Clip Effects vs Track Effects: What is the order in which they are processed?

[Akshay30014633pt4n]

In Multitrack mode, we can set effects on the effects rack to apply to a specific clip, and effects to apply to a specific track. I was wondering which set of effects gets applied first during playback, the clip effects or the track effects?

E.g. if I have a De-Esser in a clip's Clip Effects and a Parametric EQ in track effects on the same track which my clip is placed in, does the De-Esser get applied before the Parametric EQ or vice versa?

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

It's a perfectly valid question to which we have no answer, and probably wouldn't get one even if we asked directly. It ought to be possible to set up a test to find out, though. I'll think about it...

[Akshay30014633pt4n]

Yes, I was trying to figure it out too but I couldn't come up with a test that would let me know for sure, one way or another. Awaiting what you come up with 🙂

[Akshay30014633pt4n · Accepted solution]

A few minutes later I came up with an idea.

My test results lead me to believe that clip effects apply before track effects.

Opened a multitrack session, generated a 100Hz base frequency Square Wave at 30% cycle. My idea was that I needed to use two different in-built plugins that would generate two visibly different outcomes and which each had a visible input waveform monitor. For convenience sake, I used Multiband Compressor (on Broadcast preset) and FFT filter (with a nearly-square band-cut between 100Hz and 1kHz) as these are the plug-ins I'm most familiar with.

I added one copy of each effect to the clip effects rack and track effects rack, but toggled their enables in such a way that the FFT Filter on Clip Rack was enabled, alongside the MB Compressor on Track Rack. The result was that when playing back, the MB Compressor on Track Rack received an input waveform with a large notch cut out between 100 and 1000 Hz, but toggling the MB Compressor did nothing to the height (amplitude) of the input waveform for the FFT on Clip Rack.

I then reversed the enable toggles. This time, Clip Rack had the MB Compressor on broadcast preset enabled, and the Track Rack had the FFT enabled. During playback, toggling the FFT on Track did nothing to the Compressor on Clip's input waveform, but toggling the Compressor on Clip Rack changed the height of the input waveform on the Track Rack.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

Sounds like a perfectly valid test to me. It has the added advantage of me not having to think about it too much!

[Akshay30014633pt4n]

Haha, it is nice that you can relax for once!

Well, at least we know the order now, and I described my method in excruciating detail so that in future anyone who wants to verify can have an easy time replicating my experiment in case I somehow messed up the test.