Now that we understand these principles, let’s look at how it’s implemented in Logic. Applying greater amount of compression creates more ‘pumping’, while the compressor’s release time dictates the movements (quick or slow) of the pumping effect. The result creates a unique pumping effect, where the presence of the kick attenuates the rest of the track.
The classic contemporary examples of sidechain would be the aforementioned French-style EDM compression, where a kick drum is fed to the sidechain input of a compressor, while the rest of the mix (or a large proportion of it) is fed through the main inputs. The key point to note is that signal processors like compressors and gates have both an audio input – which was used as the input for the signal need to be processed – and a so-called ‘Sidechain’ or ‘External Key’ input that allowed the engineer direct access to the ‘listening’ circuitry.Īs such, this meant there could be a distinction between the signal being processed and the signal being used to drive the signal processor like a compressor. Sidechaining as a technique that originates from the days of dedicated studio hardware, where a device would have multiple inputs (more on this in a bit) and engineers had complete flexibility in respect to how they routed a signal around the studio. In this workshop, we take a look at both the practicalities of setting up a sidechain in Logic Pro X, as well as exploring some of the key techniques and approaches used in music production. In the case of Logic Pro X, you’ll find a large number of plug-ins that support sidechaining, but what can you expect to achieve and how do you configure and route signals in your mix to make best use of sidechaining?
However, while most of us have heard about the concept, things can get confused when it comes to implementing it in your DAW. From French-style EDM compression, through to de-essing and chopped-up synth pads, there’s a range of creative signal-processing techniques powered by sidechaining.