SideChains? what are they?
Hey guys whats up?
I just started producing messing around in FL studios. I’ve been watching some tutorials and i see alot of people side chaining sounds together? im somewhat confused on what this does. maybe its my untrained ears.
Can anyone give me a description of what it exactly does to the sound?
Creates space in your sound for the kick to come in
Generally, a sidechain is a compressor on one track, being triggered by another track.
So for example, you will have a compressor on your synth lead and a compressor on that track, but the compressor is triggered by the kick drum, or a separate track used just for triggering the compressor.
The most obvious song I have heard that has it is David Guetta’s Titanium. It has a very exaggerated side chaining effect at the drop.
Those are the basic ways, but you can get more creative, and side chain effects, for example a reverb tail or something.
Check out “One More Time” by Daft Punk.
It’s a good example of a side chain compressor affecting the horns when the kick drums sound.
It’s getting played out, that’s what it is 
(sorry, had to).
Alright thanks that titanium song really helped I knew exactly what to listen too. Is side chaining big for house and electro production? Or is it more on what the producer wants it to sound like?
Originally it was a way to get more volume out of songs, by ducking the rest of the song when the kick hits, you can raise the overall level of everything. Over time, it’s gotten to be something people do more for the aesthetic aspects, they like the way it can help a song pump and breath.
Its like anything though, do it right and it can sound great, do it even a little wrong and it just stands out and sounds tacked on. In a way that’s kind of what I was joking about when I said it sounds played out, too many people out there sort of doing it right, but not timing the attack and release of the compressor to move in time to the music.
So it ends up sounding a little “me too”, half assed and not really helping the music. Its an artistic call to make whether you like that sound or not, if you do, just make sure you understand as much about the technique as you can before you start sharing tracks using it.
Just my $0.02 though.
This song is the perfect example to me of side chaining gone completely wrong and used in excess to the detriment of the song. It kicks in at the chorus around 1:00. You don’t need to listen to anymore of the song after that…
I Agree. I use it all the time to allow the kik to come through but never as an effect or in an over exaggerated way - just to let the various elements sit well together. I think if you add something to your mix that is blatantly obvious then it needs to be reigned in a lot until you can barely hear it. Balance is the keyword.
4 cents.
It works VERY well in a club IMO.
I guess, but you could do that to any song then and get the same effect of “sounding good in a club” that’s pretty much one of the reasons its a dance music staple. If you actually listen to the song itself outside of a club, the side chaining sounds pretty awful. Its so incredibly choppy and basically gets you seasick trying to listen to it. As has been said in this thread already, the key is balance and i don’t think this song even comes close to that.
Maybe it was specifically written to only be a club banger…in fact it most certainly was, but IMO a well crafted song will sound good anywhere you listen to it, not just in a club.