Grouping Instruments

Is there any better way to group channels than the method where you use the color coded thing in the channel strips?  Reason I ask is I have a song with a horn section of two trumpets, one sax and one trombone.  They're all virtual but I have the MIDIs transferred to audio.  I had to use quite a bit of volume automation to get them balanced but I find myself in a position where I need to adjust the volume of the whole section without having to go into each horn channel and adjust them individually.  Isn't there a way I could put the four of those channels on a buss and increase or decrease the volume of the whole section with one fader?  If I use the group channel thing that messes with the automation. Please go into as much detail as possible because I've never done anything like that before.
 
Thanks
John B

msmcleod
You could send them all to a buss, then just use the buss fader to adjust the levels.
 
 
 

How is that done?  I've done Aux/Send-Returns but how to you send channels to a buss?
I can't group the faders because they are all automated and if I move them the automation will change.  I'd rather buss them.
 
jb

That should be easy enough to follow.  Thanks!
 
JB

or you could put the send to reverb and delay bus on the brass bus.

Johnbee58
I tried it and it works.  The only issue now is I have reverb and delay on those tracks via a send/return buss and that doesn't come through. 
 
JB

If your FX are on a bus there should be no change at all, your simply routing the output of those tracks to a different buss. Your send only taps a portion of the tracks signal long before the tracks output.
 
Back when I first started using Pro audio, Sonar I used to run FX on the same track VS. using a bus.
Once I became a little more experienced with the way things worked, I realized its just like the old analog desks.
 
Your remedy is simple, move those FX to a new bus named "Reverb, Delay,Exc" and change the sends feed to that bus.
All automation will still be there, your simply routing the FX to a bus.

Johnbee58

chuckebaby

Johnbee58
I tried it and it works.  The only issue now is I have reverb and delay on those tracks via a send/return buss and that doesn't come through. 
 
JB

If your FX are on a bus there should be no change at all, your simply routing the output of those tracks to a different buss. Your send only taps a portion of the tracks signal long before the tracks output.
 
Back when I first started using Pro audio, Sonar I used to run FX on the same track VS. using a bus.
Once I became a little more experienced with the way things worked, I realized its just like the old analog desks.
 
Your remedy is simple, move those FX to a new bus named "Reverb, Delay,Exc" and change the sends feed to that bus.
All automation will still be there, your simply routing the FX to a bus.

Weird thing happened yesterday.  I found that when I soloed each of the horns through the Horns buss I could hear the effects.  Like, I soloed the trumpet (on the instrument channel, but through the Horns buss) and heard the verb and delay fine, but when I soloed another horn on top of one, that's when the effects canceled out.   So I can have the effects on one horn through the buss, but when I add more the effects seem to cancel out.
 
John B

How are you adding your effects?
 
In other words, are the effects on the individual tracks, on the bus, or on an aux send?
 
If they're on an aux send, is the aux track also being sent to your horns bus?
 

sock monkey
 
My self with horns I like to put the send on the Horn Buss. Those send are going to the same reverb and deleay buss used on my vocals and other instruments. 

I agree with everything you said except this ^^^.
By putting the send on the horn bus you paint yourself into a corner if you want less FX on some horn tracks than others.
 
For example Baritone horns, require less ambience then say a trumpet. adding too much ambience to a lower frequency can tend to muddy up the spectrum.
 
Though I do, like you, share FX buses with multiple instruments. Good way to cut down on CPU resources