Return tracks are the “Aux” tracks of my DAW of choice, Ableton Live. If you press Ctrl+Alt+T in Windows, you’ll see a new return track pop up on the right. Let’s talk what return tracks are, how to use return tracks in Ableton Live, and most importantly WHY you should be using them.
Return Tracks
Return tracks are a special designation of tracks in Ableton Live which is effectively a special kind of routing which allows you to drop effects (plugins) on them and seamlessly blend those effects in with any tracks (or busses) of choice in your mix.
Again, to create a return track, you can do it from the top menu under “Create”, or you can use the Windows shortcut of Ctrl+Alt+T.
You’ll see a new track appear to the right of your mix in the session view or at the bottom in arrangement view.
Now you insert a plugin/effect like you would any other track, but the difference is there’s no audio on this return track. This track is exclusively for housing this effect which will subsequently be used to blend/apply it to a number of tracks in our mix.
I’ve created a string of return tracks here and renamed each of them either with the name or type of effect I’ve dropped on them:
After you dial in whatever settings you want on that effect(s) on a return track, remember to set the Wet/Dry percentage on that effect to 100% wet.
This is because, with return tracks, the send dial for a corresponding track is essentially acting as the Wet/Dry dial for that effect. We want any effects on our return tracks to be 100% wet so that there’s no additional dry audio being blended in.
Now we can go to any individual track in our mix and blend in a custom amount of one of those effects by turning up its corresponding send dial:
I’ve got a healthy amount of all of those effects spread out evenly amongst a number of my lead vocal tracks in the above image.
There are many benefits to using return tracks in Ableton Live.
Cohesion
One of the main reasons to use return tracks in Ableton Live is for the sense of cohesion they create amongst all of the tracks you send that effect to.
You’re dialing in settings in one instance of a plugin and then applying those same settings across any tracks you apply it to via that send.
This is a great way to give all of those tracks something in common and helps to make otherwise unrelated tracks feel more natural when mixed together.
This is especially the case with an effect like reverb which simulates depth and a sense of space to the tracks you apply it to.
Applying the same settings to multiple tracks can help make them sound like they were recorded in the same space even when that’s not the case like DI tracks or tracks recorded via a microphone with different setups or in different locations.
I like to create a return track in Ableton Live with a reverb with the following best reverb settings on it:
… then applying this to as many tracks as I like in the mix helps to give them all that same sense of depth and space to add cohesion across the mix.
While you can drop a reverb on the master bus to achieve a similar effect, this allows you to be a bit more selective in the tracks you send it to like excluding the kick drum, bass, etc.
You can also adjust the amount of this effect you’re blending with each track individually with their respective dials while still achieving that cohesion.
Resource Efficiency
Most of us aren’t running our DAWs on the latest and greatest computers in terms of processors and memory, so eventually system resource consumption becomes an issue.
This is particularly true in larger and more complex mixes which call for a lot more tracks and effects used, and it’s difficult to mix in real time when you’ve got to add a lot of latency to offset CPU overload.
While VST3 plugins are more efficient by design, only consuming system resources when there’s audio playing on the track they’re inserted on, it still pales in comparison to using a single instance of a plugin via a return track and sending it to multiple tracks in terms of efficiency.
There are some plugins where I know I’m going to apply them to multiple tracks in my mix and all with the same settings.
Parallel compression, meaning a compressor with an extreme ratio and an aggressive threshold, is a perfect example of this.
Parallel compression adds a lot of energy to the tracks you blend it in with by blending in a squashed and dynamic free instance of those tracks. Outside of a bit of threshold play, you can apply the same above settings to virtually every track in your mix.
Time Saver
The time saving applications of just creating one plugin and dialing in the blend amount you want track by track to taste is an obvious benefit, but an important one worth mentioning just the same.
When you want to hear a track with a bit of saturation, parallel compression, reverb, etc. you can just blend some in that you’ve already got via its send knob for that corresponding return track effect.
You don’t need to copy and paste the same effects in multiple instances of a plugin across multiple tracks, you don’t need to create a duplicate of any individual tracks for parallel processing, etc.
All of this makes return tracks a sizable time saver, especially when added up over the scope of working on an entire mix.
Keeps Effect Separate
When you have a plugin/effect as an insert rather than a send, meaning you’re dropping it directly on the track, you’ll typically need to adjust the Wet/Dry parameter on that effect to get the blend you want.
I like return tracks because it keeps your tracks separate “dry”, at least as it relates to that effect. It’s easier to get a good blend by way of that send dial.
While the perfect blend amount will vary from ear to ear, not to mention effect to effect and by purpose, but a good rule of thumb is to turn up an effect’s respective send dial until you can just hear it, then back its dial off a couple dB. Again, this will vary by intent, but when you’re looking for a subtle mix, this is a good way to go.
From obvious benefits like time and resource saving to genuinely just making your mix sound better for the cohesion factor, return tracks should absolutely be a part of your next mix in Ableton Live (or whatever your DAW’s equivalent is).
If you have a number of effects you know you like to use in every mix like a couple I mentioned earlier, save yourself even more time and save your mixing template with these effects already present, labeled, and configured on return tracks.
Just remember once again that whenever you use a return track (or Aux track, depending on your DAW), that you set that effect’s Wet/Dry or “Mix” percentage to 100% so that you’re just getting the effect via that send dial and you’re not accidentally blending in more of that “dry” instance of the track (which would just serve to raise its overall volume needlessly).
