Steinberg Cubase Le 4 Manual

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Automation
Background
Cubase LE provides very comprehensive automation fea-
tures. Virtually every mixer and effect parameter can be 
automated.
There are two main methods you can use to automate pa-
rameter settings:
By manually drawing curves on automation tracks in the 
Project window.
See “Editing automation events” on page 97.
By using the Write/Read buttons and adjusting para-
meters in the mixer.
See “Using Write/Read automation” on page 94.
The methods are not different in terms of how the automa-
tion data is applied – they only differ in the way the auto-
mation events are created; manually drawing them or 
recording them. Any applied automation data will be re-
flected both in the mixer (a fader will move for example) 
and in a corresponding automation track curve (although 
this may be hidden).
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, in-
cluding settings for the track’s insert effects. There is one 
automation “subtrack” for each track, on which the differ-
ent automation parameters can be displayed.
Similarly, MIDI tracks have an automation track for auto-
mating mixer settings and MIDI Modifiers.
For Instrument tracks, as a combination of a MIDI track 
and a VST Instrument, the automation track provides auto-
mation parameters for the VST Instrument itself, for the 
VST Instrument channel and the respective MIDI automa-
tion parameters.
Finally, for output channels, automation tracks are auto-
matically added as soon as you activate automation (the 
Write button) in the corresponding mixer channel strip or 
in the Channel Settings window.
What can be automated?
Mixing in Cubase LE can be completely automated. The 
following parameter settings can be recorded automati-
cally – or manually drawn in – on automation tracks:
For each audio or group track



 8 x insert effect parameters (if inserts are used)
 8 x effect send settings (on/off, level, pan)
 Settings for 4 EQ modules (Master Bypass, on/off, Type, 
Gain, Freq., Quality) 
						

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Automation
For each FX channel track and output bus



 8 x insert effect parameters (if inserts are used)
 Settings for 4 EQ modules (Master Bypass, on/off, Type, 
Gain, Freq., Quality)
For each MIDI track



 MIDI Modifiers on/off switch


 Random 1-2 min/max/target
 Range 1-2 min/max/target
For each Instrument track
The automation track for instrument tracks features all pa-
rameters that are available for MIDI tracks (see the re-
spective sections above) except MIDI Volume, Pan and 
Mute, because the parameters Volume, Pan and Mute are 
controlled directly via the Instrument Return channel in the 
Mixer. Additionally it features the following parameters for 
VST instruments:
 VST Instrument plug-in parameters plus:



 8 x insert effect parameters (if inserts are used)
 8 x effect send settings (on/off, level, pan)
 Settings for 4 EQ modules (Master Bypass, on/off, Type, 
Gain, Freq., Quality)
Automation track operations
Opening automation tracks 
Every track/channel has an automation track.
For audio, Instrument, group channel, MIDI and FX chan-
nel tracks, there are two ways you can open the automa-
tion track:
By right-clicking the track in the Track list and selecting 
“Show Automation” from the context menu.
By clicking on the left border of the track in the Track 
list. (When you position the mouse pointer over the lower 
left corner of the track, the respective arrow icon (“Show/
Hide Automation”) appears.)
An automation track opens in the Track list, and a straight 
black horizontal line is shown as well as a greyed out mir-
ror image of the audio events’ waveform (or MIDI events 
for MIDI tracks) in the event display. By default, the volume 
parameter is assigned to the automation track.
Click here to open the automation track.
For output busses, automation tracks are automatically cre-
ated when the Write automation button (see “Using Write/
Read automation” on page 94) is activated in either:
 The corresponding channel strip in the mixer.
 The corresponding Channel Settings window.
 The mixer common panel (“All Automation to Write Status”).
 The area above the Track list (“All Automation to Write Status”). 
						

