Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

							191
Automation
The Automation panel
The Automation panel is a floating window, similar to the 
Mixer and Transport panel. You can leave it open while 
you work – the Project window will always have the focus.
To open the Automation panel, open the Project menu and 
select the Automation Panel option or click the Automa-
tion Panel button on the Project window toolbar.
The Automation panel gives you access to all automation 
options in Cubase. By default, all sections are displayed.
You can change the panel configuration using the Setup 
dialog, see “Using the Setup options” on page 471. The 
following sections will explain all modes and options.
Automation modes
Cubase provides three different punch-out modes for au-
tomation, available on the Automation Mode pop-up menu 
on the main toolbar and in the Mode section on the Auto-
mation panel.
The three modes available are Touch, Auto-Latch and 
Cross-Over. In all three modes, automation data will be 
written as soon as a parameter control is touched in play 
mode. They differ in the way the writing of automation data 
is ended, i. e. in their “punch-out” behavior. Which mode 
to use depends on what is required in your particular 
working situation.
ÖNote that you can change the automation mode at any 
time, i. e. in play or stop mode or during an automation 
pass. You can also assign key commands to the automa-
tion modes so you can quickly change between them.
See “Automation key commands” on page 196.
General punch-out conditions
The current automation pass will always punch-out as 
soon as one of the following conditions is met, indepen-
dent of which automation mode is selected:
 If you Disable Write
 If you Stop playback
 If you activate Fast Forward/Rewind
 If the project cursor reaches the right locator in Cycle mode.
 If you click in the ruler to move the project cursor (note that 
this function is user-definable – it can be controlled via the 
Automation panel, see “Allow Continue Writing after Trans-
port Jump” on page 196).
Selecting the automation mode in the Automation 
panel and the Cubase toolbar. 
						

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Automation
Touch
Typically, you would use Touch mode in situations where 
you want to make a change lasting only a few seconds to 
an already set up parameter.
As the name implies, Touch will write automation data only 
for as long as you actually touch a parameter control – 
punch-out occurs as soon as you release the control.
After punch-out, the control will return to the previously 
set value. The Return Time setting (see “Return Time” on 
page 195) determines how long it takes for the parameter 
to reach the previously set value.
Automation mode: Touch
Auto-Latch
In Auto-Latch mode, there is no specific punch-out condi-
tion other than those valid in all modes, see above.
Auto-Latch is probably the automation mode you will use 
the most, in all situations where you want to keep a value 
over a longer period of time – for example when making 
EQ settings for a particular scene.
Once your pass has started, the writing of automation data 
continues for as long as playback lasts or Write is enabled. 
The last value setting will be kept until you stop writing.
Automation mode: Auto-Latch
ÖThe automation mode for On/Off switches is always 
Auto-Latch (even if another mode is selected globally or 
for the track).
Cross-Over
Think of the Cross-Over mode as a kind of “manual return 
time” option (see “Return Time” on page 195). The Cross-
Over mode can be used in situations where you are not 
happy with an already existing automation curve or with the 
automatically applied return settings. Cross-Over mode al-
lows you to perform a “manual return” to ensure smooth 
transitions between new and existing automation settings.
For Cross-Over, the punch-out condition is crossing over 
an already existing automation curve after touching the 
parameter for a second time.
Look at the figure below: Like in Auto-Latch mode, once 
the automation pass begins with the first touching of the 
parameter control, automation data is written for as long 
as playback lasts.
When you have found the correct value setting, you can 
release the fader – the automation pass continues, with 
the value setting remaining the same. 
						

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Automation
Now, re-touch the fader and move it towards the original 
value. As soon as you cross the original curve, punch-out 
occurs automatically.
Automation mode: Cross-Over
Trim
This is described in the section “Trim” on page 193.
The Read/Write buttons in the Mode section
At the bottom of the Mode section, you find two Read and 
two Write buttons. These are used to globally enable or 
disable the Read and Write buttons on all tracks.
The All Automation to Read/Write buttons in the Mode section
Click “All Automation to Write” to enable all Write but-
tons (and, at the same time, all Read buttons) on all 
tracks/channels of your project.
Clicking “All Automation Write off” will disable all Write buttons. The 
Read buttons will remain enabled.
Click “All Automation to Read” to enable all Read but-
tons on all tracks/channels of your project.
Clicking “All Automation Read off” will disable all Read buttons.
Automation performance utilities
The automation modes described above become far more 
effective when used in combination with the Cubase auto-
mation performance utilities. These are a number of op-
tions and functions tailored to specific situations, allowing 
you to write automation data quickly and efficiently. You 
will find these utilities on the Automation panel. 
Trim
Trim is available from the Automation panel only. Trim is a 
way of manipulating an already written automation curve, 
rather than an automation mode. 
ÖTrim works for channel volume and aux send level 
adjustments.
When enabling Trim, a channel volume fader is positioned 
in the exact middle position, and will not move with any ex-
isting volume automation curve.
You can use Trim either in Stop mode or in Play mode.
In Stop mode, moving the fader with Trim activated will 
move the existing automation curve between the left and 
right locators up or down.
In Play mode, as the project cursor moves along the 
timeline, your Trim moves will adjust the existing break-
points on the automation curve. 
ÖNote that the exact result of your trim moves in Play 
mode will only be visible after punch-out.
ÖNote that Trim is not merely a matter of rewriting the 
automation curve using the fader movements you perform. 
Instead, the settings from the existing curve and the set-
tings calculated from your fader movements are used to re-
calculate the automation curve as soon as you punch-out.
!When selecting Trim as the automation mode for a 
track, the punch-out behavior will always be as in 
Auto-Latch. 
						

