Hello Everyone,
 
I thought this might be a good thread to get some good ideas going for those who wish to setup a new project template.  I never set one up before, but I realize the benefits of doing so. 
 
I wish to start with a blank project.   So I was wondering what busses do you have by default or any other settings?  I make all electronic music.   Here is a list I complied so far:
 
 
1. Start With Blank Project
2. Create Master Bus (with brickwall limiter & N-Type Emuation)
3. Create Metronome Bus (route metronome) – output to audio card
4. Create Preview Bus (-15 db) –output to audio card (with brickwall limiter)
5. Configure all screensets, rename and lock them.
6. PRV View – View Gridlines, Beat Lines, Clip Outlines, Hide Muted Clips
7. Set “Panning Law” to “-3db center, sin/cos taper, constant power panning law”.
8. Track View Screen: Options>”Stop at Project End”
9. Track View Screen: Options>”Select Track Envelopes with Clips”
10. Insert Drum Bus, Core Synth Bus, Secondary Synth Bus, Overdubs, FX Busses and Reverb Busses
11. Set meters for Peak + RMS, Hold/Lock Peaks
12. Added Console Only “N-Type” Pro Channel to each bus.
13. Disable Synth Patch Lookback / Zero Controllers
 
 
Any other busses or settings that you guys start with?  Screen shots also welcome.  Hopefully this thread can help me and others as well.
 
Thank You,
Adam
 
 
 

I have multiple buses for drums, and for 'groups' of other instruments, as well.
 
So, a Kick bus, Snare bus, Toms bus, Hi-Hat bus, and Cymbals bus, as well as a Drums bus that all the other ones above all feed into.  I use synth drums, or I would also have a bus for overhead mics etc.
 
As far as other buses, it depends on what instrument combos a given project has.  If I have several horns on different tracks, I will likely have a Brass bus, and if there are violins and violas and cellos, then likely there will be a Strings bus, and so on.
 
These buses all exist for a couple of reasons.  First, the buses like Strings or Brass allow generic volume control over that whole section, as well as common effects, such as reverb, to be applied to that whole section.  The numerous drum buses allow individual effects to the different kinds of kit pieces there are, and also control relative volume for each category of kit piece (cymbals, toms, etc.).  All the drums buses then feed into a main drums bus, which then is routed to master.
 
I hope that helps - think in terms of groups of instruments and the common effects and volumes that those groups would share.
 
Bob Bone
 

Firstly, if you're happy with this arrangement then simply save the whole thing as your normal template so it;s available every time you create a new project,
 
As to your particular workflow, I can't see anything inherently wrong wit this approach at all.
You do need to make sure that all of your individual busses go to the master buss and all of your tracks should be routed to a buss, so only the Master Buss feeds your main outs. In other words if you mute the Master Buss, you should get silence. I actually add another "Pre Master" buss to which all other busses feed and this one goes into the Master Buss.
I insert sends on every buss apart from my master & premaster to another buss named "Headphones"
This buss outputs to a 2nd pair of inputs on my interface. This provides a very quick & easy way to set up a different mix in the cans, almost like a stems mix.
 
This gives me 5 busses I can monitor - Pre Master, Master, Phones, Main Outs 1 & 2
 
If there's no plugins on the master bus then all 5 busses peak & RMS readings should be identical. If they're not then there's a routing problem somewhere.
 
If I have a mastering chain inserted on the master buss, then the Pre, Phones & Main Out 2 should be at the same level, while Master & Main Out 1 will be at a different (but identical) and almost certainly higher level.
 
 
I go absolutely crazy with my busses, in a complex project I can easily have 20 or more
 
 
 
 

Awesome stuff here so far, I love the idea of the pre-master buss which leaves a mix pre audio effects like compression and limiting!   

Keep em coming!
 
Thank you!
 
Adam

I have multiple project templates for different types of projects. The one I use most, I created from an actual finished project. I chose the project that most represented a typical project of that type, stripped out all the data and saved it as a template.
 
It looks like this:
 
Drums folder
        Drum MIDI
        Kick (mono)
        Snare (mono)
        Toms 
        OH
        Room
MIDI folder
Audio folder
Vox folder
 
Busses:
Drums
Reverb
Instruments
Vox
Main
 
Also pre-loaded into the template:
      ValhallaRoom on reverb bus
      Voxengo SPAN on the master bus
      Superior Drummer in the synth rack and pre-routed to the 5 drum audio tracks
 
I don't pre-load any other effects because it varies too much from one project to the next.
 

This is a great idea for a thread. Now that I've developed a basic workflow in X3 Producer I've been thinking about setting up a starting template myself but haven't got there yet. I reckon I'll get a few ideas from this.
 
Keep 'em comin'..............please  

I'm bumping this coz I was hoping it would get more attention 

My busses are as follows.

Main
Drum
Drum Compression (parallel)
Snare verb
Bass
Guitar 1
Guitar 2
Solo (guitar)
Acoustic guitar
Synths
Vox 1
Vox verb
Harmonies
Screams (for the metalz)

I approach reverb & their busses in a slightly different way, after reading Mike Senior's suggestions in his excellent "Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio".
 
Consequently, I'll have busses for reverbs to deal with:
 
Size
Blend
Width
Tone
Sustain
 
Not all of these would be active at the same time, though I include them here as they form part of my Normal Template

I'm a big fan of templates. Like Bit, my main template was a finished project that I stripped the audio out.
 
Some general guidelines I use

• I have a bus for all drum parts (kick, snare, overheads, toms, etc.). Some are fed by multiple audio tracks (like the toms or overheads) which is how I originally envisioned busses. But, some are fed by a single track - such as the Kick when I use one mic. It seems redundant to have a buss with a single audio track, but I like to mix the busses on my MCU so it's easier to get a good drum sound with them all busses, rather than having to switch over to track view to tweak a certain drum.
• I have a buss set as a send for reverb
• I have a buss set as a send for Aural Exciter. I have lots of tracks and busses feeding this for the side chain.
• I have 2Bus that has a mixing effects group and a mastering effects group in the pro channel. I can just turn off the group rather than having to turn off all of the effects in the group.
• I have a monitor bus that has ARC2 on it.

Basically, I like every track to go through a bus before going to the 2Bus master. I just like the ease of mixing it gives me...