Anderton
Well, there are some advantages with either approach, but a lot of it comes down to personal preference. For example if I have a project with a lot of controllers, I prefer automation in track view because there no restrictions on height. But if I have only a few controllers, the PRV gives higher resolution...although most of the time that doesn't matter.
 
The bottom line for me is if the knob wiggles the same way on playback as it does when I moved it, I'm good.

OK understood.  I prefer CC data for the following reasons:
 
1.  Can be edited on a granular level in the event list
2.  Can be exported with the MIDI for use with other VST host apps (just need to write down the CC mappings)
3.   Can use CAL programs to fine tune the CC data
 
As far as the height of the automation lane, well that can be achieved in full screen PRV and expanding the controller region.
 
I thought maybe there was something I was missing with the whole synth rack automation, but it seems to have its limitations (my 3 items above).   
 
Thank you!

AdamGrossmanLG
OK understood.  I prefer CC data for the following reasons:
 
1.  Can be edited on a granular level in the event list

 
True, however the automation is almost treated like vector graphics, so you can have extremely precise curves. It's not granular in terms of control, but it's granular in the sense of smoothness.
 

As far as the height of the automation lane, well that can be achieved in full screen PRV and expanding the controller region.

 
Yes, but the more controllers you have, the narrower the strips get. So you need to hide some if you want to free up space. Again, a lot of which to use is situational and/or preferential compared to hard & fast rules.
 

Anderton

AdamGrossmanLG
OK understood.  I prefer CC data for the following reasons:
 
1.  Can be edited on a granular level in the event list

 
True, however the automation is almost treated like vector graphics, so you can have extremely precise curves. It's not granular in terms of control, but it's granular in the sense of smoothness.
 

As far as the height of the automation lane, well that can be achieved in full screen PRV and expanding the controller region.

 
Yes, but the more controllers you have, the narrower the strips get. So you need to hide some if you want to free up space. Again, a lot of which to use is situational and/or preferential compared to hard & fast rules.
 

 
Interesting point on #1...  I am not at my DAW right now, but can you not draw perfect lines and curves using the various draw tools such as the line tool or the sine wave tool to draw in custom CC values in the PRV if you want those precise curves?

I will have to play around later.   
 
Oh and very true about the CC track height.  The more you add, the shorter they get.   I will have to experiment.   

Thanks for the help!  It was much appreciated!
 
-Adam

AdamGrossmanLG
Interesting point on #1...  I am not at my DAW right now, but can you not draw perfect lines and curves using the various draw tools such as the line tool or the sine wave tool to draw in custom CC values in the PRV if you want those precise curves?

I will have to play around later.   
 
Oh and very true about the CC track height.  The more you add, the shorter they get.   I will have to experiment.   

Thanks for the help!  It was much appreciated!
 
-Adam

No problem, glad we got things sorted out. The cool part about the automation is you can determine the shape between any two nodes - linear, convex, concave, or jump. So you can build up some pretty sophisticated curves with less effort than trying to draw it.

Anderton

AdamGrossmanLG
Interesting point on #1...  I am not at my DAW right now, but can you not draw perfect lines and curves using the various draw tools such as the line tool or the sine wave tool to draw in custom CC values in the PRV if you want those precise curves?

I will have to play around later.   
 
Oh and very true about the CC track height.  The more you add, the shorter they get.   I will have to experiment.   

Thanks for the help!  It was much appreciated!
 
-Adam

No problem, glad we got things sorted out. The cool part about the automation is you can determine the shape between any two nodes - linear, convex, concave, or jump. So you can build up some pretty sophisticated curves with less effort than trying to draw it.

 

Anderton

AdamGrossmanLG
Interesting point on #1...  I am not at my DAW right now, but can you not draw perfect lines and curves using the various draw tools such as the line tool or the sine wave tool to draw in custom CC values in the PRV if you want those precise curves?

I will have to play around later.   
 
Oh and very true about the CC track height.  The more you add, the shorter they get.   I will have to experiment.   

Thanks for the help!  It was much appreciated!
 
-Adam

No problem, glad we got things sorted out. The cool part about the automation is you can determine the shape between any two nodes - linear, convex, concave, or jump. So you can build up some pretty sophisticated curves with less effort than trying to draw it.

likewise!  this thread feels better than some of our prior ones :)
 
Yes the automation I was playing around you can do some pretty interesting things with it... however I mostly adjust my parameters live by hand using a midi controller... therefore I think for me CC is best choice (simply because of the 3 reasons i gave before), however I now have another arsenal in my tool in case I need it.
 
Thanks again!
 
 

felt like coming back here to add that with the 2017.04 update, controller height in PRV is no longer an issue :)
 
I am still debating which is better, CC or Automation for synths though LOL.
 
 

AdamGrossmanLG 
I am still debating which is better, CC or Automation for synths though LOL.

 
Choose whichever is appropriate. For broad strokes, automation curves are faster, easily reassignable, etc. For extremely detailed work, CCs get the nod. I think there aren't many instances where it's necessary to use CCs in the PRV compared to using automation curves.