							194
Automation
The Suspend options
The parameters or parameter groups selected here are 
excluded from the reading or writing of automation data – 
giving you full manual control of these parameters. 
ÖNote that the Others options refer to all parameters 
not covered by any of the options Volume, Pan, Mute, EQ, 
Sends or Inserts.
Suspending Write
Imagine the following situation: To help you concentrate 
while working on a particular track, you mute several other 
tracks. However, because automation Write is active on 
these tracks, this mute state is also automated during the 
next automation pass – a classic situation in mixing.
To avoid inadvertently excluding whole tracks from your 
mix in this way, you can exclude Mute from all automation 
writing. Simply click Mute below the Suspend Write but-
ton in the Suspend section on the Automation panel.
To suspend the writing of automation data for all param-
eters/parameter groups, click the Suspend Write button 
at the top of the section.
When any of the options below the Suspend Write button are enabled, 
clicking Suspend Write will disable these buttons.
When an automation pass is in progress for a particular 
parameter and you write-suspend this parameter, it will 
punch-out of the automation pass.
Suspending Read
Imagine you have already automated several tracks. While 
working on the current track, you want one of the other 
tracks to be louder, to better identify a particular position 
in your audio material. By suspending Read for the volume 
parameter, you regain full manual control and can set the 
volume to the required level.To suspend the reading of automation data for all pa-
rameters/parameter groups, click the Suspend Read but-
ton at the top of the section.
When any of the options below the Suspend Read button are enabled, 
clicking Suspend Read will disable these buttons.
The Show options
The Show options on the Automation panel always affect 
all tracks. Clicking on these buttons opens the automation 
tracks for the corresponding parameters, e. g. volume or 
pan. This makes it easy to look at your EQ settings on sev-
eral tracks, for example.
When you click either Volume, Pan, EQ, Sends or In-
serts, this will open the corresponding automation track(s) 
for all tracks.
The automation tracks will be opened even if no automation data was re-
corded on these tracks.
For parameter groups (i. e. Pan, EQ, Sends and Inserts) 
you can step through the individual parameter sets by re-
peatedly clicking the respective button.
When the Used Only button is enabled, clicking one of 
the options will show you only the automation tracks for 
which automation data has already been written.
“Empty” automation tracks will not be displayed.
When you click Show Used, only automation tracks that 
contain automation data will be displayed.
Hide All will hide all open automation tracks. 
						

							195
Automation
The Settings section
In the Settings section of the Automation panel you will 
find a number of global options and commands.
The Functions pop-up menu
At the top of the Settings section, you will find the Func-
tions pop-up menu, which contains a number of global 
commands affecting automation.
ÖYou can always undo these actions!
Delete All Automation in Project
This global command will remove all automation data from 
your project. Use this option with great caution, otherwise 
you may loose your work.
Delete Automation of Selected Tracks
When you select this command, all automation data for 
the selected track(s) will be removed. Make sure you have 
selected the right track(s) before using this option.
Delete Automation in Range
This command will delete, on all tracks, all automation 
data between the left and right locator. Be sure that this is 
what you want to do before proceeding!
Global options
Return Time
The Return Time setting determines how fast the auto-
mated parameter returns to any previously automated 
value when you release the mouse button. 
The default setting is 33 ms. Make sure that the return time 
is set to a value higher than 0, to prevent sudden jumps in 
your parameter settings (which may lead to crackles).
Reduction Level
The automation reduction function automatically reduces 
the number of automation events. During an automation 
pass (or when drawing automation with the Pencil tool), 
these are added as a continuous stream of densely packed 
break-points. This is necessary because the program can-
not “guess” what you will be doing next.
However, when punching out, the reduction function will 
remove all break-points that are not needed. The automa-
tion curve will contain only the break-points necessary to 
reproduce your actions.
For example, all break-points that lie between two other 
points, but do not deviate from the curve, will be automat-
ically removed by reduction.
If you try to add a break-point that does not deviate from the existing 
curve between two existing points…
…it will be removed when the mouse is released. If you move the se-
lected break-point by any amount so that the resulting curve is not a 
straight line, a new event will be added.
If you are unhappy with the default setting (a reduction 
of roughly 50 %), you can change it, but normally the de-
fault setting works well.
!The higher the number of automation events, the 
higher the CPU load. If performance is an issue in 
your workflow, you should consider raising the re-
duction level, to remove more events. 
						

