# Do you bounce Midi to Audio with Reverb or not?



## FabTramp (Jun 1, 2018)

Hi everybody!

This might be a silly question but I'm struggling to find a good answer on the web so I'm asking. I'm at the point where I'm exporting everything in Wave to start the mixing process. My question is: Do I keep Reverb and other FXs active when bouncing or should I export a very dry and untouched sound and then reapply the effects on the audio?
I've been working on sounds with EQ, Reverb, Delays etc etc all the way through the composition process as I needed to sound as I wanted! 
Cheers guys


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## Henu (Jun 2, 2018)

Take the reverb (and everything else unless you are 100% you will need it in the final track) off before bouncing if it's just send/ inserts. If it's baked in the sound, it's a different story.


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## dzilizzi (Jun 2, 2018)

If that is the sound I want and it is an insert, I will bounce with the reverb and anything else that makes it that sound. But if it is a send, I don't usually bother. For me, a lot of the reasons for bouncing is to get rid of the inserts so they don't take up RAM/CPU.


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## wst3 (Jun 2, 2018)

<geezer mode on> So once upon a time, when 8 tracks was a luxury, and every bounce added noise, we (meaning the engineers that trained me, and me of course) generally printed effects. While it was possible, with some consoles, to keep effects separate for mix-down, we seldom had more than one (or maybe two) reverbs, and maybe a couple delays.<geezer mode off>

For the longest time, after a computer invaded my studio, I kept to that approach. Not because I had resource problems, but because (a) I was accustomed to it, and more important (b) I thought/think that there is some value to making mix decisions early in the process, say during tracking. Printing processing and effects was a way to "encourage" me to think ahead.

Pretty pointless really. Good practice maybe, but entirely unnecessary. You can simulate printing effects in any modern DAW, if that helps you think ahead.

All that to say I do not print tracks with effects, I print tracks with effects tracks. I duplicate a track and remove all (or most) processing and effects then bounce both of them down. That lets me alter the balance between dry and wet at mix down, should I need to do so.

Make sense?


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## gregh (Jun 2, 2018)

The way I would do this is bounce the FX'd tracks to new tracks then hide the FX'd track originals in a folder and turn off all those tracks. Now I have a folder filled with all those original tracks and a bunch of new tracks that are all with FX "printed". I collapse the folder to make room and then mix the printed tracks. If I don't like something and have to change it, it is a simple matter of opening the folder, activating that track, and making the change then bouncing another attempt. Etc. 
Basically the project gets split into early stage work and mixing work


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## FabTramp (Jun 2, 2018)

Hi everybody, thank you all for your anwers. You definitley cleared my head a bit!

The main and only FX I've been using so far are EQ as an insert and Reverb and Delays as send. I like the idea of duplicating track and having the original track there ready to be reopened in case it needs to be changed the previous mixing.

I should have said this when I opened the thread but I just realised now: In my project I've been EQing single instruments to make them sound good together. So, Eq violins, french horn, piano etc etc. All I want to do now is to bounce the STEMS (I have 5/6 STEMS, Strings, Brass, Percussion etc etc) so that i can work with the mixing of each sections and make them sound genuine and clear between each other. As you suggested me I shouldn't bounce the Reverb Send with the track(I'm using two Rev on sends, a convolution one and an algorithmic one) as I want to be able to adjust paramaters whilst doing the final mix! About the EQ, I think I should bounce the STEMS with the EQ active in the single tracks as that is the sound I want for the single instruments. Then once I've got my STEMS in Audio I will EQ and Compress if needed, send Rev and Delay, adjust volumes and pans! I'm quite ignorant about Mixing process, I need to start studying it properly. But, Is all this making sense? Is it a good approach to the mixing process?

Thank you!!!! Sorry my english can be really bad sometimes, apologies


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## dzilizzi (Jun 2, 2018)

If you are working with midi, bouncing to audio still keeps the midi, just hide and deactivate them. Or whatever they call it in your DAW. Then they don't take up space/RAM?CPU but still are available if you change your mind on the sound. You don't need to duplicate them.


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