Delta Monitoring.
Delta monitoring lets you audition the difference between input and output.
Precision ducking, spectral shaping and sidechain ring modulation.
14-day free trial • macOS & Windows • VST3 / AU / AAX
SideKick - Volume Shaper & Spectral Ducking Plugin
Meet your new SideKick.
SideKick brings drawable volume envelopes, intelligent spectral ducking and sidechain ring modulation together in one plugin.
Get your kick and bass working together. Use your kick to drive precise volume ducking, target competing frequencies with spectral shaping, or explore sidechain ring modulation. Draw the envelope to shape how it reacts around each hit.
Try SideKick free for 14 days
See it in action
Video Walkthrough.
Fully drawable sidechain envelopes
Precision
envelope control.
Shape the exact sound you want to hear instead of fighting compressor settings. Add a node, bend a curve or draw freely.
- Add nodes, straight or curved lines and freehand drawing
- Snap nodes to grid
- Invert nodes by X and Y axes
- Rotate the envelope
- Apply smoothing to eliminate clicks
- Apply swing
Less reduction. More of your sound
Intelligent
spectral ducking.
SIDECHAIN → INVERSE EQ24 bands
30 Hz100 Hz1 kHz16 kHz
Input Signal Ducked Output
Make room for your kick while preserving the rest of the bass.
Your kick needs space, but that doesn’t mean your whole bass line needs to disappear. SideKick analyses the sidechain spectrum and builds a reversed EQ curve across 24 internal bands, reducing only the frequencies that compete.
Unlike conventional spectral sidechaining, SideKick’s envelope controls how much spectral ducking is applied over time. Keep the movement soft and transparent, or accentuate the shape when you want more pump.
Independent spectral attack and release controls let you fine-tune the response, while the envelope can control either spectral depth or traditional volume ducking after the spectral stage.
- 24-band inverse EQ follows the sidechain spectrum
- Shape spectral depth over time with the envelope
- Dial in transparent separation or a more pronounced pump
Let the low end breathe. Keep the top alive.
Multiband
processing.
Split the signal and give your low, mid and high bands their own envelope and intensity.
Duck only the sub frequencies while keeping your upper harmonics flowing freely. Link the envelopes when you want them to move as one.
- 20 Hz–20 kHz, 2 adjustable crossovers
- Zero-latency, minimum-phase Linkwitz–Riley crossover
- Optional Linear phase crossover
- 12 or 24 dB/octave slopes and individual band solo
- Can be combined with Spectral and Sidechain Ring Mod modes
This single plugin is going to replace my entire current ducking chain.
“It does everything, and in a really transparent way. Super useful!”
Mode Selection
Five different modes.
All in one plugin.
Sync to DAW, trigger from MIDI or Audio, or make use of our Spectral Ducking and Sidechain Ring Modulation.
Let kick and bass collide.
Sidechain
Ring Modulation.
SIGNAL MULTIPLICATIONRing Mod
Your source×Sidechain=New spectrum
Ring Mod multiplies your source by the sidechain signal, rapidly changing its spectral content while the kick is present. Unlike Spectral mode, it doesn’t selectively turn down competing frequencies—it creates new ones.
That speed can let your kick and bass play together without the obvious pump or volume dip of conventional sidechaining. The two sounds feel squeezed together while SideKick helps control the peak-level increase caused by their overlap.
Use the attack and release settings to smooth out colour and artifacts.
- Extremely fast response for overlapping kick and bass
- Control peak build-up without conventional pumping
- Use attack and release to balance speed against smoothness
It puts it in front of Trackspacer.
“I think the fact of having that much more control on the env of it puts it in front of Trackspacer in terms of kick and bass sidechaining.”
Move the duck. Keep the shape.
Quick shift
control.
Quick Shift lets you reposition the critical part of your duck in one move. Slide the bar to place the dip and recovery exactly where the groove needs them, without rebuilding the envelope node by node.
Edit the Quick Shift range and select the nodes you want grouped. Your custom selection then moves together whenever the timing needs a nudge.
Custom shapes
Turn audio into
your own envelope.
Record the incoming sidechain signal. SideKick captures its contour as an editable shape you can refine, save and reuse.
More Features
Mid/Side Processing.
