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How to Automate Plugins in Logic Pro (The 04Riley Way)
“Make your plugins remember what you did.” Kansas City rapper 04Riley on Logic Pro automation, Remix FX, Touch mode, and the bounce in place fix, in 90 seconds.
By Ty McDuffey · The Duff Radio Dispatch · August 16, 2026
04Riley makes records fast, and part of that speed is that he lets Logic Pro do the remembering. This is a ninety second cut of a longer breakdown he shot for Duff Radio on how he automates plugins: turn automation on, pick the plugin, set the mode to Touch, press play, and let Logic write down every move you make. His words: “I just want to spread the sauce.”
The video is a step by step. The notes below cover the same ground in text, plus the one question everybody hits at the end.
The notes
Logic Pro automation, step by step
Everything below is what he does on screen. Same steps in Logic Pro 11 and Logic Pro 12.
How do you turn automation on and off in Logic Pro?
Press A. That is the whole trick. The A key toggles the automation lanes in the Tracks area, so every track shows a second strip under it where the automation gets drawn. Press A again to hide it. Riley opens with this because it is the step people forget, and without it nothing else in the video is visible.
Which plugin is he automating?
Logic’s stock Remix FX. Nothing to buy. Remix FX is the pad with the filter (Cutoff and Resonance) and the gater strip, and it is built for exactly this: performance style moves on a section of a song. In the automation lane header, you pick the plugin, then the parameter inside it you want Logic to record. Riley points it at the Remix FX filter on a vocal section.
What is Touch mode, and why does he use it?
Automation modes tell Logic what to do with your hand movements. Touch means: the moment you press play and start moving a control, Logic writes those moves into the lane, and when you let go it stops. That is why Riley calls it the easiest way to make a plugin remember what you did. Press play, perform the filter sweep on the pad, and it is saved.
The catch he calls out on camera: as soon as you are done performing, turn Touch back off. If you leave it on, the next time you press play and brush a control, Logic will happily write over the automation you just made.
Why does the automation keep going after the section?
This is the part most tutorials skip and the part he actually hits. Plugin automation is written to the track, not to the region, so an effect you performed on eight bars can keep affecting whatever comes after those eight bars. His fix is the pragmatic one: Bounce in Place. Bouncing the region prints the effect into the audio, so the automation is baked in and the plugin can be cleared. His words: “Good luck with the extra noises it leaves you with. And maybe try bouncing it in place.”
The quick recap, in his order
- Press A to show automation.
- Pick the plugin and the parameter (Remix FX, filter).
- Set the mode to Touch.
- Press play and perform the move. Logic remembers it.
- Turn Touch off so it stops writing.
- If it keeps going past the section, Bounce in Place.
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Who this is
04Riley, formerly Riley Macc
Independent hip hop artist out of Kansas City, Missouri. Featured on every Duff Radio Mixtape volume, drops new music every week, and just spent a weekend at Lake of the Ozarks cutting three songs from scratch with Duff Radio. If you have been searching for Riley Macc, this is him. If he teaches you something else next, it lands here first.