About GAIN automation...

[emokeez]

Ooh nice ideas! (But I'm lazy so normally I just use StepFX for that kind of thing.)

The pattern editor is also great for parameter lock style automation. You can set it to slide between values or keep them stepped.

Region Automation is better when you want nice curves though. The automation curve tool is pretty cool for making lots of shapes. You can make them once then just copy/paste or option-drag.

If you use templates, save a few in an empty audio track. You can then option drag them into any track, midi or audio — And you can drag pattern editor regions into audio tracks too!

 

[SupremeFist]

The pattern editor is also great for parameter lock style automation. You can set it to slide between values or keep them stepped.

Region Automation is better when you want nice curves though. The automation curve tool is pretty cool for making lots of shapes. You can make them once then just copy/paste or option-drag.

If you use templates, save a few in an empty audio track. You can then option drag them into any track, midi or audio — And you can drag pattern editor regions into audio tracks too!

Cool new tricks to try — thanks!

 

[wing]

So I see there is differents approachs regarding the environment. If you need to make a lot of adjustments, is better use a dedicated pluging.
But if you only need some basic level modifications, as a ambient intro drone/pad part, for example that you only need to appear and dissapear, just working in the faders is easy and simple as you will have only 4 or 6 points in the envelope. Yes?

Yes, "there are many ways to skin a cat", so it's really all based on context and needs of the project. Regarding your original post where you had said, "I had learned that if you want automatize a volume track, is better DONT do it using the track fader." – I am not sure where you heard that but it's not a wrong or right to do it using faders or using gain. Really depends what you are trying to do, and some of that comes down to personal preference too. In my case, let's say I want to do a tremolo effect, where the gain is being turned up and down really quickly with a triangle or square wave... that could be a case where I do that on a gain insert and then I can adjust up/down with a fader relative to that. Or you could even automate the volume on the fader with this gain tremolo, meaning you're kind of using volume within volume (a nested automation). I think that's quite similar to what others are saying above with Logic's two potential lanes of automation (absolute vs relative).

But my point is, faders work just fine for 90% of tasks. It's pretty easy to scale automation up or down (relative or absolute), or to move all your faders or groups together with VCA tracks. There are times you might want to automate a separate gain plugin, but most of the time it's just another insert and can be a little obscured because in most DAWs standard volume/fader automation is the first thing you'll see, whereas gain automation might be hidden requiring more digging around to find it again. Personally for the most part I like to quickly see all my volume automation immediately.

 

[Buffalo Bill]

@wing Many thanks for your explain!
My first doubt was basically around to have an automation and be available to adjust the overall volume later. But as I see, there is no a "perfect way", or "only way" to do this.
We can use pre inserts, post inserts, the fader intself, channel groups, VCA groups... and the choice will be only about the project needs and our preferences.

Many thanks again!!

 

[Jeremy Spencer]

If you need later to adjust the overall volume of the track in this case, what do you use? A gain plugin in the post fader?

Never. I just apply appropriate limiting in the mastering phase (after rendering to an audio file).