1. Using auxiliary sends, returns and sidechain routing in Tracktion 6

1 Tracktion 6 has a unique way of doing things. While most DAWs have a mixer strip along the bottom, Tracktion 6’s is on the right, building up as you add tracks. Level meters are already loaded for you by default, as are faders to control level and left/right sliders to control panning. You’ve got Mute and Solo buttons over on the far right. Pretty simple.

2 To add a plugin, drag the solid blue + icon from above to mixer into a slot within the mixer and then choose an effect from the menu that comes up. You can actually drag this icon after the fader/pan, and even after the stereo metering, if you want. We’re going to throw Beatskillz’ free Max1 onto the drums to compress them.

3 Add another item to the drums’ mixer, after the fader/pan module. This time, go to the menu’s Tracktion Plugins option and choose Aux Send. This is how Tracktion 6 deals with sends – as separate entities in the mixer. Now we’ll add a new track ( Ctrl/Cmd-T) in the mixer. We’ll use this as our return channel.

4 On the new track, add an Aux Return item to the mixer, before the fader/pan module. This is accessed from the same menu as the Aux Send. If you want a postfade send, it’s as simple as dragging the module to the other side of the fader. There’s another way to route this signal – you can choose Audio Tracks >> Drums as the input of the new track. No send or return modules required!

5 Sidechaining in Tracktion 6 isn’t a straightforward process. Here’s how you do it. Insert a Compressor (Tracktion’s stock one will do) on a channel, right-click it and select Wrap this plugin in a new rack plugin. The above ‘rack’ window appears. The sidechain input is the bottom-left wire going out of the Compressor – right-click it and select a channel to feed the input.

6 We’re sidechaining with our whole drums signal, so to pick out the kick, we add a LPF/HPF filter module into the chain, using the + icon, similar to how we add plugins into the mixer. We connect the filter in the signal flow before the Compressor’s sidechain input, and double-click it to access its parameters in the rack window.