Reference Guide

1009

Quick automation guide

Automation

“Envelope mode and Offset mode” on page 1031

“Converting MIDI controllers to envelopes” on page 1034

“Snapshots” on page 1035

“Automating effects” on page 1036

“Recording automation data from an external controller” on page 1038

Recording individual fader or knob movements

Recording automation for knobs and faders works in the Track view, the Console view, and Synth

Rack. You can record automation during both playback and recording operations.

To record individual fader or knob movements

1. Do one of the following:

• To write-enable an individual track or bus control, right-click the fader or control you want to

automate and choose Automation Write Enable from the pop-up menu.

• To write-enable individual plug-in parameters, right-click the name of the plug-in in the effects

bin, and choose Write Enable Parameter from the pop-up menu. This opens a dialog box

that allows you to choose which parameters to write-enable.

• To write-enable individual synth parameters, right-click the synth’s Automation Write button

in the Synth Rack, and choose Write Enable Parameter from the pop-up menu. This opens a

dialog box that allows you to choose which parameters to write-enable.

• To write-enable all parameters in an audio track, bus, synth, or effect, enable the Automation

Write button on the track, bus, Synth Rack strip, or plug-in property page you are

recording automation for. Enabling the Automation Write button on a track or bus also write-

enables all parameters of any effects on the track or bus.

2. Start playback or recording.

3. Move the armed parameter control(s).

4. Stop playback or recording.

After you record the automation data, SONAR draws a graph of it (an envelope) in the Clips pane,

which you can edit with the mouse by adding and dragging nodes (see the rest of this chapter).

Once you record automation data in a track, the widget that you automated displays an indicator to

show that automation has been applied. You can also group controls, so that automating one control

automates all the controls in the group.