Basically, what IS sidechaining?

[Sonika]

So lets start off saying that I've been producing for under a year. I'm a newbie.
Now that that's acknowledged, my question:
Many people have tried, and valiantly, to explain to me the theory of sidechaining and what it is.
I now know basically HOW to do it, but I don't really fully understand it.
None of the posts on here really explain it to me.
I know how to sidechain with compression, so that when a kick hits, my synth compresses, creating that pumping sound.
But when taken out of that context, I really don't fully undersand the concept of sidechaining.
Help?

[JTMMusicuk]

its basically automating an effect on an off using the volume signal from another track

[Sonika]

So when people say "I sidechained my sine to my kick" what effect would they typically be using?

[Sonika]

Also, is sidechaining the same as bussing, or is that something different?

[knobby_roots]

heres a song i made that has a lot of sidechain compression on it, just really helps bring out the punchiness of the kick when the bass ducks....http://soundcloud.com/knobby_roots/goin ... b-free-ass

[-[2]DAY_-]

its something completely different
and people saying " i sidechained my sine to my kick" aren't saying anything. It is totally non-specific, as sidechaining means routing a second audio signal into an effect to be used as a control signal. So unless you specify what effect is being applied to one signal and controlled by another, you might assume they mean sidechain compression
it could be a gate or expander too, which would basically have the opposite affect

It is mostly for dynamics control, but you might also be able to sidechain the wet/dry of a reverb, delay, vocoder, anything depending on the plugins' capabilities.

sidechain routing is not only for ducking bass/pads to kick. but there you go...

[Kaslo]

Sidechaining (usually) is shorthand for sidechain compression. A very brief explanation of what it does is that it takes the signal of another track and the compressor reacts to its amplitude content and throws the resulting compression onto the track that the compressor is on.

[deadly_habit]

see sig tune, that's sidechain compression, but yea loads of other effects have sidechain controls
basically sidechaining means that the level of one track is affecting the effect on another

[Warwolt]

The sidechain is actually one of the compressor-parts, like, one of the parts its built with. The sidechain is what the compressor listents to, which says how much it is supposed to lower the volume with, based on the volume of the signal in the sidechain. Usually the sidechain signal is the same as the dry signal, but we can change that signal to anything else.

What people mean when they (and I) say when they say "Sidechain the bass to the kick" is that you replace the signal determing the volume-reduction from the, say the bass if that is the instrument we have the compressor loaded to, to the kick. When the kick sends audio to the compressor, its going to lower the volume on the bass, depending on the volume of the kick. Lots of kick-volume, lots of bass-reduction.

Instead of a loud part of the bass getting turned down by the compressor, all of the bass gets turned down by the kick.

This, with moderate release (that is, the time the volume takes to get turned up after the kick has stopped sending signals to the compressor, as in, hen the kick is silent), gives that pumping feel.

[Sonika]

its something completely different
and people saying " i sidechained my sine to my kick" aren't saying anything. It is totally non-specific, as sidechaining means routing a second audio signal into an effect to be used as a control signal. So unless you specify what effect is being applied to one signal and controlled by another, you might assume they mean sidechain compression
it could be a gate or expander too, which would basically have the opposite affect

It is mostly for dynamics control, but you might also be able to sidechain the wet/dry of a reverb, delay, vocoder, anything depending on the plugins' capabilities.

sidechain routing is not only for ducking bass/pads to kick. but there you go...

So sidechaining is mostly used for compression, sometimes for expander, what else do people usually use bussing/sidechaining for?

[wub]

I do sidechained reverb quite a bit on my basslines - the longer you hold the note, the more reverb is applied.

[Sonika]

I do sidechained reverb quite a bit on my basslines - the longer you hold the note, the more reverb is applied.

But wouldn't that be weird cuz it only reverbs on the time that the kick or whatever hits, and then it stops reverbing again?

[wub]

I do sidechained reverb quite a bit on my basslines - the longer you hold the note, the more reverb is applied.

But wouldn't that be weird cuz it only reverbs on the time that the kick or whatever hits, and then it stops reverbing again?

No, the kick isn't the trigger for the reverb, the bassline is.

Whatever the bassline instrument is (say, for example 3xOsc in FL), the peak controller is on that as the trigger.

[Sonika]

So the bass is being reverbed by the peak controller??

[wub]

Yes - the longer you hold the note, the more reverb you get.

[Sonika]

Oh wow, it just clicked! I don't know why you had to type the exact same phrase a second time, but now I get it!
Alright, thanks!

[wub]

NP.


Also you could have a 4/4 patterned kick that is linked a white noise riser - as the filter is opened on the white noise, it'll 'pump' in and out as it builds. The kick itself isn't heard as it's silent via the mixer, however it is still sending a signal to trigger the sidechain.

[Sonika]

NP.


Also you could have a 4/4 patterned kick that is linked a white noise riser - as the filter is opened on the white noise, it'll 'pump' in and out as it builds. The kick itself isn't heard as it's silent via the mixer, however it is still sending a signal to trigger the sidechain.

Yes, I am actually doing exactly that in a song that I'm working on right now, except it's not a white noise riser, it's an actual bass phrase in the drop, but you can't hear the 4/4 kick because I set it to no output.

[wub]

NP.


Also you could have a 4/4 patterned kick that is linked a white noise riser - as the filter is opened on the white noise, it'll 'pump' in and out as it builds. The kick itself isn't heard as it's silent via the mixer, however it is still sending a signal to trigger the sidechain.

Yes, I am actually doing exactly that in a song that I'm working on right now, except it's not a white noise riser, it's an actual bass phrase in the drop, but you can't hear the 4/4 kick because I set it to no output.

If you've got a silent 4/4 kick running through the entire track, you can always have multiple triggers on it (for example, Peak Controller in FL), and have the levels set differently for each one so that you can have different 'settings' depending on what you're applying the effect to.

[Sonika]

That'd be helpful, I may want to play with that. Thanks wub