How To Use Cakewalk by Bandlab - Routing, Sends, and Busses 

Mike. I have to tell you. I don't comment. Ever. But your channel is a gold mine. A real RU-vid treasure. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us!

You say "You may pick up something you don't already know" I have to say I pick up something I don't know with all your videos. THANKS!!

Hands down some of the best lessons not just for Cakewalk but for the entire spectrum of music production. Being a guitarist who is trying to mix and master his music, your videos have been tremendously helpful. Thank you so much.

Patch points could work for you if you use outboard equipment. For example, you wanna run tracks 2-3 and 6 through a patch point that send it off to a physical output which goes off into a Yamaha SPX-90. Its output can be then be routed back to another track, You may actually have multiple outboard gear, so the patch points become individual inputs again as the come back. It's wicked to see you work man, keep it up!

Hi Mike! I decided to sell all my hardware gear about ten years ago, because I didn't have enough room for them after our daughter grew up (and she needed some more room of course). My father died a year ago and after that I felt a great need to express my feelings through music again. Your Cakewalk tutorials have been essential for me in the past few months, especially this one. So I wanted to say a big thank you, Mike, for your helpful, well thought and produced tutorials. Please keep them coming in the future too!

I've learned more on this subject in 20mins that I had in the previous 20 years! Bravo Mike!

You raised a challenge for ways to use Patch Points. I'm a newbie with Cakewalk and with recording with DAW's but an idea sprang to mind as you said it. Imagine you have a song and you want to open with a certain mood, and have the guitar bright, clean but a bit 'spacey, then you want a midsection with a 'dirty guitar'', and an end section with a different set of effects and EQ. You would be able to change from one mood to another throughout the song - and back again, and change gradually from one mood to another simply by automating the volume of the guitar's Patch channels. I have not done this but I think it makes sense. I found this content very useful, cheers.

I know this video has been out a while, but I came back to watch it again as I don't have outboard equipment, and wanted to use compression "pre recording" "on the way in" ... which I accomplished by doing the compression on the input track and then sending to an Aux track, actually recording the Aux track....maybe there is a better way, but I'm excited about it, ha.......all thanks to this video and your many other great ones...thanks Mike!

I love Cakewalk and have been using it since the Twelve-Tone days!

13:00 Send Ref 32:32 Aux Ref, Thanks just starting my mixing journey

I immediately see a convenient solution in Patch Points, whenever the same signal has to be edited in several different ways. Say, you don't have a multiband-compressor, but want to differently compress three bands. PatchPoint send to three tracks that have an eq + compressor loaded. With Aux channels you would have to create 3 sends, with busses you would have to create 3 sends as well.

I have been using this software for years and now I watch a clear logical explanation for the use of aux and bus routing. Big thanks!! :-) Really enjoy your videos.

Thank you for your videos! I've learned a lot about Cakewalk from them! Most recently, I used Patch Points to separate the Left and Right channels of a stereo audio file into two mono files. If you just convert a stereo file to mono, it combines the Left and Right. If you send each side to their own track, it doesn't. Sometimes, I will use a Patch Point to add an effect to a certain frequency range of an instrument.

I already knew most of what you explained in this video. But I whish someone had given me your excellent explanation about 20 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of grey hair and bad mixes along the way ;-) Thank you for saving a new generation of producers from this unnecessary harm.

Thank you sooooooo much for all these videos about Cakewalk by bandlab. I am trying to switch my DAW from Cubase to this one because I cant afford a new one. The cracked ones I got are veeeery limited. So I decided to try a switch. Thank God I found this channel. It will help me make the BIG switch. Thanks a lot again

I just started with Cakewalk this month. What did everyone do before your videos? I'd be lost without them. Thanks!

I’m fairly easily confused by the ‘routing’ topic. Thank you for covering it. 👍

Finally i understood what all those tracks are (expecially buses). I love this software more and more. Thank yuo!

Ha!! At 25:19 he says "I'll just let you listen to parallel compression on it's own, sounds pretty terrible" then plays something that sounds better than anything I've ever recorded haha, almost spilled my coffee! Great video man, thanks for taking the time to make this!

You can use patch points to send signal to outboard gear or individual monitors

You are honestly the best tutor on youtube for mixing and mastering. I saw several other videos on this same subject, and though the knowledge was there, it got confuse, either cause some steps were skipped or talking too fast or lack of interest in transmitting knowledge some people don't own the teaching gift, which you have. Knowledge doesn't equals to know how to teach. thanks for these very helpful tutorials Mike. Cheers

For years I have been searching for an explanation of this information and I just stumbled upon this video and this brilliantly explains it. Thank you and now I’m a subscriber!!!

