The Myriad Forms of Sidechaining

It’s not just for ducking

In modern recording, sidechaining has become a prominent creative tool. In fact, today, the verb “sidechaining” is synonymous with “pumping a drone synth” in EDM circles. Of course, we also know that sidechain compression was a thing back in the “radio days.” Its most popular purpose was to duck (an automated drop in level) the music down when radio DJs talked on air.

The truth is that sidechaining has tons of possible uses beyond. So, let’s dig into this technique and explore its myriad forms. And yes, we’ll cover the popular ones, too.