Cubase Automation Explained
Join Cubase expert Gary Hiebner for an in-depth video course on using automation in Cubase to produce more interesting, dynamic mixes, solve issues, and create engaging effects. If you haven't tried using automation before, you don't know what you're missing. This course will provide numerous examples that illustrate the usefulness and creativity of automation. Whether you want to simply create some auto-panning effects or get a bit more creative with delay throws and more, you'll learn how to do it quickly and easily. These videos are designed for Cubase users new to the subject of automation.
Videos
• Introduction (02:32) - In this video, Gary gives you an overview of what's going to be covered in this video series, including an explanation on what automation is and the various ways you can edit and read the automation on a track.
• Pan Automation (07:18) - We start off by taking a look at pan automation and how you can use it to automatically adjust panning within areas of your song. For example, you could pan instruments narrow during the verse and widen them during a chorus.
• Volume Automation (03:41) - Next we look at volume automation, and you'll learn how to take a static volume level and make it more dynamic with automation. Gary will show how to create volume swells and fades, how to change the curvature of the automation points, and how you can draw in subtle volume changes to create interest in the overall mix.
• Volume & Panning Automation Together (08:50) - Here, we apply both volume and panning automation to a selection of tracks in a project. We try everything from subtle volume and panning changes over a length of time to drastic, more sudden changes. Then we do a comparison of the mix before and after to hear the effect.
• Automating Delay Sends (03:19) - Next, we see how to automate the level of send effects. We'll focus on a delay effect, so we automate its level and feedback (number of repeats) to create a delay throw effect.
• Automating Chained Send Effects (05:04) - Here, we take it a bit further, building up a chain of effects in the send and then automate that send's level. In this example, the effects chain includes a reverb, EQ, and flanger.
• Creating a Filter Sweep (06:04) - Discover how to create your own filter sweep by automating the cut-off and resonance parameters of the filter. You can also use a parametric EQ and automate the Q value to create a resonance bump for a variation on this idea.
• Modulating Tremolo & Panners (06:50) - We move on to some modulation effects next and see how automating certain parameters produces some interesting results. When you automate the common rate and depth parameters, you can get results ranging from subtle to crazy and unhinged.
• Creating Silence (03:13) - Sometimes you want complete silence within a section in your song, but sometimes send effects can create bleed and tails that could spill over into the silence. Here, you'll see how to automate the levels of those send effects to create silence in a specific section of the mix.
• Automating the Drum & Sampler Instruments (05:26) - Now let's shift gears a bit and see how we can automate parameters of an instrument. We'll take a drum hit, convert it to a sample, and then use the sampler modulation envelopes to alter the pitch, cut-off frequency, and panning of the drum.
• Automation & Modulation on a Synth (06:02) - We finish off the series by looking at how we can automate parameters on a synth, such as the envelopes and LFOs, which can result in evolving movement for greater interest.