Feature Suggestion: Automation Panel add-in idea

Hi readers of this forum and Steinberg also - hopefully. This is a long mail but thousand words explain less than a good pic so forgive me.

First off, I have to apologize for that I always seem to send a Support Request before I try my best to figure out the problems for myself. I resolved some issues mentioned on my topic “Automation curve editing” (or something like that) just by trying out things.

Anyway, there’s something that MIGHT NOT be possible quickly and easily with the current Cubase automation procedures:

So, if one has the volume automation curve that goes up and down in the timeline, then naturally you might want to change the automation and yes, that’s easily done. BUT - what I’d like to have and would find very useful is that it would be possible to draw the new volume (or pan or send volume, eq etc.) values and doing it so that it would first of course write the automation that you draw but that there would be an option named, say, TO NEXT so that the automation level that was drawn as the right-most (highest time-value) value of all written data (let’s call this as value X) would be retained until the next automation entry value AND that the particular “next value” would then also be changed to that value X. Get it?

Since now when you use the Draw Tool, it doesn’t retain that volume (or other automation) level until the next change occurs, but sets to that “old” level instead, that there was before. Meaning that the automation goes on with the value already there from that point on where you released the mouse button.

Let’s make an example: There are 3 different volume levels in an audio track:

  • from start to 1 minute the volume is 0dB
  • at 1 minute the volume changes immediately from 0dB to -6dB
  • at 2 minute the volume changes immediately from -6dB to +5dB

So there are altogether 4 automation entry points, right? Two for each automation change. And now I’d like to change to Volume at 1:30 minutes position immediately from -6dB to +2dB and retain that value until the 2 minute position - BUT - I don’t want to mess up that UPPER automation point (+5dB) at 2 minute position - onĺy to also change that lower -6dB value to +2dB. Resulting the volume being a constant +2dB from 1:30 to 2:00 minutes. So how do I do that now???

Well I have to “draw” (just click with a pencil) a new +2dB volume entry point at 1:30 position and then I have to manually delete the resulting new entry point that comes by the drawing maneuver AND then I’ll have to manually adjust the lower volume (-6dB) entry point at 2 minute position to have a value of +2dB. Do you follow? So it’s unnecessarily tedious.

Now, if there were an option TO NEXT on the Automation Panel, then all I’d have to do is to activate it and then click a new volume value entry point (+2dB) at 1:30 minutes position and off we go!

ALSO, the same should work backwards in time. If you had also an option TO PREVIOUS in the AP then the automation value would be pertained backwards in time until the previous automation entry point + changing also that particular point’s value.

Now, do you follow at all??? All I know is that I’d have a tremendous use for this kind of feature! And yep, when the TO NEXT and TO PREVIOUS option are both enabled, then the TO PUNCH option would be enabled automatically, but of course not vise versa.

Any ideas?

I read only quickly but are you talking about coarse volume changes and/or relative automation?

Maybe an EDL as per MIDI List would work.

If it’s wrong my thought please re-state the request.