Basically, all I want to do is sidechain my bassline and/or my sample chops to the kick.

Here are the plugins I have tried - mu host is FL Studio

dbAudioware Sidechain
NI Supercharger
Fruity Limiter
LFO Tool
Nicky Romeros Kickstart



dbAudioware - is a fucking nightmare to work with...First, I have to set up TWO instances. One for the kick and one for the sample..then set the send/receive on each respective instance. (Whichever one is ducking is set to "receive")...The issue with this plugin is two fold. One, I can't draw in the curve, which is fine... I have no issue using the attack/release and threshold to get the desired result. But the fucking plugin only seems to work when it wants. It is VERY buggy.

NI SUpercharger - I have not been able to make this sidechain work at all...nothing. I set the sidechain on whichever track I need to duck in FL and...it just doesn't work. I honestly must say I hate this plugin. I really have no use for it, sidechain issues aside. There is very few options to tweak on this plugin as well. Or maybe I am just missing something in an awful way

Fruity Limiter - I have had relative success making this work as well, the best part is it operates as a true sidechain. But I just don't like the way the attack/release curves and/or how they behave on this plugin. I can get ALMOST to the pumping action I want. So close but...so....far.

One other thing about Fruity Limiter is that I don't have to rely on setting the plugin to steps/bars etc like in LFO Tool...it's a true sidechain.

Nicky Romero's Kickstart - You're confined to the provided curves, which I can live with. And it works...but this is like LFO Tool. I can't just sidechain my bassline to the kick. I have to put it on a the bassline or sample as an insert and that is too rigid.



LFOTool would be perfect but, my main issue is I don't use a step sequencer to program my kick. I play my kick unquantized and not to the grid. I wish there was a way I could really sidechain LFOTool...is anybody familiar with a workaround? I feel like I am overlooking something really simple.

 

Use fruity peak controller

if you want you can skype me, just send a message of your add and i can show you how to do it :D

 

That really sucks though... so much work.

OK, let me see if I can figure peak controller out. If not I will drop you a PM for sure.

 

TwistedLemon Sidekick 5

Its a quirky one but maybe it will work for you. I dont use it. I use LFOtool, it works the way i want it to. I am trying to get Nicky Romero Kickstart to work on OSX, with no luck so far.

 

Yes Twisted Lemon Sidekick 5 is nice. It makes doing group side chaining easy. It works in any DAW including ones that do not have the ability to side chain via internal signal routing. Check it out.

 

Also VolumeShaper 3 by CableGuys. They made the "KickStart" of Nicky Romero too, but VS3 is more tweakable, you have full controll over the shape and other parameters. If you want to don't sound that rigid, load an instance on a kick first (yes, on a kick) set the lfo speed on 1/4 or whatever speed it suits your project then draw a sidechain shape till you almost can't hear the kick at all(or whatever taste you may like for that effect) then save that instance as a preset, unload it from kick and load it just on the bass track. Now you got a custom shape which is perfectly shaped for the kick you used. Maybe you'll think it sounds like alot of work, but after you get started with VS3 you'll draw the shapes with a few clicks and hassle free. When it comes about kick & bass relation(or other similar sidechain tasks), i feel like i get the best sidechain effect for kick&bass fullness using this plug because i can watch exactly what's going on through that grid display(which looks similar to s(M)exoscope visually) then draw the shapes accordingly.

 

Gross Beat has got Sidechaining curve in it, check it out

 

http://www.twistedlemon.nl/ >> Sidekick as mentioned before.

It internally re-routes Audio and creates sidechains. U need to insert it on the Trigger Source/Key Signal (aka the Kickdrum) and on the insert of the signal you want to duck/compress. And in Kickstart you need to select a channel and set one instance up to "receive" audio and one to "send" audio. That's basically it. I used it in Maschine v. 1 and it worked.

Volumeshaper might be a nice workaround too. Although it is not real sidechaining, a good volume envelope should do the trick too. Because a classic compressor sidechain really does nothing more than creating a volume envelope anyway.

