Universal Sidechains
In multi-track audio applications, side-chaining is a powerful technique for controlling effects in one track using audio from a different track. It's easy to do this in hardware, so long as your effects have "side-chain" sockets. Unfortunately, there's no standard way to side-chain in software. Some audio software packages have native side-chain capability, some support side-chaining via "multiple input" plug-ins and complex signal routing, while others just don't support side-chains at all.
Universal Sidechains are db audioware's answer to the problem of side-chaining in software. Universal Sidechains are simple to use, and work in almost all host programs - even those that do not directly support side-chaining!***
How To Use Universal Sidechains
Universal Sidechains plug-ins are ready to go with the minimum number of mouse clicks. For example, here's how to use the Quantum FX SideDyn effect to do voice ducking:
| STEP 1 | Open one instance of SideDyn in the vocal track. Set the sidechain to "SEND". |
| STEP 2 | Open another instance of SideDyn in the music track. Set the sidechain to "RECEIVE". |
| STEP 3 | Choose the Voice Ducking preset in the RECEIVE plug-in, and tweak the threshold as needed. |
That's it - you don't even need to read your host software manual!
All Universal Sidechain effects work the same way: open two copies of the plug-in in your host software, select SEND in one and RECEIVE in the other. Think of it as connecting a "virtual patch cable" from the SEND plug-in to the RECEIVE plug-in.
You get a bit more control of Universal Sidechains in the dB-D Dynamics Processor. Simply select the same sidechain bus (A thru F) in matching SEND and RECEIVE plug-ins. This gives you up to six "virtual patch cables" at a time - more than enough side-chaining for most projects!
*** Universal Sidechains work with most multi-track audio software (supporting VST or Audio Units) currently available on PC Windows and Mac OS X. However, you should check that Universal Sidechains work correctly on your system before purchasing. Fully functional demo versions of all our products are available for this purpose.
