Automation - do you bother

[myownsilence]

Automation seems to me to be something that creates more problems than its worth, you spend all this time getting the levels consistant and then fuck it all back up again.

However I am away that my mixes sound boring, flat. Not overly compressed I would say just a little hollow.

The problem is I don't think I am making snese of automation. I ride the vocal over but it never really sounds right to me soI tend to turn the automation of in the end anyway.

 

[ahjteam]

I actually ride the automations quite alot, its easy to make the song a lot more interesting when there is stuff happening instead everything being static

 

[Sickan]

Automation is what makes the mix sound interesting.

 

[Fox Mulder]

edit: wrong topic

 

[myownsilence]

Thats a very good but what are tyou automating? Why not just turn the volume up for the whole song?

 

[dcb]

automatino makes a good mix great.

it pretty much brings the life out.

for vocal automation i try to turn up some words, raise the volume in the choruses, turn them down, when i want to put emphasis on the other instruments. sometimes i will turn up the snare to imitate a drummer, hitting harder in the last choruses.

with your mix, you have to build up tension and keep the listener interested.
thats whats automation is for. a static mix is rather boring.

 

[John_C]

most metal is very boring tonally in that the sounds stay the same throughout each song, and then all the songs on the album. A bit of automation adds interest

BTW i'm a massive metal fan, just in case anyone was gonna take against me for saying boring

 

[aramism]

i'd say most mix engineers signatures, at least the big rock mixers - wallace, staub, cla etcc is in how they automate stuff. it makes things fun to listen to over and over and over again hearing little rides here and there and it just keeps the mix alive. sometimes it doesn't work ie early pantera when everything is just deadlocked for the most part but it depends on the mix. it sets organic mixes apart from more sterile ones. sterile isn't always bad ... see above - pantera cfh.

a lot of people like riding cymbal hits and even bass amongst others and just relying on compressors for sound rather than their level control.

 

[smy1]

Automation is a great tool to emphasise instruments/parts. Whenever a new "important player/instrument/melody" comes in and I wanna put the spotlight on it, I make it a bit too loud for a few bars and then fade it back to normal level. That way the listeners attention gets focused on that instrument, but very soon it's back to where it is supposed to be and doesn't overpower the rest of the mix. Makes for much more exciting tracks.

 

[egan.]

I automate everything besides drums most of the time. Most stuff will just get volume automation but panning and effects automation definitely comes in handy.

 

[SocialNumb]

For electronic stuff it's priceless.

 

[Machinated]

I automate a lot, usually snare, kick, and OH for drums, also sometimes the room mics depending on the song.

vocal levels usually get volume automation, as well as some delay/reverb stuff on certain words/sections.

most songs i mix usually have some fx stuff automated too in there....

 

[myownsilence]

dont yo find though that it just sounds like you turned stuff up? Do yo use a fader or inpu it in manually.?

 

[AudioGeekZine]

Automation is SO important when mixing. But don't do it until near the end.
I don't usually record the automation grabbing the fader with the mouse, I usually just highlight the section in the timeline and use the trim tool.

 

[SoundSpiral]

I use volume automation mainly to fine tune the balance. And never for the sake of automating. I hate it.
I listen to the song a 100 times and make small automation changes each time untill I like the balance from start to finnish.
This is one of the last things I do to a mix.

Tom levels I automate every single time.

 

[KeithTidd]

I really hate having to write automation, but it's a necessary evil. I do it for every mix.

 

[greyskull]

A lot! Having a control surface is a huge help.

 

[AStudio]

Touch automation in PT is the tits!!! Especially with a control surface. Grab anything you want and it will automate!!! Sweeet!

A tip for you PT guys, make sure in preferences (automation panel) you check the plugin assingments box. Basically any plugin you bring up will automatically have all possible automation active for that plug.

It amazes me why its an option that is turned off when you load PT.

 

[greyskull]

One thing that keeps making me think DAMN i need HD is TRIM fucking automation
WHY OH WHY is that not in LE
fuckers