Triggering a Compressor with Side-Chain Signals

Compression, expansion, or gating can be triggered by side-chain signals exceeding a specified threshold. This allows you to lower the volume of one audio signal every time another audio signal sets in.

Prerequisite

You have set up a project with a bass guitar and a bass drum track, for example, and you want to lower the bass guitar volume each time the bass drum hits.

Procedure

  1. Select the bass guitar track.
  2. In the Inspector, open the Inserts section.
  3. Click the first effect slot, and from the selector, select Dynamics > Compressor.
  4. On the effect control panel, make your effect settings, and click Activate/Deactivate Side-Chaining.
  5. On the effect control panel, click Set up Side-Chain Routing.
  6. Click Add Side-Chain Source, and select the bass drum track from the selector.
  7. Optional: Adjust the send level in the Level value field.

Result

You have connected the bass drum track side-chain to the Compressor on the destination track. The bass drum signal triggers the Compressor on the bass guitar track. When you now play back the project, the bass guitar is compressed whenever the signals on the bass drum track exceed the set threshold.