📑 Sections (7)

5. Automation

How to make the mix follow the song: what to automate first, how to do it in Studio One and where to stop.

A mix with still faders sounds flat, however good each track sounds. Automation is making levels and effects change with the song. It’s often what separates a correct mix from one that grabs you, and it’s among the last things you do.

First the song, then the phrase

Three levels, in this order

  1. By part: verse, chorus, bridge. It pays off the most and it’s the fastest.
  2. By phrase: the vocal, so it can always be understood.
  3. By moment: a hit, an echo, a specific entrance. It’s optional.

By part: making the chorus grow

A chorus feels big because something smaller came before it. If you raise everything in the chorus, you run out of margin. It’s easier the other way around:

  • Lower the guitars 1 to 2 dB in the verses, instead of raising them in the chorus.
  • Open up the width: fewer guitars or less width in the verse, and more in the chorus.
  • Add layers in the chorus: vocal doubles, one more guitar.
  • More space in the chorus: a bit more send to the reverb.

By phrase: the vocal

It’s the most important automation in the mix. Listen at low volume and write down where a word gets lost. Then adjust those phrases by 1 or 2 dB. The detail is in vocal automation and layers.

🟠 Better to set it now· in mixing

An understandable vocal and a chorus that grows are what the listener perceives most. Specific effects are optional: if you don't get to them, the mix still works.

By moment

  • Solos: raise the guitar 2 to 3 dB on entry, and add delay.
  • Ends of phrases: an echo on the last word.
  • Entrances: dipping the band slightly before a big hit makes the hit land harder.
  • Breaks: a silence from the band or the bass before the chorus.

How it’s done in Studio One

  • Automation track: on the track, show the volume envelope and draw with the pencil or range tool.
  • With the fader: put the track in Write or Touch mode and move the fader while it plays. Go back to Read when you’re done.
  • Event volume: for changes by phrase or word, adjusting the event is usually quicker and it comes before the plugins.

What else to automate

  • Sends to the reverb and delay.
  • Panning, in moderation. A moving guitar draws a lot of attention.
  • Plugin bypass or a filter on a single passage: for example, a filtered vocal in an intro.

Common mistakes

What NOT to chase yet

Quick path: automation

Quick path

  1. Listen to the whole song and mark the parts.
  2. Lower the guitars 1 to 2 dB in the verses.
  3. Open up layers and space in the choruses.
  4. Listen at low volume and note where the vocal gets lost.
  5. Fix those phrases by 1 or 2 dB.
  6. Raise the solo and add delay.
  7. Two or three specific effects at most.

Expected result

Expected result

A mix that moves with the song: the choruses grow, every word can be understood and the solo appears when it should, without losing margin. All that’s left is checking whether it works outside your room: references and checks.