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Automation
Assigning a parameter to an automation track
To make settings for an automation parameter, you have to 
select it from the pop-up menu.
1.Open the automation track for the desired track in the 
Track list, as described above.
2.Click in the parameter display for the automation track.
A pop-up menu opens, 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 (audio, MIDI, etc.).
If the parameter you wish to automate is on the pop-up 
menu, you can select it directly.
The parameter will 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. See “What can be automated?” on page 91 for a list of the avail-
able parameters according to channel type. To view the parameters in 
each category click the “+” sign for the category folder.
The Add Parameter dialog for an audio track.
4.Select a parameter from the list and click OK.
The parameter will 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 track contained any automation data for the parameter you just re-
placed, 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. All automated parameters are in-
dicated by an asterisk (*) after the parameter name on the pop-up menu.
Volume and Mute are automated. 
						

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Automation
Removing automation
To remove all automation for the selected parameter, click 
the parameter name and select “Remove Parameter” from 
the pop-up menu. This will delete any automation events 
on the track, and the automation track will be closed.
Hiding automation tracks
To hide a single automation track, you have two possibili-
ties:
 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).
 Right-click the track for which you wish to hide the automation 
track, and select “Hide Automation” from the context menu.
To hide the automation tracks for all tracks in the Track list, 
right-click any track and select “Hide All Automation” from 
the context menu.
Hiding unused automation tracks
To hide all empty automation tracks (i.e. automation tracks 
that were opened but do not contain any automation 
data), proceed as follows:
Right-click any track in the Track list and select “Show 
All Used Automation” from the pop-up menu.
This will close all automation tracks not containing any automation 
events. For tracks that have automated parameters, the automation track 
is shown for the first (topmost) parameter in the Parameter list.
Muting automation
You can mute individual automation parameters by click-
ing the Mute button on the automation track. Clicking the 
Read (R) button (see “Using Write/Read automation” on 
page 94) for an automation track will activate or deacti-vate Read mode for all automated parameters of the track. 
Using 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 dialog–Editing page), auto-
mation 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 (using Copy/Paste, or [Alt]/
[Option]-dragging, or using the Duplicate or Repeat func-
tions), the automation events will be duplicated as well.
Using Write/Read automation
All track types except folder, marker and video tracks fea-
ture Write (W) and Read (R) buttons in the mixer, in the 
Track list and in the Channel Settings window. Further-
more, the control panels for all plug-in effects and VST In-
struments also feature Write and Read buttons.
The Write and Read buttons for a channel in the mixer and for an auto-
mation track in the Track list.
If you activate Write for a channel, all mixer parameters 
you adjust during playback for that specific channel will be 
recorded as automation events.
If you activate Read for a channel, all your recorded 
mixer actions for that channel will be performed during 
playback, just like you performed them in Write mode. 
						