							196
Automation
The Options pop-up menu
Show Data on Tracks
When this option is activated, audio waveforms or MIDI 
events will be displayed not only on the audio or MIDI 
tracks, but also on the corresponding automation tracks.
ÖNote that this depends on two options in the Prefe-
rences dialog: The events will be displayed only when the 
option “Show waveforms” (Event Display–Audio) is en-
abled and when “Part Data Mode” (Event Display–MIDI) is 
set to an option other than “No data”.
Allow Continue Writing after Transport Jump
Normally, when you are writing automation data and locate 
to another position in the project during this process, the 
writing will be stopped until the mouse button is released or 
until the Transport Stop command is received. This is to 
make sure that you do not inadvertently overwrite existing 
automation (e. g. if the Cycle is active or if you are using the 
Arranger functions). However, when you activate “Allow 
Continue Writing after Transport Jump”, the recording of 
automation will not be blocked, allowing for example for 
multiple automation passes in Cycle mode.
Hints and further options
Automation key commands
In the Key Commands dialog (opened from the File menu 
in Cubase), in the Commands section on the left, you will 
find an Automation category which lists all automation 
commands to which you can assign key commands.
How to assign key commands is described in detail in the 
chapter “Key commands” on page 479.
About linking and automation
Cubase allows you to link, in the mixer window, various 
parameters between different channels (see “Link/Unlink 
channels” on page 129).
When automating the settings of a channel that is linked to another 
channel in the mixer, the parameters of the linked channel will NOT be 
automated.
Cubase only: Also, in the channel settings window, you 
can link a send’s panorama settings to the panorama set-
tings displayed in the channel strip (by enabling the option 
“Link Send Routing Panners to Channel Panner as Default” 
in the Preferences–VST page).
For linked panners of sends and channels, automating one panner will 
automate the linked panner as well.
About automation undo
Every automation write operation you perform creates its 
own event in the undo history, so you can undo or redo 
any of your automation moves at any time.
Automation track operations
About automation tracks
Audio tracks, group channel tracks and FX channel tracks 
all have automation tracks. These allow you to view and edit 
the automation of all mixer settings for the track, including 
settings for the track’s insert effects. There is one automa-
tion track for each parameter, and automation tracks can be 
shown or hidden in any combination.
Similarly, MIDI tracks have automation tracks for mixer set-
tings, track parameters and (if used) for send and insert ef-
fect settings.
VST Instruments have special automation tracks that ap-
pear in the Project window when you load a VST Instrument 
via the VST Instruments window. There is one automation 
track for the plug-in parameters, and one track for each 
mixer channel used by the instrument. These tracks have 
automation subtracks, giving you access to all parameters 
and mixer settings.
Instrument tracks, as a combination of a MIDI track and a 
VST Instrument, have automation tracks that provide auto-
mation parameters for the VST Instrument itself, for the 
VST Instrument channel and the respective MIDI automa-
tion parameters.
Finally, for ReWire channels and input (Cubase only)/out-
put channels, automation tracks are automatically added as 
soon as you activate automation (with the Write button) in 
the corresponding mixer channel strip or in the Channel 
Settings window or globally (“All Automation to Write Sta-
tus”) in the Mixer common panel or above the track list. 
These tracks also have automation tracks for all parameters. 
						

