Sidechain pump
The sidechain pump, without the routing
Classic sidechain means sending your kick to a compressor on another track. Pump It! just dips the volume in time with your song, so you get the pump on any track in seconds.
How to get the sidechain pump
- Put the pump on what should duck: pads, chords, bass, a bus or the whole beat. Not on the kick itself.
- Set the rate to the kick: 1/4 for four-on-the-floor. In Pump It! it follows your DAW's tempo by itself.
- Pick a shape: a fast dip and slow rise for house and EDM, a gentler curve for a subtle groove.
- For bass, duck only the lows so the kick gets room while the bass stays audible on small speakers.
- If your kick pattern isn't steady, trigger the pump from MIDI: copy the kick's notes to Pump It!'s track.
Watch it explained: Kick and bass fighting? How to sidechain them
Hear Pump It!
What you get with Pump It!
- 10 ready-to-go presets, from Classic Pump to Triplet Bounce and Gate Stutter
- Draw your own shape: drag points, add them, bend the lines
- Locks to your DAW's tempo, from whole notes to 1/16 with dotted and triplet
- MIDI trigger: restart the pump on every note, e.g. from your kick pattern
- Pump the whole sound, only the lows (classic bass ducking) or only the highs
- Smooth control for click-free pumping
Questions
What is sidechain compression?
A compressor on one track (say, a pad) that listens to another track (the kick) and turns the pad down every time the kick hits. It makes room for the kick and gives the rhythmic pumping heard in house, EDM and pop.
Is a volume shaper as good as real sidechain?
For the pumping effect, yes, and it's tighter: the shape is exactly the same on every beat, with no attack or release settings to fight. Real sidechain is better when the kick pattern is irregular, which Pump It!'s MIDI trigger covers too.
Does it work in FL Studio?
Yes. Pump It! is a VST3 for FL Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One and Bitwig, and an AU for Logic and GarageBand, on Mac and Windows.
Should I sidechain the bass to the kick?
Usually yes, but only the low end: duck the lows so the kick's thump comes through, and leave the bass's upper harmonics alone so it still reads on phones.
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