make music now Sidechaining
Sidechain reaction
On the DVD
TUTORIAL FILES
To hear some examples of
these techniques in action,
head to the Tutorial Files
folder of the DVD-ROM
068 | COMPUTER MUSIC JULY 2005 TUTORIAL
So many techniques, so little time. Here's one less to
worry about as we demystify the art of sidechaining
C
omputer music can be something
of a technological bulldozer –
powering forwards, razing old
technology to the ground as it goes.
The shift from analogue to digital
has been swift and decisive but, in
most cases, the positive aspects of the
analogue studio have been migrated to
the virtual one.
Countless plug-ins are available
these days, and they can perform just
about any task that a piece of studio
hardware can. It’s all about the sound,
though, and in the endless quest to get
the sought-after analogue sound in
software, developers have employed
increasingly clever techniques to
emulate real-world bits of kit –
especially the rare and expensive ones.
Such attention to detail continues to
improve the quality and flexibility of the
tools we have to work with. But you
have to understand what a feature’s for
in order to be able to use it.
In this tutorial, we’re going to take a
look at sidechaining and its different
uses. Sidechains or Key Ins are found
on pretty much any hardware dynamics
processor worth its salt. They’re a
means of controlling the processor
using an external audio source, and
they can be used in numerous ways.
To make life easier for us, plug-in
developers sometimes incorporate
automated sidechain functions, while
others provide true simulations of the
hardware sidechain.
Here we’re going to look at how you
can make use of the latter. We’ll start by
showing you how to route audio to the
sidechain and go on to describe some
of the different engineering techniques
and effects that can be produced once
you’ve done it.
We’ll also look at the operation and
routing configuration behind the
technology, guide you step-by-step
through four classic sidechaining
techniques, and point you in the
direction of a few good plug-ins with
dedicated sidechains. cm
 Sidechaining make music
Q&A focus
now

How it works
The ins and outs of the sidechain

S
idechains can be found on both
compressor/limiters and gates.
Developed in the days of purely
analogue processing, sidechain
circuitry allows you to control the
behaviour of a dynamics processor.
Two different audio sources are sent
to the processor. One is the audio on
which the processor is going to operate
– this goes to the input. The other is the
signal that determines when (and
sometimes how) the processor operates
on the input audio – this is applied to
the sidechain return and may originate
from the sidechain send.
The sidechain signal can either be a
processed copy of the input signal
originating from the sidechain return
(true sidechaining) or can originate from
a completely different source. Which
you choose depends on the effect you
want to create.
To create frequency-dependent
compression – by patching an EQ unit
into the sidechain – a copy of the input
signal must be used. This is a technique
employed to reduce sibilance in vocals.
However, when it comes to ducking
and creative gating techniques,
completely different audio sources must
be used. We’ll be looking at all of
these methods in more detail a little
later on in this tutorial.
Sidechaining is a fairly advanced
engineering technique. It’s also a bit of
an effort to program, and consequently
many plug-in developers omit such
functionality. However, there are still
several options available to us, a few
of which are shown below.

So how does a sidechain work then? Four sidechaining plug-ins

It’s really quite simple. The audio is first
of all sent into the dynamics processor.
Then, before the signal is processed in
any way, it’s split into two. One branch
goes on to be processed and the other is
routed to the sidechain send. The
EQ (OR
OTHER
INSERT)
sidechain return is linked directly into the
dynamics processing unit. By inserting
Waves C1
some means of processing into the
sidechain, it’s possible to manipulate the $200
way in which the compressor responds.
See, we told you it was easy! The Waves C1 provides
compression and gating. The
plug-in is capable of applying
two frequency-selective
processes simultaneously
and features a sidechain
listen button.
www.waves.com

Kjaerhus GUP-1
$88
Kjaerhus’ Golden Uni Pressor
SEND RETURN is the latest addition to their
Golden range of plug-ins.
The sidechain has low- and
high-pass filters for
frequency selection, and a
listen button.
www.kjaerhusaudio.com

Reason MClass Compressor

DYNAMICS
PROCESSING Propellerheads Reason 3.0 £329
INPUT OUTPUT

Part of the new MClass true sidechain input, giving

mastering suite, the you complete control over
MClass Compressor differs what signal you use.
from others by providing a www.propellerheads.se

Apple Logic Pro Gate

Apple Logic Pro 7 £699
Shipping as part of Apple’s
Logic, this is one of very
gate plug-ins around that
comes with a sidechain
(courtesy of Logic’s general
architecture). It’s also very
easy to use.
www.apple.com

TUTORIAL JULY 2005 COMPUTER MUSIC | 069

make music now Sidechaining

Compression sidechaining
Compressor sidechains can be used for both creative
and purely practical effects. Here’s how…

T
wo of the most useful
applications you’ll find for
compressor sidechains are
ducking and de-essing.
Ducking involves dropping the level
of one signal to allow another to be
heard more clearly. The most common
use is to help a kick drum cut through
a heavy bassline that’s masking it. By
running the bassline through the
compressor and using a copy of the
kick drum track to trigger the
compression via the sidechain, the
bassline is compressed every time the
kick drum sounds. Not only does this
allow the kick drum to break through
and be heard, but it also helps meld
the two together.
Another popular use for ducking is
in voice-overs, dropping the level of
background music whenever the
speaker begins to talk.
De-essing (the process of reducing
the level of sibilant sounds in a vocal)
can be described as frequency-
dependent compression. By sending a
copy of the input signal through an EQ
unit into the sidechain return, the
compressor can be triggered by specific
frequencies in the signal. For vocals, this
range is between around 2-8kHz.
The EQ unit is used to exaggerate
the offending frequencies so that when
they occur the compression is triggered.
It’s also useful for cutting frequencies
that you don’t want to compress.

