Write and perform
Automation
Draw a control's changes across the arrangement and keep separate curves for volume, pan, effects and sound settings.
Automation stores how a control changes through the arrangement. For example, you can draw a filter opening over four bars, or lower a track's volume before a break. It is saved with the project and used when the song is rendered to audio.
The current editor draws automation points. The transport's Record notes records musical input; it does not record knob movements into a lane.
Show a control's lane
- In Arrange, right-click a track header and choose Show automation.
- Press the cyan control-name bar in the header, labelled Automation parameter.
- Choose the control you want to draw.
A new track lane prefers Filter cutoff when that control is offered, otherwise the first available target. Only one lane is shown on a track at a time. Choosing a different target shows that target's own curve; it does not move the old drawing onto another control.
Targets that already have points carry a dot and the accessible description has points. Curves with points remain stored when you switch away. Empty lanes can be dropped when you select another target.
Hide automation hides the drawing and retains its points. Remove lane, at the bottom of the parameter list, removes the selected curve. Each track can keep up to 16 lanes with one lane per target.
Draw and edit points
Use Select or Draw in the top bar. The Split tool does not edit automation points.
| Gesture | Result |
|---|---|
| Click empty lane space | Adds a point at that time and value. |
| Drag a point | Moves its time and value. It cannot pass its neighbours. |
| Hold Alt while placing or dragging | Bypasses time snapping. |
| Hold Shift while dragging | Moves more slowly and bypasses time snapping. |
| Double-click a point | Deletes it. |
| Focus a point, then Delete or Backspace | Deletes that point. |
| Left / Right on a point | Moves it by one Grid snap division; Shift moves by a quarter of a bar. |
| Up / Down on a point | Changes value by one percentage point; Shift changes it by ten. |
The line joins points with straight segments. Before the first point and after the last point, the endpoint's value holds. A lane without points leaves the control unchanged. A completed point drag is one undo step.
Hover or focus a point to see its value hint. Pan uses L, C or R; the filter cutoff shows a frequency; other ordinary controls show a percentage. Effect target labels identify the effect and parameter. Their lane positions represent the control's range, including logarithmic ranges where applicable.
Points must be separated by at least 1/64 of a bar. Adding a point close to an existing one replaces the nearby point. One lane can contain up to 1,024 points; the overall project-size limit can be reached earlier.
Targets and current limits
| Target group | What to use it for |
|---|---|
| Output | Track Volume and Pan. |
| Factory instrument | Implemented source, filter, amp and LFO controls for that instrument. See instruments. |
| Effects | Automatable controls belonging to each particular effect instance. Two instances have independent settings and lanes. |
| Mixer | A send amount for each FX channel. Choosing a send target creates a send if needed. |
The list also exposes Drum Rack pad controls, legacy Tone/Motion/Space/Energy targets and Key track. Their presence does not mean they change the current sound: the drum sample recipes are fixed during playback, and those legacy macro and key-tracking targets have no current factory binding. Draw supported track-level or effect controls instead, or build note-driven changes inside the Grid.
The ordinary factory parameter list does not map custom Grid device controls. A custom graph uses its own bindings. Switches such as a drum's Filter type and Choke group are excluded from the pad automation list.
The cutoff frequency hint follows a different scale from the current factory filter's conversion. Use it as a guide to position rather than an exact frequency measurement; inspect the Grid filter's own value when you need an exact setting.
Automation and modulation together
Automation supplies the control's base value at the current arrangement position. Modulation adds its movement on top. If a filter seems to move farther than the drawn curve, check its modulation routes too.
Loop playback reads the curve at the wrapped arrangement position. Hiding a lane does not disable its sound changes. To stop a curve affecting the song, delete its points or remove the lane.
If an effect is removed, its old lane can keep its points while losing a selectable destination. Remove that lane if you no longer need it. Saving the project keeps supported automation; export renders it with the song.