Mission 037
The Signal Chain
How audio flows from source to your ears.
Signal chain = the order plugins process audio. Order changes everything.
+40 XP
// WHAT IT DOES
When you stack plugins on a track, audio flows through them in order — top to bottom in Live. EQ → processes the EQ-d signal through the . Swap the order and you get a totally different result.
Standard order on a vocal: → EQ → → compressor → → /delay sends. Each plugin does its job on a cleaner input than the last.
Effects after the compressor change what gets compressed. Effects before don't. This is the most powerful and most-broken concept in mixing.
Think of it like → Signal chain is a cooking order. Salt before searing = different result than salt after.
▸ WHY YOU CARE
- • Plugin order is half the mix decision.
- • Same plugins, different order = different sound.
- • Knowing the order frees you from guessing.
// SEE & HEAR IT
Scenario 1/5 — Shared reverb on a return track
Classic Reverb Send
One reverb on a return is more CPU-efficient than 4 separate reverbs, and creates a cohesive 'room' that glues the mix.
GOAL: Set each send to approximately match the target levels. Press CHECK when ready.
Target routing (approximate)
Track
REVERB
KICK
10
SNARE
25
VOX
40
PAD
60
Your sends — adjust to match target
KICK
REVERB0
SNARE
REVERB0
VOX
REVERB0
PAD
REVERB0
▸ HOW IT WORKS
▸ Signal flow — watch the dot
▸ SIGNAL FLOW
Glowing dot = your signal travelling through Live.
▸ LISTEN FOR
- • Order changing perceived punch and clarity.
- • Pumping when time-based FX precede dynamics.
- • Saturation harmonics shaped differently when EQ comes after.
▸ WALKTHROUGH (5 steps)
- 1. DO: Add EQ then comp on a vocal.▸ LISTEN: EQ shapes; comp evens dynamics.
- 2. DO: Swap order — comp then EQ.▸ LISTEN: EQ now shapes the compressed signal — different result.
- 3. DO: Add a reverb and move it before vs after the comp.▸ LISTEN: Before = comp pumps with reverb; after = reverb floats on top.
- 4. DO: Place an EQ before a compressor on a vocal.▸ LISTEN: Compressor reacts to the EQ'd signal — less pumping on lows.
- 5. DO: Swap the order: compressor before EQ.▸ LISTEN: Different result — neither is wrong, but they sound different.
▸ COMMON MISTAKES
- ✗ Random plugin order without thinking.
- ✗ Reverb before comp causing unwanted pumping.
- ✗ EQing to fix problems that ordering would solve.
// QUIZ (QUICK)
Question 1 / 40 correct
Gain staging means