You are simply the best DAW teacher!!

Awesome ! Routing, Sends, and Busses explained in 30 minutes !

Thank you for your service :P For teaching us not just cakewalk but fundamentals of music production in general!

20:00 Worth noting when using send effects is that the signal in the effect mostly should be turned all the way to "wet" and no "dry". If not, the original signal will pass thru and will be added to the overall sound.

Patch Points: I like the ideas others have had, but I thought of another. I wondered for some time how to use one recorded part of one piano or synth and change patches. I suppose you could create patch points of a single synth, add patch points with different patches and then automate the PP channels on or off as you need them. BTW I've loved Mike's videos for years and I've learned a lot by watching them! He is the #1 Cakewalk prof.

This is the first time Ive learn how to use sends, patches etc. Excellent lesson, Thanks

I love when a yellow video appear in my RU-vid browser!

Just caught up with this - been missing you! That was all really interesting and I understand a lot more about buses now (actually I'm a bus enthusiast but the ones with four wheels). I wondered what auxiliaries were and hadn't even noticed the patch points! I'll go back to my mix in progress of I Won't Buy and review what I have done so far in the light of this. Thanks again and look forward to the next one - I'll have plenty of time to watch whilst we can't go to the pub or gigs over here!

Yet another gem ... thanks so much Mike for sharing your time and knowledge!

Thanks, Mike. A load of good information after working with Cakewalk for almost 20 years!

Very nice. Definitely my main source for Cakewalk tutorials.

So nice way you explain, in the greatest details, the subject of each video! So well done, and SO USEFUL!

Just wanting to give you a heartfelt thanks for this and many of your other great Cakewalk videos! I have watched this video many times and the info is finally syncing in! Cheers!

Thanks for including the extra bits like the hidden hardware device faders!!

My projects are gonna be a lot cleaner now! Thanks for this!

Hi, Mike! This is the tutorial I was looking for! Thank you very much for your help!🙏🏻🙏🏻

Hi Mike, I absolutely love your videos, especially this one. I'm subscribed with updates. I'm a long-time guitarist but I've always been on the other side of the glass, trying recording from home now and you have been of immense help, thank you sir.

Awesome video! I’ve had some confusion over how and when to use busses for some time and this video makes it easily understandable. Cheers

Always good easy to understand tutorials, brill!

Just wanted to to say thanks for this content, I'm still learning Cakewalk and this was very informative and wonderfully explained cheers Mike!

i was looking for this channel the whole year... just fouind it, had to learn most of this from old sonar videos.. thanks!

You are a very good teacher. Thank you for your work.

Using Cakewalk for years but you explain things so clearly and teach new things. Thank you so much.

I’ve been a cakewalk user, then a sonar user and now a cakewalk user again for MANY years and I learned something! Thank you for this and all your excellent cakewalk videos!!

Excellent video Mike! Thank you very much. I never really understood sends and busses and you have explained them very clearly here. I'm sure I will be putting this to good use.

This kind of help is priceless. Really, truly, thank you.

I have been using Cakewalk for years, way back from the Sonar LE version, but I have to say I pick up something new every time I watch one of you video's Mike. Great stuff, keep up the good work, I love it. Mike Knight.

Thank you, Mike. I have gotten so much from your videos. Your hard work is appreciated!!

These tutorial videos are the best I've ever seen on RU-vid. Thank you Mike.

Very informative. I've been figuring some stuff out for myself for about a year now. I only wish I'd found this channel sooner. Great info here.

I have been using Cakewalk for 20 years starting with the first Guitar Tracks version for basic demos and to the current version and it is great to see your videos as there hasn't been too many Cakewalk tutorials as there are other Daws. Most of the workflow and techniques I use have been from trial and error but I find that we are basically at the same place. I have picked up some very useful ideas from you and it is always great to see another persons perspective. Needless to say I enjoy your presentations and always look forward to your next video. All the best.

Thanks Mike. Very detailed explanation regarding a complex subject that can really improve a mix if we can learn how to do it. Great lesson!

This is a brilliant set of knowledge, Mike! Many thanks for this. I always wondered what all these features are good for, now I understand them much better. Another good idea for all mixing beginners is to watch an explanation video e.g. on the Soundcraft M8 Mixer. Because most DAWs are modelled after these old analog mixing consoles, you can learn a lot, too. And even the signal routing plan can be very interesting... After that you will appreciate the extended features of your DAW!

Excelent Video. Easy to understand, like all your vids. Thanks a lot Mike!!!

