I can’t over-emphasize the importance of being able to temporarily, on the fly, suspend a channel’s automation playback.  The new version allows you to select up to 2 channels (perfect for linked channels) and have automation ignore any changes applied to those channels.  The rest of the mix will faithfully play back while the selected channel(s) will not.  This is an excellent solution for dropping in new performance tracks while listening to the mix in order to see how the new tracks fit with the established mix.

But it’s very useful for doing “what-if” type experiments before committing to Write mode. The most important aspect in this regard is that you can try those what-ifs and not have to erase what you have already automated.  Several times I wasn’t sure if what I had written to automation was actually the best I could get.  I wanted to try some other moves and the only way I could get that to happen was to use Channel Eraser to clean out the automation on those tracks.  After all was said and done, I realized that my original moves were what the mix needed.  Fortunately I was able to recover by simply re-loading the mix from the saved file.  However, with the new Automation Suspend mode, you can do non-destructive experiments on up to 2 channels and not have to erase anything. Also, you can turn Automaton Suspend on and off at will so you can instantly revert to automation and hear the mix as-is.

Here’s how: Before you use Channel Eraser to re-write automation, practice those moves using Automation Suspend until you get it just right. Then change to Channel Eraser mode and do the exact moves you’ve practiced.

Remember, like Channel Eraser it also works on DCAs, meaning that you aren’t really limited to 2 audio paths but you can edit/suspend automation on up to 2 DCAs and subsequently any audio channels under their control.