If you’ve ever looked at your DAW session and thought, “Where is everything going?”—you’re not alone. In this episode, we’re untangling the spaghetti of buses, groups, sends, and routing strategies that make up our mix sessions.

We’re walking through how we use group channels, why we (sometimes) skip the drum bus entirely, and when it’s worth creating multiple subgroups for just one instrument family. Plus, we revisit the pitch correction debate with a question from the audience that hits close to home: should you ever slap Auto-Tune on a vocal before even listening?

🎛 Why buses and subgroups are more than just "volume groups"
🎧 How to simplify complex mix templates with nested routing
🥁 Why Chris uses two drum buses—and what that unlocks
🎚 The difference between group channels, FX channels, and VCAs
🎤 When Auto-Tune is a helpful tool… and when it’s a crutch

The breakfast place that finally shut down (we kinda saw it coming)

Why Steve stopped using VCAs completely

Chris’s stereo-only bus rule—and why it makes sense

How parallel effects routing keeps your mix flexible

The truth about vocal tuning and why every singer says “fix that”

Shoutout to Rome! We dig into their comment about pitch correction, Billie Eilish, and the art of leaving vocals raw. It sparked a great convo on how (and when) we approach to tuning.

Routing isn’t just about organizing your session—it’s about unlocking creative decisions. Whether you're a minimalist or a template wizard, the key is to make your workflow serve the music.

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