Side-Chaining Made Easy

Many side-chain compressor simulation effects today offer the benefits of side-chaining without compression. You can hear this effect on almost every top charting dance track today. Producers apply it to multiple instruments, drums, vocals, and nearly every element in the mix.  

Try Out the LFO Tool by Xfer

In recent years, we have witnessed the emergence of effects that significantly eased up this process by avoiding parameters found in compressors like threshold, attack, release, and sometimes complex routing of the impact. One of those software plugins not just reserved for a simple side-chaining effect but offers a variety of options for further processing of the signal is, without any doubt, the LFO Tool by Xfer. So, in the following tutorial, I will go through its essential functions and show you what this plugin is capable of.   I have made a short Progressive Techno pattern In Soundbridge, which contains essential elements like a kick drum, hi-hat, snare drum, chord sequence, and bassline.  

 

Let's Start Side-Chaining

In the first place, I will apply the LFO Tool plugin on the bassline. I want to achieve that side-chaining effect. Upon opening its interface, we see an envelope part in the center. You can assign the envelope not just on volume but also on filter cutoff, resonance, panning, and just about any other parameter available for control. You can create many envelope points to develop complex envelope shapes. However, for this purpose, I will lower the attack point by dragging it down and making a short and smooth edge on the release point to avoid the cracking sound at the end of the loop. Let's hear how the bassline sounds before and after applying the effect with the kick drum.  

 

~Bassline - Unprocessed

~Bassline - Processed with LFO Tool  

Also, you can try placing the LFO Tool onto the Rhythm Group. Consequently, you can make a complex envelope sequence, affecting the filter cutoff and the resonance. I will automate the filter cutoff parameter to make it more interesting. Let's hear how that sounds, the first solo and then with other mix elements.  

 

~Rhythm Group - Processed with LFO Tool

~Full Mix