How to set up side-chain compression

How to set up a sidechain compression to trigger the bass guitar compression every time the kick-in drum plays a beat.

The idea is to turn the bass guitar down a fraction every time the kick-in drum plays a beat transient signal. This will help to hear the kick drum a little clearer in the mix. It only triggers for a split second, but it can help create some sonic room in the song titled Foolish 'Ole Me.

1. Insert a plug-in compressor into the bass guitar track.

2. Make sure the compressor has a sidechain so the bass guitar and kick drum tracks. can be routed together.

3. Create a send bus from the kick drum and allocate a bus number that is free.

4. Click the pre/post fader on. (it will light up blue)

5. Put the volume level on zero/unity. This will allow the kick drum signal to have some volume ready, but at the moment the signal hasn't got anywhere to route too.

6. Now on the bass guitar track, where you have already insert a plug-in compressor. In the key input box, assign the same bus number you had entered into the drum bus send fader.

7. Click on the side-chain symbol input and it should turn blue to indicate it is activated (turned on). Now you have routed the 2 tracks together.

Kick in drum signal sent from bus 5

And route into the Bass Guitar compressor.

Reference video:

Kick And Bass Sidechain: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix.

https://youtu.be/VR1tDwl0r5k

Reference

recordingrevolution. (2013, March 11). Kick And Bass Sidechain: 5 Minutes To A Better Mix. Retrieved November 16, 2019, from https://youtu.be/VR1tDwl0r5k.