Automation - do you automate ? how much ?

[Hadoq]

Hi, I remembered a time when people would talk about automating their tracks and parameters and it would feel quite foreign to me. Fast forward a few years later and it became second nature and I'd automate a lot, often, as a way to influence the track dynamics at a given time. I couldn't imagine making a piece now where there wouldn't be at least some amount of automation.

I was wondering how others would use automation, if at all, and why, what are the different processes and approaches from different people, is it deliberate, randomized, a mix of everything ?


and to those who do, how much would you qualify, of a difference it made in the quality of your pieces ?

 

[Iron Keys]

a way to influence the track dynamics at a given time

100% this.

often im too lazy for this though. Sometimes i might achieve it via clip gain or separate tracks.

Otherwise I might be automating reverb/delay sends.

 

[2GooD Productions]

I do various types of automation, I do much more on a genre like DnB than I would do on hip hop though.
From automating a mod wheel, a low pass filter, high pass filter, a bell filter sweep, automate volume on a dynamic vocal(although I try to use compression and/or waves vocal rider first to try and save the intensive work involved)
Been considering using automation on an eq to follow a boost on a bassline as the key changes, although I haven't yet gotten around to it, but will. Cubase also has modulators which can be used to automate various things, like a volume or a specific parameter of a VST. Also as @Iron Keys said, automating a delay send on and off, I will often side chain a vocal to a reverb/delay to cut the effect until the vocal ends and the reverb/delay can fill the empty space without washing out the vocals.
Automation of velocity is very effective on sustained strings, brass and wind instruments
I find DnB is much more needing of automation than hip hop, with things like risers and build ups, I can be a lot more lazy when it comes to making hip hop, with age I'm slowly getting bored of it so find myself losing interest while making it a lot sooner than I used to.
A lot of times these days, I rush to get beats finished, instead of spending many hours paying attention to the finer details as the internet age has killed my attention span.

 

[attila]

 

[attila]

in genres like dub it can be useful
.

 

[Iron Keys]

in genres like dub it can be useful
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in an Attila track, i have zero surprise to see automation like this, and I can imagine it would be just for a single hi hat hit.