Exemplos e Explicações muito bons! Parabéns! Aprendi muita coisa com seu vídeo.

This one was exceptionally enlightening! (Been around since Pro Audio 9, but learning something new in every one of your videos)

You're a terrific tutor Mike, kudos and keep up the great job sir👍

I learned a lot from this mate, Thank you! As to the Patch Point Dilemma, I'm sure I watched a video a while back on Produce Like a Pro, where Warren used something similar in Pro-Tools to control the side chain of a compressor.

Thank you, you really helped me understanding better how this works, you got a new subscriber! ✌🏻

Fantastic quality information explained better than I’ve ever heard or seen from any other tutorial video I’ve watched. This is gold! Really can appreciate the way you so easily explain all of this detailed information in a way for someone like myself to fully understand it in less than 40min✅🔥🔥🔥 Liked and Subscribed!🎧

1:07 3 default buses created in Cakewalk. 2:48 There's another divider squashed into the right hand side. It has more faders which represent outputs on your audio interface. You can route things to them to create separate mixes for different headphone outputs. But we're not using it today. 4:07 Gain knob. Set a healthy signal right at the beginning of your signal chain. 4:52 Then it goes to the ProChannel where there's a compressor and an EQ. The compressor sends the compressed signal to the EQ. They're both switched off now. 5:58 The signal then goes to the FX section. 6:41 Then it goes to the Sends section which behaves differently to the FX section. 7:11 Then it goes to the Pan then the Master fader which controls the overall output from that channel. Then it goes to the Master section. 7:51 The path of the signal. 8:24 What happens in the FX section? What order the FX should be in depends. 9:00 Example. A delay then TH3. 10:32 The combined effect of the two FX. The guitar gets less overdriven with each echo. 11:43 To make the overdrive sound repeat, swap the two FX around so the delay repeats the overdriven signal. So think about which order you want the FX be in. 12:57, 13:02 Sends. Creates a send to the overdriven signal. Sends + > New Stereo Bus. Adds TH3 to the new bus. 13:56 The signal branches off to the new bus and also continues down the channel (two simultaneous signals happen). 14:56 Sends + > New Stereo Bus (to put a delay FX on), so it's now being sent to two buses. It causes one overdriven signal and delays/echoes without overdrive on them. 16:33 Recap 16:48, 16:57 More typical ways of using busses. He's using two virtual guitars. 17:41 He's added reverb to one guitar. 18:29 Ctrl-click and drag FX to copy it to the other guitar. 18:49 To save you from altering the settings on the delay FX on both guitars and save resources, you can use a Send. So you can put the FX on a new bus and Send the two guitars to a new bus created for reverb FX. Sends+ > "name of bus created for reverb". 19:47 And you can use the fader of the reverb bus to alter the reverb for all the instruments being sent to it. 20:13 And you can control the levels of reverb sent through from each of the instrument channels. 20:54 Another good reason to use a Send is you can chain FX together in a single bus. 21:24 Insert an EQ before the reverb on the Reverb bus and get rid of the bottom end of the signal, so it's only sending the top end of the guitar to the reverb FX. Demo of how it sounds. 22:43 If you put the EQ and reverb on the instrument channel, the EQ has thinned the guitar out, it affects the whole signal. 23:25 The Post button can be switched off, which means the signal being sent through to the bus is not affected by the fader on the channel, if switched on then it is affected by it. 24:11 Why does it matter? Parallel compression on the vocals. Quick explanation of parallel compression. He Sends the vocal to a bus with a compressor on it that is compressing it very heavily, and you blend it with the original signal of the vocal 25:48 The fader on the channel affects the amount of signal sent to the compressor on the bus, making it be compressed less and less because compressors need a certain level of signal before they kick in. Demo. 26:44 To make it keep compressing the signal while lowering the main signal, switch the Post button off so the signal being sent to the bus doesn't get affected by the channel fader. Demo of it working. 27:38 Problem: The vocal and the parallel compression are imbalanced with eachother, there's a mix between the vocal and the compression. How to keep them in balance with eachother. Right click > Insert Stereo Bus, set the output of the vocals channel to the new bus, and set the output of the compression channel to the new bus too. Now that new bus can be used to affect the vocal level while keeping the same balance of the vocal and the compressed vocal. Demo. 29:25, 29:35 Another reason for buses is to create sub-mixes of items. Right click > Insert Stereo Bus, to create a bus for the two vocal channels, and colour code it. 30:58 Create a bus for another 2 vocal channels. 31:41 Grouping instruments in new busses allows you to do the mixing in those busses, and gives you less faders to deal with and more shared resources when you mix them. 32:32 Can also route to an Aux channel. 33:00 On bass guitar, Sends+ > New Aux Track 33:30 Adds TH3 on the new Aux track, now he can blend the two signals. 34:22 On an Aux channel, you can record (one difference from a bus), and the signal going to it would be recorded to that channel. 34:49, 34:56, 35:21 Patch points. Sends+ > New Patch Point. Patch points are internal routing, you need to add a new Audio Track to use them. Make the input for the audio track the stereo signal from the patch point. 36:33 The piano now goes through to the audio track. 36:53 Makes another 3 audio tracks and makes the input for them the piano Patch point. So from just the one Send on the original piano channel, it's being sent to 4 different channels. 37:37 Sending another instrument to the piano patch. 38:07 He hasn't really found a use for this yet. 38:23 Wrap up.