Balance processing between Mid and Side, from the centre to the edges.
Waveform Display.
Main and external waveform overlays show how your signals interact.
Presets & Favourites.
Browse 100+ presets and keep your favourites close.
Grid, Snap & Swing.
Choose a grid from 1/2 to 1/64, snap nodes into place and add swing.
Undo & Redo.
Step backwards or forwards through edits without losing your flow.
One-shot or Loop.
Trigger the envelope once or loop it for continuous movement.
Sidechain Trigger Filter.
Set the frequency and bandwidth, then audition the filtered signal to isolate your trigger.
Linear Phase Crossover.
Optional linear phase crossovers in the multiband compressor.
Expanded View Mode.
Hides the sidebar to give an expanded view of the envelope.
It’s breathed new life into the art of sidechaining.
“SideKick is so fire. I use this tool every single day in the studio. It’s a sidechain Swiss army knife.”
Hear it for yourself.
Try SideKick free for 14 days.
Hear what SideKick can do in your own tracks. Explore the five modes, draw your own envelopes and find the space your mix needs.
The full experience. In your DAW for 14 days.
Testimonials
This single plugin is going to replace my entire current ducking chain. It does everything, and in a really transparent way. Super useful!
I think the fact of having that much more control on the env of it puts it in front of trackspacer in terms of kick and bass sidechaining
Sidekick is easily one of the most flexible sidechain tools I’ve used. Being able to go from traditional ducking to spectral or ring mod, with that much control, makes it incredibly powerful.
sidekick is so fire. i use this tool every single day in the studio and it's breathed new life into the art of sidechaining. It's a sidechain swiss army knife.
Sidekick is flexible, precise, and very straightforward to use. Everything I need is on one screen, and the UI is clear without unnecessary digging. I especially like how easily it connects with the SC Audio Trigger, since that’s the way I usually work with sidechain. It has become my go-to plugin for sidechain compression
SideKick is a great addition to my workflow. Super smooth sidechain/ducking with a simple and intuitive design. Being able to split the frequencies and dial in specific ducking is a great addition - as well as controlling the input via different signals. Perfect
The perfect accompaniment
KICK 3 + SideKick
Build your kick in KICK 3. Give it space with SideKick.
Sculpt the perfect kick, then use SideKick to give it room to breathe.
Explore KICK 3 →
Under the hood
Technical
Specifications.
Explore the engines and controls that make SideKick move.
Signal & compatibility
- Signal
- Mono or stereo main input/output; stereo sidechain input
- Formats
- VST3, AU, AAX
- macOS
- macOS 10.13 or later
- Windows
- Windows 8 or later
Envelope & triggering
- Cycle length
- 1/64 to 8 bars, including custom values
- Grid & swing
- 1/2–1/64, triplets; 8th/16th-note swing, 0–100%
- Automation
- 16 node X/Y pairs per envelope
- Audio trigger
- Threshold −60–0 dB; hysteresis 0–30 dB; hold 1–500 ms
- Playback
- One-shot or loop in triggered modes
Spectral engine & MULTI
- Spectral bands
- 24, logarithmically spaced
- Attack / release
- 0.1–100 ms / 1–700 ms
- Depth
- 0–100%
- Lookahead
- Approximately 5 ms, reported to the host for delay compensation
- MULTI crossover
- Zero-latency, minimum-phase Linkwitz–Riley crossover with selectable 12 or 24 dB/octave slopes. Plus optional linear phase crossover.
Ring Mod engine
- Sidechain gain
- −6 to +60 dB
- Attack/lookahead
- 0–10 ms
- Hold / release
- 0–250 ms / 0–500 ms
- Mix
- 0–100%
- Base lookahead
- Approximately 10 ms
- Envelope target
- Ring Mod amount or volume ducking
- Trigger
- Host sync or detected sidechain transient
Workflow & shape management
- Shape library
- 16 user slots; Sidechain, Rhythmic and Simple factory categories
- Shape capture
- Audio-to-envelope generation and sidechain recording
- Exchange
- XML shape import/export
- Monitoring
- Mid/Side balance, delta monitoring, spectrum and waveform overlays
- Alignment
- Manual latency compensation: ±500 ms