							197
Automation
Opening automation tracks 
Every track has a number of automation tracks, each 
showing one automation parameter.
For audio, Instrument, group channel, MIDI and FX chan-
nel tracks, there are two ways you can open an automa-
tion track for the channel:
By right-clicking the track in the Track list and selecting 
“Show Automation” from the context menu.
By clicking along the left edge of the track in the Track 
list. (Also, when you position the mouse pointer over the 
lower left corner of the track, a corresponding arrow icon 
(“Show/Hide Automation”) appears.)
An automation track opens in the Track list. By default, the volume para-
meter is assigned to the first automation track.
If you position the mouse pointer over the lower left cor-
ner of an automation track, a “+” sign (“Append Automa-
tion Track”) will appear. If you click this, another automa-
tion track opens, by default showing the next parameter in 
the Add Parameter list (see below).
Assigning a parameter to an automation track
Default parameters are already assigned to automation 
tracks when you open them, according to their order in the 
Add Parameter list (see below).
To select which parameter an open automation track 
should display, proceed as follows:
1.If none exists, open an automation track using one of 
the methods described above.
2.Click in the parameter display for the automation track.
A pop-up list is shown, containing some of the automation parameters 
plus the item “More…” at the bottom of the list. The contents of the list 
depend on the track type.
If the parameter you wish to automate is on the pop-up 
menu, you can select it directly.
The parameter will then replace the current parameter in the automation 
track. 
If you wish to add a parameter not available on the pop-
up menu or want to view all parameters that can be auto-
mated, go on to the next step.
3.Select “More…”.
The Add Parameter dialog appears. This dialog shows a list with all pa-
rameters that can be automated for the selected channel (sorted into dif-
ferent categories), including the parameters for any assigned insert 
effects. To view the parameters in each category, click the “+” sign for 
the category folder.
The Add Parameter dialog for an audio track
Click here to open an 
automation track. 
						

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Automation
4.Select a parameter from the list and click OK.
The parameter will then replace the current parameter in the automation 
track.
ÖNote that the “replacing” of the parameter displayed in 
the automation track is completely non-destructive. 
If the automation track contained any automation data for the parameter 
you just replaced, this data will still be there, although it will not be visible 
after you replaced the parameter. If you click in the parameter display you 
can switch back to the replaced parameter. On the pop-up menu, all au-
tomated parameters are indicated by an asterisk (*) after the parameter 
name.
The Mute parameter is automated.
You can click the “Append Automation Track” button (the 
“+” sign) for the automation track several times to open 
additional automation tracks. Repeat the above procedure 
to assign a parameter to each automation track.
ÖNote that tempo changes cannot be automated on au-
tomation tracks. This is done using the tempo recording 
function in the Tempo Track Editor, see “Recording tempo 
changes” on page 405.
Removing automation tracks 
To remove automation tracks, proceed as follows:
To remove an automation track, click the parameter name 
and select “Remove Parameter” from the pop-up menu.
Note that this will also delete any automation events on the automation 
track, and the automation track will be closed.
To remove all currently unused automation tracks from a 
track in the Track list, select “Remove Unused Parameters” 
from any of its automation track parameter name pop-ups.
All automation tracks that do not contain automation events will be 
closed for the selected track.
Use the Delete options in the Functions pop-up menu of 
the Automation panel, see “The Functions pop-up menu” 
on page 195.
Using these commands will also lead to the removal of automation tracks.
Showing/hiding automation tracks
To hide a single automation track, position the pointer 
over the top left border of the automation track in the 
Track list and click the “Hide Automation Track” button 
(the minus sign).
To hide all automation tracks for a track, right-click the 
track for which you wish to hide the automation tracks, 
and select “Hide Automation” from the context menu.
To hide all automation tracks for all tracks in the Track 
list, right-click any track and select “Hide All Automation” 
from the context menu.
This option is also available on the Track Folding submenu of the Project 
menu.
On the Automation panel, you can hide or show auto-
mation tracks using the options in the Show section.
See “The Show options” on page 194.
Showing only used automation tracks
If a lot of automation tracks are used, it may be impractical 
to have them all open in the Track list. If you want to view 
only the automation tracks that are used (i.e. those that 
actually contain automation events) and hide all empty au-
tomation tracks, do one of the following:
Right-click any track in the Track list and select the op-
tion “Show All Used Automation” from the pop-up menu.
This will close all automation tracks not containing any automation 
events, while leaving used automation tracks open for all tracks. This op-
tion is also available in the Track Folding submenu of the Project menu.
Right-click a specific track and select the option “Show 
Used Automation (Selected Track)” from the context menu.
This will close all automation tracks for the selected track not containing 
any automation events, while leaving used automation tracks open. 
						