Thx for this lesson! Now I got that sending and routing thing finally :)

Great Video! I can already see solutions to some problems I was trying to solve. Plus easier ways to do things I was doing the hard way. Thanks for this. Subscribed....looking forward watching more of your videos!

What a treasure trove of cakewalk knowledge. I save all your videos. Great stuff. Just starting out, so I really don't even know what I don't know.

Great video. Very informative. You're a great teacher. Keep up the brilliant work. BIG THANKS!!

Just found your channel today......your "Mastering for Beginners" video was extremely helpful (Literally made a huge difference in a recording we just finished)....I'll be going through most of your Cakewalk vids.....subbed.

You present the information so well. My mixes and masters have improved so much from watching your videos. Kudos for such a stellar channel.

Thank You! Your videos are so helpful!

Fantastic work Mike

Thankyou so much man, you teach me a lot of things with your videos..

Yet another educational masterpiece. Mike's lessons are always clear and well-planned with a logical flow. He's found that elusive balance between "talking down" and "too much information"!

Dina videor varit oerhört hjälpsamma. Tack så mycket.

Thank you so much for this video, Mike! As someone who's messed around with DAWs (more Cakewalk than anything else) and recording for quite some time but still felt daunted by it all this was so helpful!

Thank You Mike, for another great, and very informative tutorial. I have (evidently) been coming up with the most difficult possible way, of doing the very things that you make understandable. Great communication skills. Thanks again.

This was a fantastic lesson. It's much appreciated!

Thanks for your videos Mike, always very clear.

This is by far the most important video I have ever watched thank you

Thanks so much. I've watched a few videos on this topic but this is the first one that really made it click for me.

You just taught an old dog a new trick!! Oustanding video... love your whole series!!

Mike, I've been using Cakewalk for years and I've never understood buses and sends. I now completely get it and have just used both on a track I'm working on. Absolutely transformational in terms of workflow and gives so much more control of effects and levels. Brilliant work as always, superbly explained. Thanks Andy

Thank you for sharing the videos and the knowledge, very, very helpful.

Quite excellent tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

3rd video I am looking at. Same very good teaching skills, and pragmatic topics. Amazing. Probably the best videos on mixing on YT !

Man I´m so thankful for your work, attitude and gentleness! You deserve the best karma. Thanks again mate!

great video and explanation thank you for sharing your knowledge

Thanks so much for your very helpful videos!

Really enjoying your vids. I would love to see a video on creating headphone mixes for different interface outputs. Thanks!

Great video again Mike, I've always avoided sends , Aux and Patch points because I didn't understand uses for them , now much clearer! Cheers Would be interesting to see how people make videos of their music for youTube and what is the best video software!

That was just a perfect explanation of what a bus is. Been doing some composing for several years and always scared to get into the hard stuff. Wish I could figure what the patch point is, but already headspun form the bus part :). Thank you for the tuts.

Liked and subbed. Cakewalk is my DAW. Marathon of your vids starts now!

This was very very useful! Thank you!

Thanks once again Mike! I appreciate your education

Another really good session. Thanks Mike.

I've been using Cakewalk since version 1.0 for DOS (when it was 12 Tones). I've stumbled my way through it, tried to figure out as much as I could over the years. I wish I had found this sooner. WHAT A GOLDMINE OF INFORMATION! I found this series by accident, only about a month ago. I use Cakewalk to make pre-production demos, or lay down some basic stems, which I then bring to an established studio. But with (a lot) more practice, I may start doing some full projects, as I gain more knowledge and plug in the holes in my engineering education. And this series will be a big part of that. Thank you so very much for making these.

Thanks Mike - Some excellent info and tips here

Brilliant instruction for beginner to intermediate Cakewalk users!

Good work. Never stop

Extremely useful for those of us who are starting with CbB. Thanks