Track automation

If you're totally new to Automation, please read the Quickstart - Automation section first.

Screen displays (from top-left to bottom-right)

• Envelope display

  Here you draw the desired envelope points with the mouse. The vertical line shows the current playback position. Use the left mouse button to draw lines and the right button to draw points.

• Selectors for the Automation envelope

  These upper two settings on the right side of the Automation window set the DSP (or VST) Effect and a parameter you wish to automate. After clicking "Add new Envelope" a new envelope will be added to the list. To remove the envelope from the list, select it and click "Delete selected".

• Copy/Merge

  Copies the selected envelope to the clipboard or merges (pastes) the envelope into the Envelope display (adds the envelope from the clipboard as new envelope in the list if no envelope of the same type exists, or overwrites an envelope with the same settings).

• Clear

  Resets the envelope graph without deleting the Automation envelope from the list of envelopes.

• Flip/Mirror

  Mirrors the envelope horizontally or vertically.

• Humanize

  This adds small random variations ("imperfections") to each envelope point to add a more human-like touch to the parameter changes. For example: When somebody plays the drums, no hit sounds exactly like another. There are always little variations in volume etc. Use Humanize to imitate this phenomenon.

• Exp/Rand

  Inserts points using an exponential or random scale. If you want a logarithmical envelope, simply mirror the exponential envelope. This fades the sound in or out in a much more natural way in most cases..

• Play Mode

  Changes the display and the way of handling of the envelope. According to the setting ("Points", "Lines" or "Curve" possible), Renoise interpolates the development of the Automation envelope. In Curve mode, for example, transitions will follow the curve and therefore will be smoother although you only entered a couple of points the curve was created out of.

• Preset buttons

  Store (right mouse button) or recall (left mouse button) certain saved Automation envelopes by mouse click.

• < and >

  Scroll the envelope to the left or right.

Using track envelopes

Envelopes are graphically displayed variations of track parameters such as volume, pan etc. If you want to do, for example, a simple snare fade-in the simplest way is to fill each pattern line with snare and then add a volume envelope that will change the volume (like on the picture above).

You can use envelopes for any DSP effect and you can have multiple envelopes at the same time but never more than one envelope for one parameter.

As you can see envelopes are very easy to learn but they are also hard to master. Using them you will make automation of parameter changes in no time. But you will need to experiment with them to hear what effect they will give. Track Envelopes can replace track column effects (numbers in pattern) so use them to produce more effects or simpler effect transitions.

There is an example for track envelopes in the Tutorials section. Listen to examples that use envelopes and try to add/remove envelopes to hear the effects.

Recording into Track-Envelopes is similar to recording a DSP into the Pattern-Effect row. Instead of using the right mousebutton while recording, press left shift while tweaking a dsp slider together with right mousebutton. You will notice that renoise will create a new Automation-Curve for the used DSP/Parameter combo.

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