See LFO Tool: https://www.xferrecords.com/products/lfotool

See LFO Tool: https://www.xferrecords.com/products/lfotool

Volume Shaper does the same thing as LFO tool.

any one know how its better? I'm thinking because using a compressor changes the sound a bit??

It's better because a compressor doesn't dip the sound to silence for that one little moment, though volume shaper does and that means your drums will cut through regardless of volume, that's all explained in the video.

I tend to do this as well. Either kickstart, LFO Tool or just simple volume automations / Velocity changes.

Why?
For me, I don't like to over compress. So within a project I may have: compressors on single inserts, compressors on groups of tracks, multiband compressors, other dynamics plugins & limiters and then compressors on the master - so everywhere is seeing a reduction in dynamic range and being compressed, therefore; since I am doing my compression elsewhere I don't also want my sidechain tool compressing the signal - for me it helps retain a little bit of dynamic range in your project. So in essence you are pulling a volume fader down and back up rather than squashing your actual source sound.
works for me.
That and these volume shaper plugins are super fast and easy to use.

Do any producers have an argument against using volume automation instead of compression. I remember doing this in some of my first projects before learning about compression. I also remember trying to use ADSR to create side chain effects. So, why shouldn't that be the case?  Is it mostly a work flow thing?

As long as you're happy with the result you're getting, either method is perfectly fine.

What sidechaining with a compressor can offer over simple volume automation/LFOs is the compression effect itself. As the threshold dips relative to the sidechain trigger, you are also engaging the relevant attack/release/volume ratio values on the compressor, which can be used to control how the sound comes back up above threshold. It can give you more control over exactly how you want a sidechained sound 'shaped' as well as just a change in volume. As mentioned below, though, it can result in an overcompressed and flattened out sound.

I also use volume automation in FL for sidechaining. It feels much more visual, and you can basically do anything with the volumes. When you use compression, I feel restricted to the drums.

Me too. Setting up the automation clips is probably as fast or faster than setting up a sidechain, and the level of control is superior.

There seems to be some misunderstanding here about what sidechain compression does. It literally does nothing more than adjust the volume of the signal. There is no sonic difference between a signal ducked with volume automation and a sidechain compressed one, as long as the envelopes are matched.