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Automation
Muting automation tracks
You can mute individual automation tracks by clicking their 
Mute buttons in the Track list. Unlike the Read (R) button, 
which will activate or deactivate Read mode for all auto-
mation tracks of a track, the Mute button allows you to turn 
off automation for a single parameter.
The “Automation follows Events” setting
If you activate “Automation follows Events” on the Edit 
menu (or in the Preferences–Editing page), automation 
events will automatically follow when you move an event or 
part on the track. 
This makes it easy to set up automation related to a spe-
cific event or part, rather than to a specific position in the 
project. For example, you can automate the panning of a 
sound effect event (having the sound pan from left to right, 
etc.) – if you need to move the event, the automation will 
automatically follow! The rules are:
All automation events for the track between the start 
and end of the event or part will be moved.
If there are automation events in the new position (to which you move the 
part or event), these will be overwritten.
If you copy an event or part, the automation events will 
be duplicated as well.
Recording plug-in automation
Every parameter for every assigned effect or VST Instru-
ment can be automated in much the same manner as de-
scribed above.
The following example assumes that you have assigned an 
insert effect to an FX channel track (see the chapter “Au-
dio effects” on page 150), and describes how to record 
automation for the effect:
1.Select the FX channel track in the Track list and open 
its Inserts section in the Inspector.
2.Open the control panel for the effect by clicking the Edit 
button (“e”) above the insert effect slot in the Inspector.3.Click the Write button in the control panel to enable 
Write mode.
The Read button is enabled as well. All effects and VST Instruments have 
Write/Read buttons on their control panels. These work exactly like the 
corresponding buttons in the mixer or in the Track list.
4.Start playback and adjust some effect parameters in 
the control panel.
When you are finished, stop playback and return to the position where 
you started playback.
5.Disable Write.
The Read button remains enabled.
6.Start playback and watch the control panel.
All actions you performed during the previous playback will be repro-
duced exactly.
Dragging and dropping of insert plug-ins
You can drag an insert plug-in from one insert slot to an-
other, either on the same channel or on a different channel.
When dragging a plug-in to a different insert slot on the 
same channel, any existing automation data will move with 
the plug-in.
When dragging a plug-in to a different insert slot on a 
different channel, any existing automation data will not be 
transferred to the new channel.
Working with automation curves
About automation curves 
There are two kinds of automation curves, “ramp” and 
“jump”:
Jump curves are created for any parameter that only has 
on/off values, like a Mute button, for example.
Ramp curves are created for any parameter that gener-
ates continuous multiple values, such as fader or encoder 
movements, etc. 
Examples of jump and ramp automation curves  
						

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Automation
About the static value line
When you open an automation track for a parameter for the 
first time, it does not contain any automation events (unless 
you have previously adjusted that parameter with write au-
tomation activated), and this is reflected in the event display 
as a straight horizontal black line, the “static value” line. This 
line represents the current parameter setting.
If you have manually added any automation events or 
used write automation for the corresponding parameter, 
and then disable the reading of automation data, the auto-
mation curve will be grayed-out in the automation track 
event display and the static value will be used instead.
As soon as Read mode is enabled, the automation curve will become 
available.
Editing automation events
Drawing automation events
By using write automation in the mixer, you generate auto-
mation events by moving parameter encoders and faders 
in the mixer. You can also add them manually by drawing 
automation curves on an automation track. Proceed as 
follows:
1.Open an automation track for the track you want to 
make settings for.
The static value line is shown in the event display for the automation track 
and the Volume parameter is selected.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
You can also use the various modes of the Line tool for drawing curves, 
see below.
3.Click on the static value line. An automation event is 
added, read automation mode is automatically activated, 
and the static value line changes to a blue automation 
curve.4.If you click and hold, you can draw a curve by adding a 
multitude of single automation events.
Note that the track color in the Track list changes to red to indicate that 
automation data is being written.
5.When you release the mouse button, the number of 
automation events is reduced to a few events, but the ba-
sic shape of the curve still remains the same.
This “thinning out” of events is governed by the Reduction Level setting 
in the Settings section of the Automation panel, see “Reduction Level” 
on page 195.
6.If you now activate playback, the volume will change 
with the automation curve.
In the mixer, the corresponding fader moves accordingly.
7.Simply redo the operation if you are not happy with the 
result.
If you draw over existing events, a new curve is created.
If the automation track is in Read mode already, you can 
also add automation events by clicking with the Arrow 
tool.
If you are trying to add a break-point between two existing points and the 
new point does not deviate from the existing curve, it will be removed by 
reduction as soon as you release the mouse button (see “Reduction 
Level” on page 195).
Using the various modes of the Line tool to draw 
automation curves
The Line tool can be very useful for drawing automation 
events. The various modes are accessed by selecting the 
Line tool on the toolbar, clicking on it a second time and 
selecting from the pop-up menu that appears.
Clicking and dragging with the Line tool in Line mode 
shows a line in the automation track and creates automa-
tion events aligned with this line.
This is a quick way to create linear fades, etc.