How do I assign an Lfe to a track/Sub for 5:1 surround

Hi I need to assign an Lfe to a track/Sub for a 5:1 surround mix. Can someone point me in the right direction. Thanks
RESOLVE 16 BETA
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Are you trying to send an individual track that just has LFE content on it or do you have multiple tracks using the LFE send?

Do you need it going through a stem?

Either way you'll need your sub bus to be 5.1. Then on your source tracks you can put the LFE send at 0 and switch it to PRE fader. Then bring the channel fader(s) down so the only signal going out is to the LFE channel of the bus. Then that sub bus can be routed to your Main.

Hi Will, thank you. This is my first 5:1 mix. A Dcp creator was asking me to put the LFE on channel 4 on my 5:1 mix. I’m ok with adding all the other stems to each channel except for the LFE on channel 4. I may need a few screenshots to help me going. But until then i’m Going to try what u said.

Am I doing this right?

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A dedicated “LFE” Sub Buss isn’t required.

By enabling the Boom section of the Panner, and setting it to “Only” mode, it will be automatically routed to only the LFE Channel of the 5.1 Buss the Track is routed to.

The Main 5.1 Buss (“Main Out”) will follow this Channel order, with the LFE on Channel 4 of the fixed channel configuration.

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To send to the LFE only in the 2D Panner, Alt/Option + Double Click the "Pre" button in the Boom section to enable the "Only" button.

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In the 3D Panner (Alt/Option + Double Click the Panner in the Mixer to bring this up), use the dedicated "Only" button in the Boom section.

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Reynaud, Thank you so much now I understand how to get this done. I hope you do a short tutorial on 5:1 mixing in resolve. I'd pay to watch it Will, thank you for also pointing me in the right track. You guys are awesome !!!

Thanks Reynaud, I forgot about the LFE Only behavior. Old habits die hard.

A dedicated “LFE” Sub Buss isn’t required.

By enabling the Boom section of the Panner, and setting it to “Only” mode, it will be automatically routed to only the LFE Channel of the 5.1 Buss the Track is routed to.

The Main 5.1 Buss (“Main Out”) will follow this Channel order, with the LFE on Channel 4 of the fixed channel configuration.

0F17219E-0BB1-4ADC-8BC3-B25AA7944F9F.jpeg

To send to the LFE only in the 2D Panner, Alt/Option + Double Click the "Pre" button in the Boom section to enable the "Only" button.

302E1C2C-5472-421B-BDBA-D13860BBB27F.png

In the 3D Panner (Alt/Option + Double Click the Panner in the Mixer to bring this up), use the dedicated "Only" button in the Boom section.

CF2C1252-CE9E-4632-A08F-9314E72B52EC.png

What's that dial in the LFE boom pan and where should I set it at or should I leave it in the off position?

What's that dial in the LFE boom pan and where should I set it at or should I leave it in the off position?

Send level. No signal will be routed with the send level at negativity infinity, and at 0 signal is routed at unity.

I usually make a linked group of 6 channels, assign it as "5.1" and then send that to a 5.1 bus.

I usually make a linked group of 6 channels, assign it as "5.1" and then send that to a 5.1 bus.

Since all my video clips contain 5.1 lossless audio, all I had to do was drop them into a 5.1 track.

What's that dial in the LFE boom pan and where should I set it at or should I leave it in the off position?

Send level. No signal will be routed with the send level at negativity infinity, and at 0 signal is routed at unity.

So I increased the send level to the halfway point on the dial. Is that the sweet spot for LFE?

So I increased the send level to the halfway point on the dial. Is that the sweet spot for LFE?

The LFE is not the same thing as a Subwoofer. They serve different purposes.

The Subwoofer reproduces low frequencies that the main speakers typically aren’t able to since these, usually, aren’t full range. The Subwoofer assists in creating a full range playback system.

The LFE, on the other hand, contains low frequency content that is exclusive to it, which isn't reproduced in the main speaker channels. The Send level to the LFE will be source dependent.

So I increased the send level to the halfway point on the dial. Is that the sweet spot for LFE?

The LFE is not the same thing as a Subwoofer. They serve different purposes.

The Subwoofer reproduces low frequencies that the main speakers typically aren’t able to since these, usually, aren’t full range. The Subwoofer assists in creating a full range playback system.

The LFE, on the other hand, contains low frequency content that is exclusive to it, which isn't reproduced in the main speaker channels. The Send level to the LFE will be source dependent.