STEP BY STEP Ducking

1 2 3
We’re using Reason. We’ve created a ReDrum to provide Patch the output from the synth into the input of the Turn the S1 send amount on the kick drum channel
the drums, a Subtractor synth for the bassline, and the compressor, and the output of the compressor into an fully up. Set the compressor to a fairly high Ratio (we’ve
new MClass compressor. We’ve programmed a four-to- audio channel in the mixer. Connect the main outputs gone for infinity to illustrate the effect) and a low
the-floor kick drum into ReDrum and a sustained bass note from the drum machine to a channel in the mixer and Send Threshold. Use a fast Attack and a relatively quick Release.
into Subtractor, using the Bd_Blockrock Kick and Mitsubishi Out 1 to the Sidechain In on the Compressor. >> Hit play and alternate between bypassing and activating the
bass patches, respectively. >> compressor to hear the effect.

STEP BY STEP De-essing

1 2 3
Create an NN-XT sampler, an MClass compressor and a Connect the output of the sampler to the input of the Turn the auxiliary 1 send level on the sampler’s mixer
PEQ-2 parametric EQ. Load a vocal sample containing compressor, and the output of the compressor to an channel up to full. Using the EQ, create a peak in the
plenty of sibilant sounds into the sampler. If you don't audio channel on the mixer. Connect the first auxiliary 2-8kHz frequency range. Set the compressor to a
have one to hand, we’ve included one on the cover DVD for send from the mixer to the EQ input, and the EQ output to the medium Ratio and fast Attack and Release. The sibilance
you to use. >> sidechain input on the compressor. >> should now be less pronounced.

070 | COMPUTER MUSIC JULY 2005 TUTORIAL

 Sidechaining make music
Q&A focus
now

Creative gating with sidechains

Shut the door on unruly drums and open the gate to perfect
pads with these effective gating techniques

G
ate plug-ins with sidechain
functionality are harder to come
by than their compressor
counterparts, but they do exist and can
be put to great use.
Gate sidechains operate in the
same way as those in compressors. The
signal to be gated is applied to the
processor’s input, and the signal
controlling when the gating occurs is
applied to the sidechain.
Of the several uses for sidechaining
gates, one of the most handy is for
tightening up the timing of instruments
to align with drum tracks. The classic
example is when a bassist’s playing is
slightly premature, which can easily be
fixed using a sidechained gate.
By feeding the bass through the gate
and a copy of the drums through the
sidechain, the gate can be set up to
open only when the drums play. By
inserting an EQ into the sidechain path,
or using sidechain filters, the response
can be tuned to a particular drum –
most often the kick. This technique can
also be used to revitalise basslines.
Aside from corrective engineering,
there are some more creative uses for
gate sidechains too. Excellent staccato
pad effects can be achieved by feeding
a long sustained sound through the
gate and a rhythmic sound through the
sidechain. This doesn’t have to be the
drums from the track but those are
obviously a good place to start.

STEP BY STEP Tightening a loose groove

1 2 3
To begin with, in Logic Pro 7 we have a drum track – We’ve inserted a gate onto the bassline channel and We’ve created a new audio track and copied the drums
comprising kick, snare and hi-hats – and rather a busy routed the drums to its sidechain. Using the sidechain onto it. Using the scissors tool we’ve isolated all of the
bassline. What we want to do is sidechain the gate so filters, we’re going to isolate the kick drum. By clicking kick drum hits and then routed this new kicks-only
that it only opens when the kick drum is played – effectively on the Monitor button we can listen to the sidechain input. channel to the sidechain instead of the original drum track.
creating a new bassline from our original one. >> But there’s a problem, we can’t isolate the kick from the snare We’ve muted the audio on the kick track and set the A, H and
– so we’ll take a different tack. >> R values of the gate to get the sound we want.

STEP BY STEP Gating a pad sound

1 2
We’ve opened Logic Pro’s ES2 synth, selected the Dark We’ve inserted a gate into the synth channel and
Pad preset and drawn in a long note. Next we’ve assigned the hi-hat to its sidechain input (by calling up
imported a hi-hat loop, which we’re going to use to the above menu from the Sidechain button at the top
open and close a gate on the synth. >> right of the gate’s interface). Then we’ve muted the hi-hat at
the mixer. Don’t mute the hi-hat track in the arrange page, as
this will kill the input to the sidechain. >>
3
The final stage is to adjust the attack and release
parameters so that the pad sounds the way we want.
The best way to do this is to hit play and experiment.
It’s possible to create a similar effect by cutting up the loop,
however you don’t get the same control over the envelope
functions as you do when using a gate.

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