Is writing automation while playback stopped possible somehow?

Cubase
#1

I probably miss something important here, so maybe someone has an idea how to do this?

I try to write automation data but without starting playback. I know I can edit the automation lane. But that’s not really what I’m looking for.
Let’s say I have this synth plugin with a lot of parameters and for example 5 of them as automation lanes. Somewhere in my track I want to change the sound of it, so I pause the track and change several parameters in the VST until I got the sound I want.
How do I get the result back into cubases automation lanes without editing the automation lanes by hand.

I couldn’t find any command that updates all automation lanes in place, probably there isn’t one. Also I couldn’t manage to copy a single value to a lane without setting two points manually and entering the new value by hand.
Even starting playback for a short moment doesn’t work because it isn’t possible to only write automation without reading, when I start the playback all my changes are gone.
My last idea was to mute the automation track, so I can start the playback and my settings don’t get overwritten but even then, it doesn’t write the new values to the lane.

Where could I look for a solution, any suggestions? Is it possible at all?

Thanks and best regards

#2

Other than manually editing automation lanes there’s no chance to write automation when stopped - which seems natural to me as you can’t record any action when ‘time stands still’ = playback stopped.

Just an idea: in stop position do tweaks to your plugin/VSTi and save it to “B” (in the A/B settings of the plugin toolbar). Go back to A now, start playback and push the plugin over to B (in write mode) at the desired point in time.

Result: all parameters differing between A and B will create an automation lane and reflect the changes.

There is no automation lane for that A/B switch possible, the action described will always handle the actual parameters which might be a lot & produce an optical overflow :wink:

1 Like
#3

Another idea would be to not use automation for a sudden sound change. Duplicate your track instead thus creating a new instance of the synth and create the new sound there.

1 Like
#4

Thanks, that’s clever and pretty much exactly what I’m looking for. I never got used to A/B-switching, that thing seemed to me always like a relic of an analog past so I didn’t even think about it. I don’t even need to exactly hit the spot I want to, moving the automation a bit left or right is a matter of seconds, it still works that way.

Yay, I learned something today, thanks :slight_smile:

#5

Thanks and I agree. It’s pretty much what I was doing most of the time.
Sometimes, though, I like to find a “destination sound” where I want to land at a certain point and do a transition towards it, so in that case I need both sounds on the same track, I have done that by hand so far. I will try the A/B-approach from above for those cases, it sounds good.

#6

Good workaround, although snapshot automation has been a feature request for a long time now.

1 Like