sends vs outputs

[pinnacle]

What is the difference between out puts and sends? Not sure when I need to use one or the other. I was watching a tut on side chain compression and noticed he used the outputs to to bus the tracks to the aux. Why would he do that and not use sends?

[Lincoln Mitchell]

Pretty simple, outputs are physical, directs the signal to a physical output on your interface/converter.
Sends direct signals elsewhere via a bus. The bus can be used as an input on an aux, an audio track, a compressor for sidechaining.

Busses can be connected to outputs, so you can send to an output as well...

[pinnacle]

Originally Posted by Lincoln Mitchell

Pretty simple, outputs are physical, directs the signal to a physical output on your interface/converter.
Sends direct signals elsewhere via a bus. The bus can be used as an input on an aux, an audio track, a compressor for sidechaining.

Busses can be connected to outputs, so you can send to an output as well...

Thanks for that so why would the guy in the tut use outputs then if he is just bussing to an aux track for compression?

[Bill Denton]

Let me try to draw you a "mental picture" (easy for me, since most people say I'm mental anyway)...

Sends, busses, and outputs in a DAW come from the terminology used in the old mixing console days.

Imagine you've got a long metal box. Along one of the "long" sides you have a series of jacks. For the moment, we'll call them "input jacks".

Along the other "long" side you have a series of jacks. For the moment, we'll call them "output jacks".

Then, running lengthwise in the box, are several wires. For the moment, we'll call them "busses", since that's what they are.

Each one of the "input jacks" has a series of switches attached to it. These switches allow you to connect the input to one or more of the busses. Since you use these switches to send the associated input to the bus(es), these switches are often labeled "sends".

Some of the "output jacks" will also have a series of switches attached to them, allowing them to receive a signal from one or more of the busses (and feed the signal out the "output jack"), while some of the busses will be directly connected to a dedicated "output jack". These switches are used to connect the signal on the "bus" to one or more outputs, depending upon the configuration.I

In an "actual" console (or mixer), you will typically find a record bus (used to feed a tape deck or A/D converter(s), one or more monitor busses, and one or more AUXillary busses, which are for various purposes.

It's a little more complicated than this, but I've given you enough to get the basic idea. Something that is helpful is to visit a console manufacturer's website and look at the pictures while reading this, and if the site has a signal flow diagram you can correlate the things I've mentioned here with the diagram.

Now, pinnacle, you are not allowed to post here any more 'cause Avid sold Pinnacle...I'm sure you understand...

You failed to mention if the dude in the video was using a hardware compressor or a plugin...it does make a difference.

If the guy was using a hardware compressor, he would have to send the both the "trigger" signal and the signal to be compressed to outputs so they could be used to feed the compressor.

And keep in mind that in most DAWs you can name sends/busses/outputs whatever you want to, so while it may have been labeled an output, it could have actually been a send-to-a-bus...

[pinnacle]

Originally Posted by Bill Denton

Let me try to draw you a "mental picture" (easy for me, since most people say I'm mental anyway)...

Sends, busses, and outputs in a DAW come from the terminology used in the old mixing console days.

Imagine you've got a long metal box. Along one of the "long" sides you have a series of jacks. For the moment, we'll call them "input jacks".

Along the other "long" side you have a series of jacks. For the moment, we'll call them "output jacks".

Then, running lengthwise in the box, are several wires. For the moment, we'll call them "busses", since that's what they are.

Each one of the "input jacks" has a series of switches attached to it. These switches allow you to connect the input to one or more of the busses. Since you use these switches to send the associated input to the bus(es), these switches are often labeled "sends".

Some of the "output jacks" will also have a series of switches attached to them, allowing them to receive a signal from one or more of the busses (and feed the signal out the "output jack"), while some of the busses will be directly connected to a dedicated "output jack". These switches are used to connect the signal on the "bus" to one or more outputs, depending upon the configuration.I

In an "actual" console (or mixer), you will typically find a record bus (used to feed a tape deck or A/D converter(s), one or more monitor busses, and one or more AUXillary busses, which are for various purposes.

It's a little more complicated than this, but I've given you enough to get the basic idea. Something that is helpful is to visit a console manufacturer's website and look at the pictures while reading this, and if the site has a signal flow diagram you can correlate the things I've mentioned here with the diagram.

Now, pinnacle, you are not allowed to post here any more 'cause Avid sold Pinnacle...I'm sure you understand...

You failed to mention if the dude in the video was using a hardware compressor or a plugin...it does make a difference.

If the guy was using a hardware compressor, he would have to send the both the "trigger" signal and the signal to be compressed to outputs so they could be used to feed the compressor.

And keep in mind that in most DAWs you can name sends/busses/outputs whatever you want to, so while it may have been labeled an output, it could have actually been a send-to-a-bus...

Thanks for your detailed help :) I kind of get it but all the terminology numbs my brain slightly. In the tut he was using pro tools and just pro tools basic plug in compressor not a hardware one. Heres the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY14bjCAX-M

[barlevy]

sends split the sound -whereas output simply bus the sound to whatever output you want

[Lincoln Mitchell]

Originally Posted by pinnacle

What is the difference between out puts and sends? Not sure when I need to use one or the other. I was watching a tut on side chain compression and noticed he used the outputs to to bus the tracks to the aux. Why would he do that and not use sends?

I think i finally see your question. You are asking why he selected busses for the track output right?...

Well, I think it was said, but yeah, that will send the entire contents of the track along the bus.

Had he used a send it would have created a parallel compression aux...

Much of this has more to do with using axes vs. sidechaining...