Automation is a powerful tool; especially for dance music or for special effects and Cubase SX allows you to automate effect parameters right underneath your audio track.

Click the + symbol in the bottom left hand corner of your audio track to bring down the automation. Volume will be listed by default. Click on Volume and choose More…

In the Add Parameter box choose Inserts then select the insert you want to automate. Inside that folder you will have options to automate all the parameters of that insert plug-in. In the example below you can see a ‘mix’ of the RoomWorks plug-ins that are currently loaded.

In the automation lane you can now use the pencil/draw tool to draw in your automation .

TIP: If you need to draw in automation for a plugin, but are having a hard time finding the parameter you want in the track's automation list or figuring out which track the automation would be associated with, this can be easily solved. Open the plugin and highlight the green "R" (read) and red "W" (write) buttons. Now press play and move the knob or slider associated with that parameter as if you were doing a realtime automation take. Hit stop, turn off the "W" button so that automation will no longer be written during playback and then right click in the track list and choose "Show Used Automation For All Tracks". This will reveal all automation used in the project including the recent parameter you have written, and including automation on tracks that are not currently read enabled.

* FX Automation is of course only possible where such a facility has been provided for in the particular plug-in you are using. Not all FX can, or indeed warrant, being automated!