Features

The perfect mix settings for the verses of a song might not be the same as those for the chorus. Automation allows you to vary mixer settings as the track progresses. It can be useful for when an instrument has such widely varying levels that applying compression isn't enough to keep it under control. It also has creative uses, such as for creating fade-ins and fade-outs.

It's often helpful to have a lift in energy during the choruses or finale; this can be achieved by increasing the volume of the guitars or another instrument. Automation needn't just apply to level changes. You can create interest by adding an effect for one section. You can also bring an instrument to the foreground during a solo by increasing its volume and decreasing the reverb.

In most music-production software, automated setting changes can be clip-based or channel-based. Each audio clip has its own volume setting. This is a static value, but by splitting a clip into two you can set different values for the first and second parts. Most software also allows clips to be faded in and out, which is useful for tidying up the end of the track as well as creating slow fades.

You can also program changes of the mixer settings either by drawing curves on to an automation track or by recording knob and fader movements in real time. The latter can feel more intuitive, but can also be tricky to control with a mouse, and editing existing automation can lead to complications. We recommend drawing automation on to the arrange window for greater control.

Clip-based and channel-based automation lend themselves to different tasks. Use whichever method seems most convenient. Bear in mind that when you adjust the level of an audio clip, it is applied before the signal is sent through any insert effects. Channel-based volume automation is applied after the effects. It doesn't make much difference for EQ, reverb and delay effects, but it matters when applying compression and distortion, as these effects behave differently depending on how loud the input volume is.

	1 Create volume changes by drawing automation curves, using fade-in and fade-out controls or adjusting the relative volume of different adjacent audio clips.