How To Make Groups and Bus Channels In The Mixer - FL Studio Basics

Introduction to a tutorial on creating bus and group channels in FL Studio mixer.

• Demonstration of how to make buses or group channels • Explanation of why you might want to use them • Discussion of what control this gives you in mixing context

Tutorial will demonstrate grouping drums, though the technique applies to any instrument type like keys, bass, or synths.

Ready to begin the step-by-step demonstration.

Individual drum channels include kick top, kick bottom, snare, and shakers, each sent to different mixer channels initially routed to the master.

• Create a new bus channel or drag one from the side panel • Rename it to 'drum buss' • Color it the same as the drums for organization

• Select each drum channel • Click the arrow on the channel • Right-click and select 'route to this track only' • Repeat for all drum channels to send them to the drum bus

Audio from individual drum channels flows to the drum bus, which then feeds to the master, allowing control of all drums from a single channel.

Individual channels are like small streams of audio that join together into a river, representing the bus channel.

Audio streams flow into specific buses like drum bus, instrument bus, and bass bus, which then all feed into the master as the final destination.

Selecting 'route to this track only' ensures audio goes only to the bus, not to both the bus and master, preventing audio leakage.

Lowering the drum bus volume simultaneously reduces the volume of all grouped drums together.

Sending a channel to the bus without selecting 'route to this track only' causes it to feed to both the bus and the master simultaneously.

If the bus volume is lowered, the channel still passes through to the master, defeating the purpose of the bus grouping.

Always use the right-click option 'route to this track only' when sending channels to a bus.

Test by pressing play and confirming that lowering bus volume reduces the grouped instrument volume.

• Start mixing from bus level first before diving into individual tracks • Quickly identify if entire drum or bass sections are too loud or quiet • Pull whole bus down or up instead of adjusting each channel individually

Applying EQ or processing to an entire bus instead of individual tracks reduces setup time and avoids redundant adjustments across multiple channels.

• Easy application of effects like reverb to entire drum section • Quick filter sweeps or automation on grouped instruments • Consistent processing across related sounds

Using fewer VST instances on bus channels instead of on each individual channel reduces CPU load and improves computer performance.

• Create a dedicated reverb insert channel called 'drum reverb' • Send signal from the drum bus to this reverb using 'route to this track' • Lower the volume for controlled reverb amount • Adds cohesion and room presence to entire drum kit

Apply Fruity Parametric EQ to the drum bus to control overall frequency balance and prevent low-end buildup from reverb.

• Create automation clips on the drum bus EQ • Perform filter sweeps on entire drums simultaneously • Achieve creative effects like gradually opening or closing drum frequencies

Apply effects and automation to grouped sounds once instead of recreating them individually on each channel.

• Identify instruments into broad categories like drums, synths, bass, and effects • Send all channels in each category to their main bus • Apply processing directly on buses for cohesive sound

Mixing within buses provides better context than soloing individual instruments, helping you judge overall balance and energy in the mix.

• Parallel compression on drum bus • Quick frequency correction to entire sections • Automated volume rides on bus level during different song sections

Make significant mixing adjustments by moving a single fader or automation point rather than editing multiple individual channels.

Bus channels simplify mixing workflow and make it easier to manage multiple related instruments together.

Create buses for drums, instruments, bass, and other logical groupings when working with multitrack sessions.

Bus channels provide significant improvements in mixing speed, context awareness, CPU efficiency, and creative flexibility.

Using buses from the start of a mix is a fundamental professional mixing practice that yields better results.