More control and less switching around – A second automation…

Hey guys, it’s Andre.

Automation in Pro Tools is a pretty cool and useful feature and essential for most of us. One thing, I don’t like, is having my automation curve over my waveforms blocking my view or the constant switching between the various automations in one track, if I’m working with several parameters at the same time.

For those who are new to Pro Tools and haven’t discovered it yet, there is a second automation track hidden beyond every normal track. Just click the little arrow in the bottom left of the track to activate it.

Check out the possibilities and benefits of that little feature and how it’s increasing your overview and workflow.

Instead of having one automation line over my whole waveform, I have my automation beyond my waveform, which doesn’t block my view on the waveform. Like a normal track you can enlarge or reduce its size.

Using this way to automize volume instead of hitting the shortcut and doing it in the track directly, surely is a matter of personal taste, but the next feature is a real plus for me. Like in the track above, you can switch through various parameters in your automation track. The next screenshot shows pan automation.

The automation track can show both pan left and pan right at the same time, which enables me to create pan automations on stereo track without switching the view from pan left to pan right. Before I knew this feature, I had a hard time creating more complex pan automations, when I always had to change my view from pan left to pan right and tried to remember the automations I created for pan left while editing pan right. With this automation track you can view and edit both at the same time.

The automation track comes in handy, when you’re editing two parameters at the same time which are working together or are dependent on each other. In the picture below, I edited both high-cut and low-cut filter of an EQ at the same time using the second automation track.

If you’re often working with various automations at the same time, you sure will like the increased overview and the simple and comfortable automation of several parameters at the same time. One of the many features, I’m trying to use more to get used to its benefits.

Cheers and have a great weekend.