Production Master Class: Automation

Production Master Class: Automation

1 December, 2008 | 12.00PM

• Written by: francispreve
• Filed under: Music News: technology, tutorials

After a brief US holiday break, our master classes are back in session.

In this lesson, a bevy of EDM’s top producers reveal their insights into the process of automating tracks.

By automating effects and synth parameters, producers keep things interesting by constantly changing sounds and textures as a track progresses to its peak.

Some artists discuss their approach using broad theoretical brushstrokes, while others go much deeper into the specifics of the various tools in their arsenal.

Either way, these insights are sure to help producers of all skill levels add intensity and drama to their mixes.

Ben Brown

Automation definitely plays a large role in my production.

I use automation to create tension in builds or breakdowns and also automate effects to create more natural sounding fills between measures in a song.

For example, I’ll automate the return channels in Live, adjusting the amount of an instrument’s output to a single return for, say, a ping-pong delay.

The dry/wet and feedback on the ping-pong delay will be also be automated over time and might have other additional automated effects in the chain.

In some cases I also send the output of the initial return channel to a second return with a different effect.

This can be a bit much in some cases, but allows for more creative sound routing.

It also lets me share effects between instruments, which can result in some really unique sounds. 

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/djbenbrown

Richard Dinsdale

For me, automation has been a lifesaver ever since it was invented.

I tend to use the track automation in the breaks of a track, which is especially useful if you want the track to build into something else - maybe by opening up the release on the lead or the bass, depending what sounds the best.

Adding reverb on the vocal in the break is a favourite trick of mine, then by opening up the wet mix and reverb time, the track’s atmosphere is enhanced.

Another cool trick is to cut up the vocal in small snippets and put that through a delay adding more and more feedback on each sixteenth note.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/richarddinsdale

Josh Gabriel

Automation is the key element in telling a good story with your tracks.

Since I switched to Live for my productions, the biggest change has been the use of macros in the instrument and effect racks.

By assigning multiple synth and effect parameters, like reverb, filter cutoff - or exotic stuff in Operator, like modulator amount or tuning - you can make a sound completely transform over time.

The idea behind my automation techniques is to set up a sound so that it goes from one extreme to another.

When the macro knob is set to zero, the sound is small and restrained, but at maximum it’s huge.

By continuously varying the value of one or more macro knobs, I can play with the sound over the course of a track, making it build all the way to the peak via automation.

Another great thing about macros is that if you want to add an effect to an already automated track, it’s just a matter of tying the new effect to the range of the macro so it follows the feel of the existing automation.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/joshgabrielmusic

Wolfgang Gartner

For me, every track uses some form of automation. 

Volume, reverb (amount and delay time) and echo (amount and feedback) are parameters that always end up getting automated. 

Then there are some more creative and tricky ones that I do from time to time. 

My most common trick these days is automating the sidechain amount on a sound that is being chained to the kick - I do this a lot during breakdowns and buildups. 

For example, I’ll have a lead sound in a track that’s sidechained to a muted trigger kick.

During the breakdown I’ll automate the sidechain amount on that lead sound so it’s not “pumping” at all with the kick, it’s just dry, but then as the track builds up I’ll automate and increase the compression, so the sound starts to “pump and breathe” a bit in anticipation of the big drop. 

I like to keep my trigger kick going during the breakdown so that I have complete control over the sidechain amount of all other sounds that are linked to it, so if I want them to be unaffected or compressed I can control it individually for each sound.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/djwolfganggartner

Jaytech

As one of the most laborious parts of the production process the automation phase is often the most overlooked - patience is really the key here, as getting all your envelopes just right makes a big difference. 

Things like buildups can depend heavily on volume, filter and delay/reverb automation.

In a track I finished recently called “Nemesis,” I’ve taken a washed-out spoken vocal sample and automated reverb and Live’s grain delay to disintegrate the sound into a big whoosh. 

I love playing around with stuff like that because the possibilities are virtually endless!

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/jaytech

Patch Park

[Pictured above, at right, with Dirty Disorder]

I personally can’t live without automation, it really changed everything for me.

You can make parts of the track, or actually the whole track really more interesting by automating some parameters very gently, such as increasing the wetness of a sound or sample that’s playing.

This can really help to build some tension.

But it’s also really useful to make subtle changes in a groove just by switching to another delay setting for example.

One of the things I came to understand much better over the years is filtering.

When I first started producing I used to have all the filters of the lead sounds wide open, cause that just sounded more fat and intense at first.

But once you discover that all lead sounds don’t need to blow off your ears, you can keep a track much more interesting just by automating the filter.

Instead of just leaving it fully open after the breakdown, it’s a great effect to bring it down when the kick jumps in, so it allows you to bring in some more tension again by going full throttle somewhere later on in the track, instead of giving it away too soon.

With proper automation in combination with good arrangements you can keep a track exciting while using just a few sounds and drums.

MySpace link: www.myspace.com/patchpark

Tritonal

As trance producers, automation is an absolute must - we automate anything and everything that has movement over time. 

It may sound obvious, but for us the single most automated parameter is volume, but there’s a trick to it.

Many producers jump right in and start automating the fader on a track. 

What many do not realize, is that once all of your faders are automated, re-leveling can be a nightmare. 

A slicker thing to do is to use Live’s Utility plug-in on each track and automate its gain. 

This way, if you need to drop all the faders to gain headroom, all the tracks are still automated in relation to one another, and obtaining a tighter mix is still possible.

As Live and Logic users, we work differently depending on the environment.

When using Live’s Instrument Racks, we will map the cutoff, release, overdrive, envelope amount, pitch, and attack of a synth’s parameters to the macros. 

This is very efficient, because it allows you create a giant layer that opens and closes in unison. 

The trick is to get your parameters correct, so that no one layer opens or closes too much. 

Inversely mapping parameters is also possible, and very nifty if looking for giant swells. 

We also utilize the morphing tools on Native Instruments Kore 2, which allows you to control multiple parameters on more than one synth. 

Once your parameters are set, Kore 2 allows us to morph between these settings creating undulating and warbling sounds that are truly unique in origin. 

Time-based plug-ins - like reverb and delay - can muddy a mix and create a very washy sounding track if left unchecked, so in those cases we’ll automate not only the feedback and wet parameters, but also the low and high cutoff on these plugs. 

Taking out the lows on several tracks can really help eliminate the mush in a crowded mix.

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