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The thing which is puzzling me and why I've joined in at this late stage is that there have been lots of references to the lack of automation with RB/PT. I find I can automate the channel fader, pan control and eight aux sends on all 48 channels. In addition, I can do this either by moving the controls in real time on the mixer, or by drawing or editing the curve for all these controllers in the PIANO ROLL window. I can also use this method to automate all other MIDI controllers. I accept that it would be nice to have the sub-groups automated, but other than that, what is it that people feel is missing?

Just curious...

ROG.



ROG,

Can you see the list of what is automatable for any plugin that's on a track? If so, and if the curves are simple draw notes and mess with the node time and level points, then I would say that the automation is up there with other tools.

Let me just give you a simple example. My favorite reverb is a freebie from Aries Code. Once I put this reverb on a track and click on automation for the track, it gives me the list of automatable parameters for this particular plugin. If I check an item in the list, the curve I draw/edit belongs to that particular control for that particular parameter for that particular plugin, and it adds it to the list of automation curves I can edit for that particular track. In this case, this reverb plugin has the following automatable items:

dry level, wet level, Geometry, FB Matrix, FB rot 1, FB rot 2, FB inv, Base dly, LF Life, HF Life, In rot, Out Rot, Mod Dep, Mod Per, Mod spr, Dry amt, Wet amt, Nonlinear

This is just one example. It doesn't matter what the VST/VSTi is, if it has automatable parameters, which most do, the list for those plugin are immediately available as soon as they are instantiated on a track - I don't think this is Midi CC - I think PG's automation, as you describe it, is MIDI CC only. Not so here.

As it turns out, I usually only use presets for this particular reverb, on an aux bus with automated send level to that bus, but I used it simply as an example.

For experimental stuff or even kind of standard 'electronic' music, automating effect parameters is a must-have item. One thing folks do often is automate the delay length in a delay, using an automation curve to shorten/lengthen these values in a musical way.

We've had the 'dubstep' discussion here as this style of electronic music has made it to the mainstream in TV commercials and so forth. The bass 'wobble' effect that you hear in many dubstep tunes is automated filter cutoff amounts in time with the music. More traditional 'trance' type of electronic music automates filter cutoff/resonance/strength amounts over much longer periods of time, many times over several bars of music.

So, while most here may not use this type of automation, this is what is being referred to in other softwares in addition to mixer type of automation.

For the Jamstix plugin, one of the key items to automate, once you've picked out your drummer, is the amount of drive/laid back amount for the drummer, in addition to a bunch of different feel parameters.

Maybe it's in PG stuff - I don't know. Last I checked, it wasn't.

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