How to sidechain: Ableton, FL Studio and Logic

Sidechain compression turns a sound down every time the kick hits, so the kick cuts through and the bass, pads or chords pump around it. The idea is the same in every DAW: a compressor on the bass listens to the kick instead of to the bass.

How it works

You put a compressor on the track you want to duck (the bass, a pad, a reverb bus) and feed the kick into the compressor's sidechain input. Each kick pushes the compressor over its threshold, so the bass drops in volume for a moment and comes back before the next hit. The kick itself is not changed.

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Ableton Live

Put Live's Compressor on the bass track.
Open the sidechain section with the small arrow toggle in the Compressor's title bar.
Turn Sidechain on and choose the kick track under Audio From.
Lower the threshold until the gain reduction meter moves 3 to 8 dB on every kick.

FL Studio

Route the kick and the bass to their own mixer tracks.
Select the kick's mixer track. Right-click the routing arrow at the bottom of the bass's mixer track and choose Sidechain to this track.
Put Fruity Limiter on the bass's mixer track and switch it from LIMIT to COMP.
Set the SIDECHAIN knob to the kick's mixer track number, then lower the threshold until the bass ducks on every kick.

Fruity Compressor works too, with its own sidechain selector. Image-Line's manual notes that the sidechain options only appear once a sidechain route exists in the mixer, so do step 2 first.

Logic Pro

Put Logic's Compressor on the bass track.
Open the Side Chain menu in the header of the plug-in window and choose the kick track.
Lower the threshold and raise the ratio until the bass ducks on every kick.

The kick still plays through its own track as before. Apple's guide is clear that the sidechain signal only controls the compressor.

Settings that pump in time

Setting	Start here	Why
Ratio	4:1 or higher	High ratios give the clear duck dance music uses.
Attack	As fast as it goes (0 to 1 ms)	The bass should drop the moment the kick hits.
Release	About a quarter note minus a little	The bass comes back just before the next kick. At 125 BPM a quarter note is 480 ms, so try 150 to 300 ms and listen.
Gain reduction	3 to 8 dB	Less for a subtle mix, more for an obvious pump.

Use the BPM to ms calculator to get the note lengths for your tempo.

Common mistakes

Sidechaining everything. Duck the bass, pads and reverb, not the hats and percussion.
Release too long: the bass never comes back before the next kick, and the track loses weight.
A ghost kick you can hear. If you trigger the sidechain from a muted kick, send it only to the sidechain (in FL Studio, Sidechain to this track only) so it does not reach the master.
Forgetting the kick changes. When you swap kicks, check the gain reduction again.

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Questions

What is sidechain compression?

A compressor on one track that reacts to another track. In dance music it turns the bass or pads down each time the kick hits.

How do I sidechain in FL Studio?

Select the kick's mixer track, right-click the routing arrow of the bass track and choose Sidechain to this track. Then use Fruity Limiter in COMP mode on the bass and set its SIDECHAIN knob to the kick's track.

How do I sidechain in Ableton?

Put Compressor on the bass, open its sidechain section, turn Sidechain on and pick the kick under Audio From.

What release should I use for sidechain?

A bit less than a quarter note at your tempo, so the sound returns before the next kick. At 125 BPM, start around 150 to 300 ms.