How do you fine-tune automation?

I often want to select a range of volume automation control points and nudge them just 0.1dB louder, without moving them in time at all. Or maybe I want to move a control point just 0.1s earlier, without moving it vertically.

That's really hard in Studio One. Even when zoomed in all the way, it's quite difficult with the mouse not to accidentally move it horizontally when I only wanted to move it vertically, or to move points by tiny increments. In other DAWs, I use the keyboard for this: there's usually a keyboard command to nudge control points. But Studio One doesn't seem to have one.

So, how do you do this? Anybody have a good method?

I really would like to know this too! Anyone?

For starters: where do You need 0.1db accuracy? Nobody can hear it.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 22/03/2012 16:10:22

My advice: do not automate the volume of the main channel fader. Use any plugins like Big Volume VST (that i did myself) for volume automation. It's free btw and works fine.

Grab it here: http://bit.ly/GMreNs

In this case, you can accurately adjust the volume with the main fader, without further manipulation of the automation.

How about the mixtool?
It's free, AND included!

Palaios wrote:
For starters: where do You need 0.1db accuracy? Nobody can hear it.

You certainly can, when it's a matter of balancing two things in the mix. Ears are much more sensitive to relative levels of simultaneous sounds than they are to sequential level differences.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 04/04/2012 11:50:20

In laboratory maybe, but in the real life: not

Even db values are not linear 0.1db is not audible in A-B test. As mixed in music. In reasonable volume levels

Single testone at precise selected frq & volume according ear sensitiviity may be audible in controlled enviroment.

I may be wrong but my 30+yrs experience says so

Use the transform tool. Its located in the dropdown on the paint tool. This allows you to box in the area in question, and drag all points up or down. For measurements like you are needing, enlarge the track to the maximum to get finer adjustments. The only problem with the transform tool is the instant feedback you don't get from it. I usually place the curser inside of the area to adjust, while keeping an eye to the inspector to see where the current volume is. Then move the tool, and reclick the curser to view the adjustment made. This works great for minor part adjustments. If the entire track needs to be adjusted then the mixtool is the best way to go.

You can always automate the mixtool if the transform is not to your liking.

A "pre-automation" automation technique might help... though it's so basic you may already know this...

i.e. sidechain a guitar compressor with vocal track so that guitars come down (cut in dBs) in volume when you have vocals and then boost in dB's when its guitar only;

you can sidechain other instruments with the same outcome as well.

so you let this automate some of the mixing for you before your automated mix.

I appreciate all the suggestions about the signal chain, although at this point I think the thread has lost track of my original question.

My question is a user interface question. I know exactly how I want to set up the mix. The question is just how to get the Studio One UI to do it without a headache. Making very fine adjustments is a nuisance, because Studio One doesn't implement a couple of features — keyboard nudging of automation points and horiz/vert constrained dragging — that most DAWs do.

I was wondering whether I was missing some UI feature, and I think the answer is "no." (The transform tool is very nice, but doesn't help at all with these issues either, alas.)

Hey I know this is a pretty old thread and I'm having the same problems as you.

Sometimes I just want to drop the level of a Bus for a certain part of the song and then bring it back to the same volume it was before and I find it really difficult as dragging the automation point with the mouse really isn't precise (even while holding Shift).

The only way I found around the problem now is to set the automation track to write and record while I move the Bus lever fader using the mouse + Shift key for subtle adjustments.

If anyone has a better solution, please share.

Put Mixtool on the buss, and set it for the volume drop you want. Then just automate the bypass on the plug for when you need the volume drop. Bypass automation is either all up, or all down, so there is no need for small adjustments.

Thanks Matt.

Now I feel kinda stupid I didn't think about that before haha.

No worries. Sometimes the low hanging fruit is easy to miss.

I've got the same problem as well. I find studio one a disaster on automation.
My workaround, that cannot substitute the function you are asking like any other mentioned here, is to double click on a node so That I cAn write the value, but as most of the time I'm editing a straight line, I have to do the same on the next node as well.
As said, S1 is really horrible on automation. Hopefully will get an ungrade soon