Mono or Stereo AUX returns

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ruffrecords

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Suppose you have a mixer with four mono AUX sends. When tracking you might use a couple of AUX sends for foldback and a couple just to add a little reverb for the artist's cans. So four mono AUX return will be enough.

But for mix-down you can use all four AUXes for FX. Most if not all will have stereo returns so you could need four Stereo AUX returns or 8 mono ones to handle this situation.

How many AUX returns of what type would you really need in typical day to day use?

Cheers

Ian
 
Almost always stereo.  Wire 2 so they will work mono if only the L jack is plugged in?  Mono needs rarer than stereo, even reverb needs are mostly stereo for maximum decorrelation in headphones. 
 
Very little these days in the way of mono effects outputs , like Doug said stereo that defaults to mono on the  left jack is a usefull feature , also saves having to provide a mono/stereo front panel control or other more elaborate pan/balance controls .
 
Tubetec said:
Very little these days in the way of mono effects outputs , like Doug said stereo that defaults to mono on the  left jack is a usefull feature , also saves having to provide a mono/stereo front panel control or other more elaborate pan/balance controls .
How does that work with balanced input AUX returns?

Cheers

Ian
 
How does that work with balanced input AUX returns

if I under stand you question,    You have a dual switching Jack for tip and ring with shorting contacts for the right input.  The left input bridges it’s tip and ring outputs to the rights switch inputs ring and tips. Shorting contacts when nothing is inserted.  If you insert into right it lifts the bridge from left and plug into right is the new source.  Hence mono Left and stereo Left Right.
 
fazer said:
if I under stand you question,    You have a dual switching Jack for tip and ring with shorting contacts for the right input.  The left input bridges it’s tip and ring outputs to the rights switch inputs ring and tips. Shorting contacts when nothing is inserted.  If you insert into right it lifts the bridge from left and plug into right is the new source.  Hence mono Left and stereo Left Right.

Yep.  Standard in many mixers.
 
OK, got it. I don't know why but I was thinking the stereo return came in as two unbalanced signals on single TRS.

I think I may prefer a switch, if for no other reason than I use XLRs for all ins/outs and TRS fonly or inserts (as we did at Neve back in the day),

Cheers

Ian
 
I guess the switching  might  allow you mono sum L+R or single input split two ways  , handy to have on the odd ocassion .
Being able to check mono compatibillity of stereo effects return or stereo daw output is an added bonus .
 
I'd go super-simple with four stereo and four mono fixed-gain returns. Your outboard always has an output level pot to set levels

If you need more features, use a channel

Nick Froome
 
pvision said:
I'd go super-simple with four stereo and four mono fixed-gain returns. Your outboard always has an output level pot to set levels

If you need more features, use a channel

Nick Froome

Assuming you have channels to spare.

Fixed gain ( usually unity) returns at Neve were called Direct Ins. Maybe that's the answer.

The AUX returns at the moment are mono but there are four of them so they can be panned as two stereo returns. Maybe have two stereo returns and some direct ins.

Cheers

Ian
 
I think it depends if you have stereo channels or panning pots.. in which case the stereo/panning information is lost unless you use two like mentioned but by default I reckon most if not all aux buses are stereo (they may appear as mono though because many small format mixers are tight on front/back panel space so a single TRS jack is used)

From what I've gathered people use them either as an FX return, to quickly A/B different mixdowns in the studio or in a live situation where they're used to set up a monitor mix.

I recall seeing FX/aux buses with inserts so they can be used as standalone stereo channels but I think in some configurations the input signal could become audible in the send channels even if the aux was muted.

There are workarounds like an internal/external input switch or a connector that switches the internal input off but they have certain caveats too, like when you're troubleshooting the routing or setting up something in a hurry.

I'm not really a fan of aux buses but I understand why many engineers, studios and bands use them.
 

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