Much luck

 

well i'm on logic and when it comes to simple ducking i prefer the fabfilter babies (pro C and the beloved pro MB). I have the Vengeance Multiband Sidechain too but rarely use it these days. But when the goal is to separate f.e. the deep kick and the subbass 100% accurate,to prevent them from distorting each other, nothing is better than the Cableguys Volumeshaper. I use it on both, the kick and the bass to know exactly, visually, when the kick ends and the sub has to start. It's matchless

 

I first made my own Logic compressor / Waves RComp sidechain presets (as a starting point) but since I use Kickstart I only use them beneath a reverb or delay triggered by the original sound. So for me Kickstart works great and there's still enough to tweak. In the beginning I had my doubts too but I'm satisfied with the results now and it does what it must do in a blink. *yes*

 

In Reaper it's a piece of piss, I got it working in 2 minutes!

 

I use LFO Tool, you can try Kjaerhus Audio Golden Audio Gate GAG-1 v1.02 or Sonalksis SV-719 Mono Gate SC, can make sidechain (ducking) via midi notes.

 

Here you go!

Sidechaining made eay on FL Studio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mFu6UYTDhM

And I actually use Ableton now, but really did like FL. Check out this website if you have any other problems with certain things. It's has all kinds of tutorials for FL Studio. http://howtomakeelectronicmusic.com/

 

Stick with a compressor or in your case (Fruity Limiter). Pick a short kick (this is important, you don't want a long sustain)for your ghost kick or trigger. I see a lot of people just duplicate the same kick from their project. There's nothing wrong with this but find a good one (ghost kick) that works and use it across multiple projects. sidechaining is really not that complicated. I just takes practice like anything else! When you get good at it you will sidechain EVERYTHING. That's how you get you kick and snare to really cut through the mix. I would even explore Waves C6 multiband compressor for sidechaining. You can sidechain specific bands. You can definitely get creative and remember when you use sidechain, you're not always going for that "huge" pumping effect. Sometimes you can barely hear it so pay attention to the gain reduction meter. Check out this article it might just help you (same principles apply to fl studio):
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showwiki.php?title=Tips-and-Techniques:Compressor-sidechaining-for-dance-music

 

See, that's the thing. I don't make dance music, I make Hip Hop, so I DO make a lot of 4-on-the-floor drum sequences, however, I make lo-fi shit so I reallllly desire that "pumping" effect...even a really exaggerated pumping effect. So I am using the practice more for an effect than an actual mixing/dynamic application.

And as I mentioned before, I don't paint my drums in the sequencer or piano roll in FL. I play them live off the grid so it's really vital to have a setup where the bassline is ducking when keyed by the kick track. And since I play all my drum patterns new for each project, the cookie cutter ghost track for keying really doesn't work.

Fruity Limiter does work for this application pretty well...and I may stick with that. I have been toying around with Volumeshaper and I really like that as well but I have to shape the curve to each and every track I make because it is time-based and not a true sidechain.

But as far as the subtle, or pinpoint accurate ducking, I really should learn that too because it really just solve any mix issues with the kick and snare poking through. A lot of people think it's a cheap way to do it and it can be done with regular mixing practice or "fundamentals" but I haven't learned the bushido code of mixing and/or a way that gets the shit done better than sidechaining. So I appreciate the input. I should really develop this skill.

Fortunately for me, most of my mixes are not very busy anyway.

Great discussion BTW guys....

The Twisted Lemon plugin is pretty nice too...but super ugly.

 

why should he have to pick a kick for the ghostkick ? if he wants something short, he can take a closed hihat as well. Gives him better choice to play with the release of his fav comp to play with and to hear, which result sounds best for him. But if i said, for accurate control it is imho necessary to see what you do. Cableguys Volumeshaker is the far best choice for that. Kickstart (same company) is just a cheap imitation and you must be very very lucky to achieve a real goal with it. I have it and i never ues it. I am not really in love with my vengeance multiband sidechain but even that guy blows kickstart out of the water

 

Volumeshaper is really good...after using it, yea, I totally see how the Nicky Romero plugin was just target marketing