Garageband 10: Add Automation?

. One of my biggest problems is with the automations. In previous versions, the drop-down menu had the "Add Automation" feature, where it would give the option to control many parameters of the track.

You have to enable the automations globally by clicking the automation icon in the toolbar on top of at the track headers pane.

And then enable it locally by clicking the same icon in each track.

Sorry to correct léonie but I think it is important to be precise with the explanation because it could be potentially confusing.

View Automation (Show/Hide Automation)

The single button (bigger, rectangle) on top of the Track List is the “Show/Hide Automation” button or “View Automation” button. This button DOES NOT enable Automation. Automation could be enabled and running on your Project while this button is off. That means, you just don’t see the Automation controls.

So anytime you want to create/edit Automation, you have to turn this button on in order to have access to the controls. The button toggles the visibility of three controls on each Track

• The Automation Button (on/off)
• The Automation Parameter Button
• Automation Lane

Enable Automation (Track Automation on/off)

This Automation button (smaller, square) is only visible (on all Tracks) when the “View Automation” button is on. It turns the Automation for this Track on or off. It does not effect the actual automation data (the Automation Curve) you have programmed on the Automation Lane, it only bypasses it when turned off. In that state, the Automation Curve is grayed out. Please note that you can still edit the Automation Curve, even if the Automation is disabled on a Track.

About the other question with the Effects.

GarageBand X only lets you access AU Plugins, either the few internal or the ones you install yourself. The other effects in GarageBand 11 you are referring to were Logic Plugins that GarageBand had access to. These effects are still used when you load various Patches, however, and this is a major letdown, you don't have access anymore to add them to your Track.

And even if a Patch uses those Plugins, you only have limited access to edit its parameters. Only what is provided throughout the Smart Controls window. The only exception is the Channel EQ, the Amp Designer and the Pedalboard. For those three, you have full access to all its parameters.

Hope that helps

Edgar Rothermich

http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/

'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'

It is interesting that the new GarageBand makes so much features much easier and straight forward, but if the user is used the old concept, then it is hard to see the improvement when it requires a rethinking first.

What I mean:

In the case of Automation, the new GarageBand is much easier and simple to automate Parameters.

GB 11

1. Open the Automation Parameter Menu
2. Select which Parameter should be displayed in the menu
3. Select one of the displayed Automation Parameters

GBX

1. Open the Automation Parameter Menu
2. Select one of the displayed Automation Parameter

Do you realize that GBX doesn't require you to first put an Automation Parameter on the menu in order to select it. All the available Automation Parameter are already there in he menu. Just navigate throughout the menus and submenus.

old (pre-configuration required):

new:

So much simpler and easier.

This functionality I just explained is just pure workflow for the Automation. However, your complaint is about the problem that you cannot access the Logic Plugins anymore. As I explained before, whatever Plugin is used by a Patch, those Parameters are limited to what is presented to you on the Smart Control window. But again, this has nothing to do with the Automation. GarageBand just restricts your access to those individual parameters. And if a Parameter is not available manually, then it will not be available for the Automation (which has nothing to do with the Automation feature itself).

GarageBand X provides the following Automation Parameter in the menu:

• Volume, Pan
• Smart Controls
• All Controls for any loaded AU Plugin

There is one serious omission (and I think that is what you are talking about) and I hope that a future update will take care of that:

I mentioned that the Channel EQ, the Amp Designer and the Pedalboard (I forgot the Arpeggiator) are Logic Plugins that you can still load and edit in GarageBand manually. The problem is that you can access each parameter on those Plugins manually but they forgot to make those Parameters available in the Automation Parameter Menu. Therefore you cannot automate those Parameters individually, which is unfortunate.

Hope that helps

Edgar Rothermich

http://DingDingMusic.com/Manuals/

'I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.'

ChuChuKazoo wrote:

So just to be certain, as of this moment, the Channel EQ, Amp Designer, Pedalboard, and Arpeggiator are not Automation-editable?

No, not that I know of.

Look at the screenshot.

It shows the open Plugin Window of the Amp Designer with access to all the controls. However, they are not available as Automation Parameter in the Automation Parameter Menu. As you can see, the Smart Controls Window provides some of the Amp Designer controls. Only these onscreen controls are available in the Automation Parameter Menu.

It is interesting that the new GarageBand makes so much features much easier and straight forward, but if the user is used the old concept, then it is hard to see the improvement when it requires a rethinking first.

That is a matter of taste. If I can find a patch, that is preconfigured as I want it, it is easy to use. But the problem is to find the patches in the first place. The names of the patches don't tell much about the available effects. I have to open the Smart controls for each patch, to see, if it will have the effects I want. Without HangTime's GBeffectFinder it would be a pain. It was so much simpler in GarageBand '11, where we could start with a basic track and add any effect, as the projects evolved.

GarageBand 10.0 is forcing us, to make decisions very early, long before I want to be bothered by them.

léonie wrote:

It was so much simpler in GarageBand '11, where we could start with a basic track and add any effect, as the projects evolved.

I fully agree. That part is a major restriction and a step back from GB11. I was referring to other workflows. However, if the new restrictions outweigh any workflow improvements in other areas, then the overall verdict on GBX will be that it is a bad "upgrade". No question about it.