Fairlight · FlexBus · Resolve 21
FlexBus, Bus Assign, Sends and Outputs in Fairlight
This page uses the live Resolve 21 interface to separate three routing jobs that are easy to mix up: creating buses, assigning a main output, and adding a parallel send. The screenshots show Bus Format, Bus Assign, Bus Out patching and a real track with Bus 2 Send while its main output stays on Bus 1.
1. Tracks and buses
A bus is a separate mixer destination, not another timeline clip lane
The live Mixer makes the distinction visible: normal audio tracks expose their processing and faders, while Bus 1 appears as its own mixer strip beside them. Adding Bus 2 gives the session another independent destination.
Track strip
Represents a timeline audio track and carries its clip signal through track processing and routing.
Bus strip
Receives routed signal as a separate mixer destination and can be monitored or patched onward.
2. Create and format buses
Fairlight → Bus Format opens the bus configuration table
This is the verified Resolve 21 path for adding and formatting buses. The live dialog shows Bus 1 and Bus 2 as Stereo buses with two channels and exposes an Add Bus control.
3. Bus Out patching
Patch Input/Output exposes bus outputs as channel pairs
With Source set to Bus Out, Resolve exposes Bus 1-L/R and Bus 2-L/R. This is useful evidence of where the bus leaves the mixer and becomes an explicit routing source for another patch destination.
Stereo bus = L/R pair
The patch view matches the Stereo, 2-channel configuration shown in Bus Format.
Patching is not Bus Assign
Patch Input/Output connects explicit sources and destinations. Bus Assign controls which tracks feed a bus send or bus output.
4. Bus Assign
Bus Assign separates Send from Out for every bus
The Resolve 21 window makes the routing model visible without guessing: Bus 1 has a Send target and an Out target; Bus 2 has the same pair. Tracks below can be assigned to those targets.
B1o
In the live Bus Assign screen, this shorthand appears on tracks assigned to Bus 1 Out — the main output route shown by the interface.
B1s / B2s
The same window shows these shorthand labels after assigning a Bus 1 or Bus 2 Send.
B2s.B1o
This is the clearest live example: AI SFX keeps Bus 1 Out while also feeding Bus 2 Send in parallel.
5. Send vs output
A send adds a parallel path; an output remains the main route
The live AI SFX assignment proves the distinction in the interface: one track can show B2s and B1o at the same time. That is more useful than an abstract diagram because it shows exactly how Resolve 21 represents the two jobs.
Main output
Use Out when the signal should continue along its primary mixer route.
Send
Use Send when the same track should additionally feed another bus without replacing its main output assignment.
Two buses
Bus 1 and Bus 2 give the project two independent destinations that can be assigned separately in Bus Assign.
Keep the map readable
Name buses by purpose once the routing grows: dialogue, music, SFX, reverb or delivery are easier to audit than generic numbers.
6. Monitor the result
Routing only matters if the final bus can still be monitored and measured
The Fairlight layout keeps the bus meter beside Control Room and Loudness monitoring. That gives the routing page a natural endpoint: after the signal is assigned, verify that the expected bus reaches monitoring.
Bus 1 meter
Confirms activity at the bus stage before you diagnose Control Room or loudness.
Control Room / Loudness
These are monitoring and measurement destinations, not replacements for Bus Assign.
Every UI claim on this page is tied to the supplied Resolve 21 screenshots: Fairlight → Bus Format, the Bus Format dialog, Bus Assign with separate Send/Out targets, Bus 1 and Bus 2 strips, Bus Out patching, and the B2s.B1o assignment on AI SFX. The page intentionally does not invent a hidden Bus Sends popup or claim a bus-to-bus example that was not captured.
Continue with session navigation
Timeline Index, markers and spotting workflow
After routing, the next missing professional workflow is project navigation: Timeline Index, track state, markers and spotting information for larger audio sessions.