains multiple clips that you want to process independently.)

    You can insert, reorder, and remove effects in the Editor, Mixer, or Effects Rack panel. Only in the Effects Rack, however, can you save favorite settings as presets, which you can apply to multiple tracks.

    In the Multitrack Editor, effects are nondestructive, so you can change them at any time. To readapt a session for different projects, for example, simply reopen it and change effects to create new sonic textures.

    Revealing effect slots in the Editor panel
    1. Do any of the following:

      • Select a clip, and click Clip Effects at the top of the Effects Rack.

      • Select a track, and click Track Effects at the top of the Effects Rack.

      • Display the fx section of the Editor or Mixer. (In the Editor panel, click the button  in the upper-left corner.)

    2. Choose effects for up to 16 slots in the list. (See Insert, bypass, reorder, or remove effects in racks.)
    3. Press the spacebar to play the session, and then edit, reorder, or remove effects as needed.
    To change effect settings over time, use envelopes. (See Automating mixes with envelopes.)

    Pre-render track effects to improve performance

    In the Multitrack Editor, pre-render track effects to address heavy CPU usage, improving performance for complex mixes or low-latency recording. (Latency measures the delay between user input and sound output from a computer. If latency is high, it produces an audible echo during recording, disrupting timing for musicians.)

    You can continue to edit track settings normally; pre-rendering processes audio when pauses occur in playback or editing.

     In the Editor panel, Effects Rack, or Mixer, click the Pre-Render Track button .

    Insert effects before or after sends and EQ

    On each track, you can insert effects either pre‑ or post‑fader. Pre‑fader effects process audio before sends and EQ. Post‑fader effects process audio after sends and EQ. For most mixes, the default, pre‑fader setting works well. The post‑fader setting offers signal‑routing flexibility for particularly complex mixes.

     In the fx section of the Editor panel or Mixer, click the Pre‑Fader/Post‑Fader button to insert effects either before sends and EQ , or after .
    If you’re editing effect settings in the Effects Rack, click the Pre‑Fader/Post‑Fader button in the lower‑left corner.
    Pre‑ and post‑fader effect and send routing for each track:
    A.
    Input

    B.
    EQ

    C.
    Volume

    D.
    Mute

    E.
    Send

    F.
    Effects Rack