Automation

Automation lets you change parameters over time — volume fades, filter sweeps, effect mix changes, and more. Each automation lane carries one curve that can drive one or several parameters at once, hand-drawn or generated with an LFO. Several lanes can even drive the same parameter and combine — one setting the value, others nudging it up or down.

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Automatable parameters

• Mixer: Volume, Pan, Mid Gain, Side Gain, Mono Below frequency
• Effects: Any Audio Unit plugin parameter, plus Dry/Wet mix
• Instruments: Any Audio Unit instrument parameter

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Create an automation lane

If a plain lane (Absolute mode, full range) already drives that exact parameter, New Automation Track reuses it instead of making a duplicate. If the existing lane has a custom mode or range, a fresh lane is added that stacks on top — see Stacking Lanes on One Parameter.

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Drive more than one parameter from one curve

A single automation lane can drive multiple parameters from the same 0–1 curve. Useful for grouped fades (drum bus + reverb send), parallel filter sweeps, or any “these move together” relationship. A parameter another lane already drives is no longer off-limits: linking it adds the parameter to this lane as well, and the two lanes combine at playback — see Stacking Lanes on One Parameter. The only no-op is adding the same parameter to the same lane twice.

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Edit targets in the Inspector

Click an automation lane in the Timeline to open it in the Inspector. Each target shows up as its own row with three dropdowns — Track, Plugin, Parameter — plus a Mode and its range controls. Edits register in the undo stack — ⌘Z reverts any routing change. Master, Bus, Group, or deleted tracks remain selectable in the Track dropdown with a clear suffix (e.g. “Master (Master)” / “(deleted track)”) so you can see what the lane is driving even when the target falls outside the normal sample/instrument set.

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Stack lanes on one parameter

More than one lane can drive the same parameter. At the playhead, Gridshift combines them based on each target’s Mode:

• Absolute sets the parameter directly. When several absolute lanes overlap on one parameter, one wins — the most recently started clip takes it, and ties go to the topmost automation lane. Absolute lanes don’t blend; the winner provides the value.
• Relative adds a signed offset on top of the winning absolute value. The curve stays 0–1, with its midpoint 0.5 as the neutral point: above 0.5 pushes the value up, below 0.5 pulls it down. Relative lanes do stack — their offsets sum.

Each target also carries its own range, so one shared curve can hit different destinations at different depths:

• In Absolute mode, Min and Max map the curve onto a window of the destination (0–100% of its full range). The curve’s 0 lands on Min and its 1 on Max; setting Min above Max inverts the mapping.
• In Relative mode, a single Amount (±%) sets the swing depth around the base value.

A typical use: keep a volume fade on an Absolute lane, then add a subtle Relative lane with a small Amount for a recurring lift — the fade defines the level and the relative curve nudges it without the two fighting over the same value.

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Manage automation from the target track

You don’t have to hunt down the lane to adjust it. Any track that’s the target of at least one lane shows an Automation group in its Inspector, just below Grid — the mirror image of a Return track’s incoming-sends list. Each binding is one row: the driven parameter, the lane driving it, and an ⓘ button. When several lanes drive the same parameter, each appears as its own row. The whole group hides itself when nothing targets the track.

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Edit points

Double-click an automation clip to enter Focus Mode, where the clip expands to full height with a value grid. Points snap to the beat grid and a 32-step value grid. Hold Option to bypass snapping. Create a point by double-clicking (or ⌘+click) on empty space, and drag on empty space to marquee-select. Click a point to select it, ⇧+click to toggle it in the selection. Step through points with ← / →, and nudge the value of the selected point with ⌘⌃↑ / ⌘⌃↓. Drag a point to move it (grid-snapped, ⌥ for fine). Delete a point with ⌥+click or a double-click; delete the whole selection with ⌫.

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Curves & tension

Drag the tension handle between two points to shape the curve — up for convex (fast start), down for concave (slow start).

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Generate mode (LFO)

Instead of drawing points by hand, an automation clip can generate a live, repeating curve. In Focus Mode the floating bar has a Draw / LFO toggle — switch to LFO to enter generate mode. The shape comes from four controls, with a live preview in the bar: Generate mode is non-destructive: your hand-drawn points stay untouched underneath and come back the moment you switch to Draw. When you want to fine-tune the result, Bake converts the live shape into editable points and drops you back into Draw mode. The LFO is a pure 0–1 shape — depth and offset come from each target’s range and mode, so one generated curve can drive several parameters at different depths (see Stacking Lanes on One Parameter). A clip entering generate mode for the first time starts as a centered sine, one bar per cycle.

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Record automation

You can record parameter changes in real time: Recorded automation is written to the corresponding lane. If no lane exists for the parameter, one is created automatically. On a multi-target lane: recording onto a parameter that’s a secondary target on a shared lane appends to the existing lane (since the curve is shared). The Inspector — and a brief banner — show the parent lane’s name so you know where the captured points landed.

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Step recording with number keys

You can insert automation points one at a time using the number keys. This is useful for programming precise value sequences without drawing. Requirements: Enter Focus Mode on an automation clip, enable recording (⇪ Caps Lock), and make sure the transport is stopped. Each number key maps to a fixed value — 1 through 9 set 0.1 through 0.9, and 0 sets 1.0. Each key press inserts a point at the current cursor position and advances the cursor by one grid step, so you can type a sequence of values without moving the cursor manually.

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Duplicate tracks with automation

Duplicating a regular track (⌘D) extends every automation lane that targeted the source so the duplicate follows the same curves. To break the link and let the duplicate ramp independently, open the lane’s Inspector and remove the duplicate’s target, then create a fresh lane for it. Duplicating an automation lane itself produces a Copy (Unlinked) lane — same curve clips, but you’ll need to point it at a parameter before it does anything. Leaving the copy unbound keeps a blind duplicate from silently driving the original’s parameter; aim it somewhere yourself, and if that’s the same parameter the two simply stack. Duplicating a group brings its internal automation along: any lanes inside the group rewire to drive the duplicated tracks, not the originals.

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Clip operations

Automation clips support the same clipboard and split operations as audio and MIDI clips. When splitting, automation points are preserved in their respective halves.

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Shortcuts

The most-used automation keys are below. The Focus Mode Shortcuts reference has the complete curve-editing grid, including point navigation, marquee, and step recording.