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Automation
The W and R buttons for a track in the Track list are mir-
rors of the W and R buttons in the corresponding channel 
strip in the mixer.
There are also global Read and Write buttons in the com-
mon panel of the mixer and at the top of the Track list:
The global Write and Read buttons in the mixer, and in the Track list.
When global Read (“All Automation to Read Status”) is 
activated, all your recorded mixer actions for all channels 
will be performed during playback.
When global Write (“All Automation to Write Status”) is 
activated, all mixer actions you perform during playback 
(for all channels) will be recorded as automation events.
MIDI Controller Input to Automation Tracks
If you have set up a remote device to control parameters 
and settings in the program, you can record automation 
with that remote device – just activate Write as usual. 
However, if you are recording a MIDI track and want to 
record automation at the same time, the controller data 
sent by the remote device will be recorded “twice” – as 
automation and as MIDI controller data on the MIDI track.
To avoid this, activate “MIDI Controller Input to Automa-
tion Tracks” in the Preferences dialog (MIDI page). When 
this is activated, the controllers will be recorded as auto-
mation only, not as MIDI controller data on the recorded 
MIDI track.
Recording your actions – an example
If the settings in your current project are crucial, you may 
not want to “experiment” with automation until you know 
more about it. If so, create a new project for the following 
example. It doesn’t even have to contain audio events, just 
a few audio tracks. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Mixer window.
2.Click the global Write button (“All Automation to Write 
Status”) in the mixer common panel.
Cubase LE is now in global Write mode. 
3.Start playback and adjust some volume faders and/or 
other parameter settings in the mixer or perhaps in a 
Channel Settings window.
Stop playback when you are done, and return to the position where you 
started playback.
4.Deactivate Write mode and click the global Read but-
ton (“All Automation to Read Status”) in the mixer com-
mon panel.
Cubase LE is now in global Read mode.
5.Start playback, and watch the Mixer window.
All your actions performed during the previous playback will be repro-
duced exactly.
6.If you wish to redo anything that was recorded, acti-
vate Write mode again and start playback from the same 
position.
You can have Write and Read activated simultaneously, 
if you want to watch and listen to your recorded mixer ac-
tions while you’re recording fader movements for another 
mixer channel, etc.
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” in the separate pdf document “Plug-in Refer-
ence”), 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.
If the Inspector is hidden, click the “Show Inspector” button in the 
Project window toolbar.
ÖPlease note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by 
default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by right-
clicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating 
the desired option(s).
Make sure to click on an Inspector tab and not on the empty area below 
the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.
2.Open the control panel for the effect by clicking the Edit 
button (“e”) above the insert effect slot in the Inspector. 
						

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Automation
3.Click the Write button in the control panel to activate 
Write mode.
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. In the previous example, we used global Write mode, in 
which mixer and parameter changes are recorded on all tracks, but in this 
example we’ll use Write mode for one track only.
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.Deactivate Write and instead click the Read button on 
the control panel.
6.Start playback and watch the control panel.
All actions you performed during the previous playback will be repro-
duced exactly.
Assigning an automated parameter to an automation 
track
To select which parameter is currently shown in the auto-
mation track for the FX channel, proceed as follows:
1.Click on the parameter name for the FX channel auto-
mation track.
The parameter name pop-up list is shown containing the automation pa-
rameters for the plug-in. The parameter(s) you previously automated are 
indicated by an asterisk after the parameter name in the list.
The parameters for the WahWah effect.
2.Select the parameter you wish to view from the para-
meter pop-up.
The automation curve for the parameter you selected is displayed on the 
automation track.
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 dial 
movements etc. 
About the static value line
When you first open an automation track for a parameter, 
it doesn’t contain any automation events (unless you have 
previously adjusted that parameter with write automation 
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 deactivate Read mode, the automation curve will 
be greyed-out in the automation track event display and 
the static value will be used instead.
As soon as Read mode is activated, the automation curve will become 
available.
A ramp automation curve
A jump automation curve 
						

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Automation
Editing automation events
Drawing automation events
By using write automation in the mixer, you generate auto-
mation events by moving parameter dials and faders in the 
mixer. You can also add them manually by drawing automa-
tion curves on an automation track. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the automation track by clicking on the left edge 
of the track in the Track list.
The static value line is shown in the event display for the automation track.
2.Select the Pencil tool.
You can also use the various modes of the Line tool for drawing curves, 
see below.
3.If you click on the static value line, an automation event 
is added, Read automation mode is automatically acti-
vated, and the static value line changes to a blue automa-
tion curve.
4.If you click and hold, you can draw a curve by adding a 
multitude of single automation events.
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 Automation Reduction 
Level setting in the Preferences, see “About the Automation Reduction 
Level preference” on page 99.
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 point between two existing points and the new 
point doesn’t deviate from the existing curve, it will be removed by reduc-
tion as soon as you release the mouse button (see “About the Automa-
tion Reduction Level preference” on page 99).
Using the various modes of the Line tool to draw 
automation curves
The Line tool can be very useful for drawing automation 
curves. 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.
The Line tool in Parabola mode works in the same way, 
but aligns the automation events with a parabolic curve in-
stead, resulting in more “natural” curves and fades.
Note that the result depends on the direction in which you draw the par-
abolic curve.
The Sine, Triangle and Square Line tool modes create 
automation events aligned with continuous curves.
If Snap is activated and set to Grid, the period of the curve (the length of 
one curve “cycle”) is determined by the grid setting. If you press [Shift] 
and drag, you can set the period length manually, in multiples of the grid 
value. 
						

