Hey guys, in this video we’re going to cover how to automate different parameters within
Reaper.
We’ll do manual and recorded automation, and talk about a lot of the different automation
controls within Reaper.
At the end of this video, you’ll be able to automate just about any control.
Before watching this video, just make sure to check out the previous videos in this series
so you’re all caught up.
After you’ve recorded a track, you’ll be able to use automation lanes to adjust
parameters such as volume, panning, and plugin controls throughout the song.
Let’s start with manual automation entry.
To view the automation lanes, open the track envelopes menu.
This is the little automation icon that says trim next to it by default.
Here we can see the different track envelopes we can enable.
We’ll also see the controls for the plugins if we add those to the track as well.
I’ll enable the volume envelope so we can start with that for this example, but it will
work the same for any of the automation controls.
This window also has options for recording automation, and we’ll come back to that
later.
Now that our automation lane is visible, we can start making adjustments.
This line that shows up underneath here represents the automation.
We can draw points on the line and drag them to change their position, and therefore the
value of that parameter.
To draw points on the line, hold down shift and click the mouse.
To remove the point after, select it and press the delete key on your keyboard.
For automation to work, there needs to be a different between the height of the points
you add on the lane.
So to make a section louder, we would have two points at the beginning and two points
at the end of that section, and the volume would increase and decrease between the two
points at the beginning and end.
If we right click on a point, we can change the shape of the curve between that point
and the next point.
Another way to change automation is to make a time selection by clicking and dragging
over the track.
Then use the trim knob on the automation lane to drag that section up or down.
We can also hold down the control key and click and drag to draw a freehand automation
line.
Another thing we should cover with manual automation is that we can automate a few parameters
like volume and panning on takes, instead of the entire track.
To do this, right click on a take, go to Takes, and then select Take envelopes.
This opens up a similar window to what we saw previously, and we’ll be able to automate
volume, panning, mute, and pitch.
The difference with the takes is that it won’t create automation lanes for the takes.
Instead, the automation lines and drawn on the take to reduce space.
Let’s cover a few more options we have to hide and remove automation.
Since automation takes up a lot of space on the screen, it’s helpful to be able to hide
it once we’re done editing it, while still allowing it to affect our track.
To do this, go back to the automation menu we opened earlier.
Uncheck the box that shows visible to hide the automation.
To disable the automation, uncheck the leftmost box for that track envelope.
To clear the automation and start over, right click on the automation line and press Clear
or Remove Envelope.
If we want to make changes to all the automation tracks at once, there’s a global automation
control button on the transport.
Here we can enable and bypass all automation, change the automation modes for all the tracks,
and hide and display automation for all tracks.
Automation in Reaper isn’t limited to the manual entry mode we’ve been using so far.
It can also be written in an automation write mode as the track plays.
Before we go through the automation modes, we need to know how to enable an automation
lane for recording.
After we’ve made it visible, just click the arm to record button to the left of the
automation lane name to do this, the same way we arm a track for recording audio or
MIDI.
Then we will be able to record on that lane as we go through the song.
This allows us to manage what lanes we’re changing the automation on as we play through
the song, and that way we can avoid overwriting previous automation for different lanes on
that track.
The automation modes in Reaper are Read/Trim, Read, Touch, Latch, Latch Preview, and Write.
Automation modes are specific to a track in Reaper, and they can’t be changed for individual
automation lanes.
In Read/Trim mode, the automation changes the parameter, such as the volume fader, by
the amount changed on the automation.
We can still make changes to the baseline setting in this mode.
When we enter Read mode, the automation is set, and we can no longer accidentally make
changes until we leave this mode.
We also can’t change the baseline from here.
The writing modes are touch, latch, and write.
In touch mode, the automation is written while we are changing the parameter, and keeps writing
while we hold down the mouse on that control.
After we release the mouse, it snaps back to its original value.
Latch mode is similar, since it writes the automation as we are dragging the parameter
on the screen.
The difference happens when we release the mouse.
In latch mode, the parameter locks to the value it was at last when we released the
mouse, and stays there until we change it again, or stop recording automation.
When we stop recording automation, it will create an envelope point to snap it back to
the baseline value, but we can delete that point and others after it if we want it to
stay where we released it.
Latch preview allows us to apply a certain level on the automation lane to any selection
by using the Automation: write current values for actively-writing envelopes to time selection
Action in the actions menu, which is accessed from Actions menu at the top.
This will apply the level to any automation parameter that has latch enabled by pressing
the trim knob to turn it red.
The last automation mode is write mode.
In write mode, the previous automation is ignored completely and overwritten as we play
through the song.
You don’t have to first touch the control for it to be overwritten like you would in
latch mode.
Thanks for checking out this video on manual and recorded automation in Reaper.
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