This is the set up I use as a template to give lots of mixer control, unlimited sends, stereo channels, meters, a trigger to reset the clock and start recording to an audio file, output each channel as well as each send channel individually (for recording and mixing outside Rack).

The left hand mixer is the channel mixer, used for volume, pan and routing. Each channel output sends to the two other mixers, matching the channel number (track 5 on first mixer feeds track 5 on second and third mixers).

The other two mixers have their volume all the way down and the output of the mixer is going to fx unit, reverb and delay in this case. Then the mixers are all combined, routed to a limiter and master channel.

Now if you turn up the volume of a track on the second mixer it sends that track to the reverb, so track 5 on second mixer controls the amount of reverb send of track 5 first mixer.

The cool thing about this is that you don’t need to worry about having to remember which channels are L/R pairs or not, the mixer channels can be stereo or mono so one channel is always all of it and you only need to move one (as opposed to two) faders for effects. It’s a lot of cables but it works quite well. I was trying to do a similar thing with cf’s mixer modules but it got a bit messy and complicated with using two Fundamental VCAs after each channel to control the send level. It worked though.

I also use Snake to save a few cables. Tact is there to do master fade ins when I record because sometimes sounds don’t stop when you stop running the clock. The trigger and master recorder is there to record everything, when you are ready to record just hit the trigger and the clock will reset and the recording will begin.

You will need:

Southpole – snake
Impromptu Modular – clocked, tact
NYSTHI – 16mix, master recorder
Bogaudio – limiter, manual
cf – stereo, master
AS – stereo VU meter
Valley – plateau
MSM – dual delay

If you want to use this, or anything else, as a template every time you create a new patch, save the patch as template.vcv in your rack directory (~/.Rack/ on linux).