Pro Tools automation is something I touch on literally every mix. Even the simple ones. Even when I’m not thinking about it, I’m still riding levels, tweaking sends, automating something.
If a mix feels polished and alive—like it’s breathing with the song—automation is doing half the work. Maybe more than half.
This isn’t some textbook walkthrough. This is how automation actually works when you’re neck-deep in a session at 2am trying to make a vocal sit right.
Automation Modes (And Why Most of Them Don’t Matter)
Pro Tools gives you like five or six automation modes, which sounds intimidating until you realize you’ll only use two or three of them regularly.
Here’s the real breakdown.
Read
Default mode. Pro Tools just plays back whatever automation exists. I leave most tracks in Read unless I’m actively messing with something. That’s it.
Touch
This is the one I live in. You grab a fader, ride it during playback, let go, and it snaps back to the previous automation. Perfect for tweaking vocals without accidentally destroying everything you did yesterday.
I’ve probably done 90% of my automation in Touch mode over the last decade.
Latch
Similar to Touch, but once you move something, it stays there. Good when you want a new level to hold until you manually change it again.
I’ll use Latch when I know exactly where I want something to land and I don’t want to babysit it.
Write
Dangerous. Write mode records everything continuously and obliterates whatever was there before. I only touch this when I’m starting fresh or when I’m absolutely sure I want to nuke the existing automation.
I’ve lost entire vocal rides to Write mode. More than once. Learn from my pain.
Trim Mode (Pro Tools Ultimate)
Trim is for fine-tuning existing automation. Instead of redrawing everything, you’re nudging it up or down globally. Super useful late in a mix when you’re like “the vocal is almost there but needs to come up half a dB across the whole chorus.”
If you don’t have Ultimate, you don’t have Trim. Sorry.
What I Actually Automate
Volume, obviously. But that’s just the start.
Volume Automation
This is where mixes are won or lost. Compression helps, sure, but automation is what keeps things musical. I’m constantly riding vocals—pulling them back in verses, pushing them forward in choruses, catching stray words that poke out.
It’s tedious. It’s also the difference between a demo and a record.
Pan Automation
I don’t go crazy with this, but when it’s right, it adds motion without cluttering the mix. A guitar panning slightly during a breakdown, or an effect sweeping across the stereo field—small moves, big impact.
Mute Automation
Underrated as hell. Just cutting elements in and out can create contrast and space without touching the arrangement. I’ll mute reverb tails, pull back doubles, drop out a synth pad for two bars—whatever makes the next section hit harder.
Plugin Automation
This is where it gets fun. Automating reverb sends, delay throws, distortion, EQ moves—you can make a static mix come alive.
One thing I do constantly: automate vocal reverb so it blooms at the end of phrases, then ducks back down during verses. Keeps the vocal upfront but gives it air when it needs it.
Also—automate filter sweeps, saturation, anything that moves with the song’s energy.
Writing Automation: Real-Time vs Drawing It In
I do both, depending on what I need.
Real-Time
If I’m riding a vocal or feeling out a section, I’ll just grab the fader and perform it. Faster, and honestly it usually feelsbetter than drawing it in.
Sometimes you need that human touch (pun intended).
Drawing It In
When I need surgical precision—tight mutes, exact level changes, cleaning up a messy automation pass—I’ll draw it directly in the lane.
Zooming way in and tweaking individual breakpoints is weirdly satisfying. Also maddening. But mostly satisfying.
Editing Automation (Where the Real Work Happens)
Writing automation is one thing. Refining it is where you actually make the mix better.
I’ll zoom in, adjust breakpoints, smooth out curves, delete stuff that feels too aggressive. A lot of the time, less is more—you don’t need a million automation points. Just the right ones.
If you’ve got Ultimate and Trim mode, use it. Being able to nudge an entire vocal ride up 0.5dB without redrawing everything is a game changer.
Seeing Automation Changes Everything
One thing people don’t talk about enough: automation lanes let you see what’s happening, which is huge for troubleshooting.
I’ll catch inconsistencies just by looking at the automation before I even hit play. Oh, the vocal drops 3dB in the second verse? That’s why it felt buried.
A few things I’ve learned:
- Zoom in when you’re working on detailed moves—don’t try to do surgery at 1:1 zoom
- Keep it clean. Less automation usually sounds better than more
- Use curves instead of hard jumps unless you want it to sound abrupt
Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way
- Start with volume automation before you reach for another compressor. You’d be surprised how much you can fix just by riding levels
- Write mode will ruin your day if you’re not careful
- Automate for emotion, not just control. If it feels right, it probably is right
- If something sounds inconsistent, automate it before you compress it harder (I’m guilty of over-compressing when automation would’ve been the answer)
Final Thoughts
Look, Pro Tools automation isn’t sexy. Nobody’s going to notice your perfectly crafted volume rides—but they’ll feelthem. That’s the whole point.
If you want your mixes to sound pro, this is a skill you can’t skip. It’s not optional.
Get comfortable with Touch mode, learn to see automation visually, and trust your ears.
And if you’re working on a mix that needs that extra polish—or you just want someone else to handle the automation rides for you—I’m always taking on new projects. Hit me up and let’s talk about your music.
Happy mixing.