I'm trying to figure out how to make this work. For some reason 5.1 was working fine for me in Davinci 15 for me but no longer in 16... I just moved the project over and for some reason my 5.1 was no longer getting any LFE. I don't have my BOOM set to Only, it's just set to on. In Davinci 15 I would send some of the signal of my music and SFX to the LFE by selecting my music and SFX tracks and turning boom on.

How can I get the LFE back on Davinci Resolve 16? Here are some screenshots, not sure if you need anything else:

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I just moved the project over and for some reason my 5.1 was no longer getting any LFE

Which Buss format is S3 "SFX"?

The destination Buss will not contain LFE signal when configured in stereo or mono formats.

If "SFX" is enabled as a Reduce Buss, the destination Buss will also not contain the LFE channel from the source (configuration dependent).

Confirmed on 16.2.5 that the Panner routes LFE correctly in both "Pre" and "Post" modes and with "Only" enabled.

Which Buss format is S3 "SFX"?

The destination Buss will not contain LFE signal when configured in stereo or mono formats.

If "SFX" is enabled as a Reduce Buss, the destination Buss will also not contain the LFE channel from the source (configuration dependent).

Confirmed on 16.2.5 that the Panner routes LFE correctly in both "Pre" and "Post" modes and with "Only" enabled.

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SFX is in 5.1 Film. It does have reduce enabled. I wasn't exactly sure what that did.

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I tried turning off Reduce and also selecting Pre and Only and got no LFE. When I select Only, the sound turns off completely. When I select Pre, nothing happens.

SFX is in 5.1 Film. It does have reduce enabled. I wasn't exactly sure what that did.

Reduce Busses:
e.g. 5.1 Music Submix Buss > Stereo Main Mix Buss

Reduce mode follows the ITU standard for Left Only / Right Only:
Lo [Left + Centre (-3dB) + LS (–3dB)]
Ro [(Right + Centre (–3dB) + RS (–3dB)]

The LFE is discarded.

I tried turning off Reduce and also selecting Pre and Only and got no LFE.
...
When I select Pre, nothing happens.

Is the presence of level on the LFE channel indicated on the Buss metering in all these modes?

The Buss correctly reflects level on the LFE channel in Boom "Only" mode based on the screenshot, is this also the case for "Pre" and "Post"?

When I select Only, the sound turns off completely.

Is your B-chain configured correctly for 5.1?

Reduce Busses:
e.g. 5.1 Music Submix Buss > Stereo Main Mix Buss

Reduce mode follows the ITU standard for Left Only / Right Only:
Lo [Left + Centre (-3dB) + LS (–3dB)]
Ro [(Right + Centre (–3dB) + RS (–3dB)]

The LFE is discarded.

Ah that makes sense. So I would need to select that when doing a Stereo output? However, for the 5.1 I would uncheck that it seems?

Is the presence of level on the LFE channel indicated on the Buss metering in all these modes?

The Buss correctly reflects level on the LFE channel in Boom "Only" mode based on the screenshot, is this also the case for "Pre" and "Post"?

I'm getting LFE in my submixes, but not in my main mix:

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Even when I select just to hear MX only as the output, I can hear the LFE, but then when I switch to the 5.1, it immediately goes away.

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Getting LFE at all in Davinci 16 is progress from where I was! So for some reason it's just not sending LFE from the 5.1 submixes to the main 5.1 mix. That looks like that's the one thing I need to solve.

Is your B-chain configured correctly for 5.1?

Not exactly sure what this means. Not sure what change could have been made to DaVinci Resolve 16 from 15 that could has disabled that for me.

However, for the 5.1 I would uncheck that it seems?

Correct. Reduction mode will be disabled anyway if routing is 5.1 > 5.1 for example.

So for some reason it's just not sending LFE from the 5.1 submixes to the main 5.1 mix. That looks like that's the one thing I need to solve

Run tone through the entire path to determine where the issue lies.

Can confirm that 16.2.6 on macOS is routing correctly.

You can also provide a link to the Project without media via a DM.

As an update, this works now. I'm using 16.2.6 and I patched noise through one of my SFX channels and it went all the way through to the 5.1 Main. Now somehow everything is working correctly again. It might be a bug from updating my project from DaVinci Resolve 15.3 to 16 and then "refreshing the system" with the noise patch, it might be from newly installing 16.2.6... Not exactly sure, but it works now.