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Automation
Selecting automation events
To select a single automation curve point, click on it 
with the Arrow tool.
The point turns red, and you can drag it in any horizontal or vertical direc-
tion between two points.
To select multiple curve points, you can either [Shift]-
click or drag a selection rectangle with the Arrow tool.
All events inside the selection rectangle will become selected.
Drawing a selection rectangle around some points to select them.
When selected, the points can be moved in all directions 
as “one”, i.e. the curve shape formed by the selected 
events remains intact.
To select all automation events on an automation track, 
right-click the automation track in the Track list and 
choose “Select All Events” from the context menu.
Removing automation events
There are several ways to remove automation events:
By selecting points and pressing [Backspace] or [De-
lete] or selecting Delete from the Edit menu.
By clicking on an event with the Eraser tool.
By selecting a range (with the Range Selection tool), 
and pressing [Backspace] or [Delete] or selecting Delete 
from the Edit menu.
By opening the parameter pop-up menu for an automa-
tion track and selecting “Remove Parameter”.
This will remove all automation events from the track, and the track will be 
closed.
Editing automation events
Automation events can be edited much like other events. 
You can use cut, copy and paste, you can nudge events 
etc. There are, however, four items on the Edit menu that 
are not applicable to automation events. These are:
 Split at Cursor
 Split Loop
 Move to Front

Tips and common methods
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to describ-
ing which automation method you should use. You can for 
example never even open an automation track, and stick 
with write automation throughout a project. Or you can 
stick to drawing automation curves to automate settings in 
a project. Both methods have their advantages, but it is of 
course up to you to decide what to use and when.
Editing curves on automation tracks offers a graphical 
overview in relation to the track contents and the time po-
sition.
This makes it easy to quickly change parameter values at specific points, 
without having to activate playback. For example, this method gives you a 
good overview if you have a voice-over or a dialog on one track and a 
music bed on another track, the level of which needs to be lowered with 
a specific amount every time the dialog occurs.
By using write automation in the mixer you don’t have to 
manually select parameters from the Add Parameter list.
You can work much like you would using a “real” physical mixer. Every ac-
tion you perform is automatically recorded on automation tracks which you 
can later open for viewing and editing of the parameters you changed.
These are just two examples of advantages for each 
method. Generally, editing curves and using write automa-
tion are two methods that complement each other, and 
depending on the nature of your projects you will probably 
work out what method works best for a given situation. 
						

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Automation
Options and Settings
About the Automation Reduction Level 
preference
This item can be found on the Editing page in the Prefer-
ences dialog. Automation reduction reduces the number 
of automation events after you have used write automation 
or added automation events manually. When you write au-
tomation events or draw them in with the Pencil tool, these 
are added as a continuous stream of densely packed 
events. This is necessary because the program cannot 
“guess” what you will be doing next. However, when you 
are done, the reduction function will remove all superflu-
ous automation curve points and the automation curve 
now contains only the events necessary to reproduce your 
actions.
For example, all events that lie between two other points, 
but do not deviate from the curve, will be automatically re-
moved by reduction.
If you try to add an event that doesn’t deviate from the existing curve 
between two existing points...
...it will be removed when the mouse is released. If you move the se-
lected event by any amount so that the resulting curve isn’t a straight 
line, the event will be added.
If you feel you need a lower (or higher) reduction level of 
events than the default setting, you can change it, but nor-
mally the default setting works well. 
A minimum reduction level setting is not recommended 
as this will retain a lot of unnecessary events. 
						

							11
Audio processing and functions