
Studio One V5 adds Event Gain Envelopes for audio, which joins Event Level Envelopes and Track Automation Envelopes. So, how do you choose the right tool for the right job? Let's use a paint brush analogy: Event Level Envelopes (ELE) are like broad brushes, Track Automation Envelopes (TAE) are medium brushes, and Event Gain Envelopes (EGE) are the fine-pointed brushes you use for detail work.
EVENT GAIN ENVELOPE BASICS
To work with EGEs, right-click on an audio Event (EGEs don't work with Instrument Tracks unless transformed to audio) and check the Gain Envelope box. Unchecking this show/hide function does not remove edits, it just hides the EGE.
The envelope will be visible on that Event and any copies of the Event.
Editing an Event's EGE makes the same edits in any copies.
If you don't want a copy to be affected, bounce it to itself before adding an envelope.
Editing an EGE is like editing a TAE: add nodes, bend curves, type in values, hover over the Event's upper quarter and drag up or down to alter the envelope gain over a selected range, etc.
Like TAE, if you move the Event, the EGE moves with it.
Next, let's turn our attention to which envelope type is best suited to particular use cases.
EVENT LEVEL ENVELOPE
Some people think the EGE replaces the ELE, but I think the ELE remains the fastest way to trim an Event's level-click and drag. This is particularly useful to change the response of subsequent level-sensitive processors, like compressors, amp sims, limiters, envelope followers, and so on. For details on this technique, check out the Friday Tip Yet Another Use for Event Envelopes. ELEs are also the quickest way to add a fade in or fade out to a group of multiple Events. For example, if you've split a series of vocal Events just before an inhale, it's easy to reduce the inhale on all Events simultaneously.
EVENT GAIN ENVELOPE
I've often mentioned that rather than use heavy compression on vocals, I instead adjust levels manually to even out variations, before applying a light amount of compression. This is covered in the Friday tip Better Vocals with Phrase-by-Phrase Normalization. While this technique is still fast and effective with ELEs, EGEs allow for much more detailed editing.
Figure 1: The EGE in the lower view has smoothed out level changes in the upper waveform.
In Fig. 1, the first waveform in the upper image would be difficult to level with an ELE. Splitting would likely cause some discontinuities, resulting in potential pops. Fixing this would then require crossfading across the split.
The EGE makes levelling much easier. Furthermore, selecting the Region containing the envelope allows using the Trim function to bring up the audio's overall level. (And before proceeding, it's time for a moment of levity: Microsoft Word automatically writes Alt Text to caption images based on pattern recognition. It determined that Fig. 1 was a picture containing water, outdoor, dog, lake. )
The EGE is also great for reducing levels of p-pops, manually editing ess sounds, reducing pick noise at the beginning of a guitar attack, minimizing the severity of inhales, and more. It can bring up the decay of a guitar note to provide a more consistent signal to a compression, create extremely precise fadeouts, and more. The bottom line is when you need detailed level control, EGE is the droid you're looking for.
TRACK AUTOMATION ENVELOPE
Prior to the addition of EGE, this was the preferred way to do what the EGE can do. However, there are three main drawbacks compared to the EGE.
The waveform graphic doesn't change to reflect level changes, whereas with the EGE, you can see how level change affect the waveform level.
Changes made to one Event aren't duplicated in other Events.
You've now dedicated the TAE to a specific function, so using it for traditional level automation can be more of a problem.
The latter showcases a major advantage of having multiple envelopes: the EGE and ELE can do detailed changes on specific Events, while the TAE does overall level changes for the track. For example, imagine if you had to use the EGE in Fig. 1 to create an overall level fade. It's doable, but would take a lot more work than just using a TAE to fade out over the duration of the clip.
FINAL COMMENTS
All these envelopes can exist concurrently. However, you may need to change the editing environment. For example, suppose you've added an EGE to an Event, and now you want to add an ELE. You can't do that while the Envelope Gain is showing, because Studio One assumes that any editing you want to do is to the Envelope Gain. So, uncheck the Envelope Gain box, and now you can use the ELE to change the level or fade. The waveform will reflect these changes, as well as any you added with the EGE.
Sometimes it's a toss-up as to which approach is best. To even out level variations in vocals, if it's mostly a question of changing the level of phrases, it's often easiest to split at the beginning and end of the phrase and alter the level with the ELE. But if you need to go granular with changing overbearing consonants, breath noises, mouth clicks, and the like, then the EGE is the way to go.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonics award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to ...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expanded its backstage communications and te...
28/05/2026
Company's VP Government and International to Address How Broadcasters Can Operationalize Advanced Emergency Information for NextGen TV
Digital Alert Syst...
28/05/2026
Radio BGM (https://radiobgm.org.uk/), Llanellis multiple-award-winning community and hospital radio station, has invested in a DHD SX2 audio mixing console and ...
28/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters as they enter a new broadcast age, Calrec announces an expansion to its ImPulseV...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
28/05/2026
Green Hippo, an ACT Entertainment brand, will pull back the curtain on the Estuary Series, a next-generation media control platform engineered for the scale, sp...
28/05/2026
First Hands-On Opportunity at Universal Studios Lot, June 5-6
Oberkochen, Germany, May 27, 2026 ZEISS is launching their new Panoptes 65 primes at Cine Gear ...
28/05/2026
Irvine, CA May 20, 2026 Wooden Camera today announced the release of new accessories for the Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive. The new lineup includes a redes...
28/05/2026
Six films, one unmissable collection. First Facts documentaries debut on 10 Stre...
28/05/2026
Emma Watkins brings all-new Emma's Dance Club to ABC Kids 28 May 2026
Emmas Dance Club. Image credit: Sarah Wilson.
The ABC, Screen Australia and Screen N...
28/05/2026
Cool Concentric Text for Cavalry
Simon Ubsdell May 27, 2026
0 Comments
In this tutorial I'll show you how to make this popular text effect that is...
28/05/2026
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Powers Cost-Efficient 24/7 Channel Origination and Direct-to-Consumer Delivery
SAN JOSE, Calif. - M...
28/05/2026
RT presents Wild Conamara, a two-part natural history documentary that brings a...
28/05/2026
License to stream, shaken and stirred.
GeForce NOW is dialing up the espionage with the launch of 007 First Light, letting members slip into James Bond's r...
28/05/2026
Robotics is entering a new phase: moving from controlled demos and scripted automation toward generalizable, reliable embodied autonomy in the real world.
At ...
28/05/2026
Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School awards doctoral degrees to 34th graduating class
May 21, 2026
Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School of ...
28/05/2026
Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu is named a Fellow of the Royal Society Yu is honored by the U.K.'s national academy of sciences for his work in synthet...
27/05/2026
Telestream has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Desbois, currently Teles...
27/05/2026
ESPN garnered 10 awards; NBC's Sunday Night Football received the Outstandin...
27/05/2026
Matrox Video is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of operations from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1976, the company has...
27/05/2026
Major League Baseball has announced a series of initiatives tied to America's Semiquincentennial, including a national marketing campaign, Fourth of July br...
27/05/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced that Brian Gross has joined the company as an Account Manager on its Audio team, based in the Burbank office. He will...
27/05/2026
Nielsen has released new research on soccer fandom ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2...
27/05/2026
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broad...
27/05/2026
FIFA's Oscar Sanchez gives a deeper look to how this tournament will be cove...
27/05/2026
The soon-to-be senior from Charlottesville is building her skills in replay, TD, and even creative content for HokieVision and its ACC Network productions
In t...
27/05/2026
FOX Sports' Mike Davies breaks down the vision for this summer's showcas...
27/05/2026
HBS's Paul King, FIFA's Oscar Sanchez preview how the masses at home wil...
27/05/2026
FOX's MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards...
27/05/2026
One of the most memorable Postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
27/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most decorated and most watched programs in the history of television. It added to its jam-packed trophy case on Tu...
27/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
27/05/2026
With the Opening Match just over two weeks away, the entire sports-production-te...
27/05/2026
Spotify already brings together listeners' favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks in one place. Now, we're trialing a new format that expands the cont...
27/05/2026
The best podcast moments deserve more than just a mental note. That's why today, we're making those moments easier to save and share with clips.
Whethe...
27/05/2026
On Purpose is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, known for conversat...