Free sidechain plugin: pump to the grid or to your kick
Sidechain pumping turns a sound down every time the kick hits and lets it swell back in between. You can get it from a compressor keyed by the kick, or from a ducker that follows the tempo. Here's how both work and how to do it for free.
COLONY: the free multi-effect plugin from 13x Audio
Add warmth, width, space and movement to drums, keys, bass and loops — six effects in one plugin, moved together by one ENERGY knob.
What sidechain pumping does
The kick and the bass, pads or chords fight for the same space. Ducking the other parts for a moment on every kick makes room for it, and the swell back in between becomes part of the groove - the breathing sound of house and electronic pop.
There are two ways to get it: a compressor whose sidechain input is fed by the kick, or a ducker that draws the same dip in time with the project's tempo.
Tempo-synced or kick-triggered?
Many tracks use both: a synced pump on the pads for the groove, a kick-triggered one on the bass so it never collides with an off-grid kick.
- Tempo-synced: no routing at all, perfectly regular, and it keeps pumping where the kick drops out. Good for pads, chords and four-on-the-floor.
- Kick-triggered: follows the real kick, fills and broken patterns included. It needs the kick sent to the plugin's sidechain input.
How to set the pump
Setting up the routing differs per DAW; see sidechaining in FL Studio and sidechaining in Ableton Live.
- Rate: a quarter note for four-on-the-floor; eighths for a busier, more nervous feel.
- Depth: enough to hear the breath, not so much that the part disappears on every beat.
- Attack and release: a fast attack ducks on the hit; the release or curve shape decides whether it swells back smoothly or snaps back.
- For a kick trigger, filter the sidechain signal so only the kick's body triggers the duck, not the hats.
The pump in COLONY
COLONY's PUMP Cell is a tempo-synced ducker with six styles: House, Deep, Garage (which adds a second duck on the off-beat), Tech, Bounce and Sidechain. With the Clock trigger it locks to your project's grid, so it works the moment you load it, with no routing.
Switch the trigger to Kick and PUMP listens to the plugin's sidechain input instead: each kick it detects there starts one duck, whose length you set with the rate. The Sidechain style follows the level of the sidechain signal, and high- and low-pass filters on the sidechain keep hats and rumble from triggering it. Without a sidechain signal, Kick falls back to the clock.
Rates go from a sixteenth to one bar, with Shape, Attack, Release, Hold, Swing and Phase to shape the curve. What it doesn't do: there's no drawable curve, no triplet rates, no multiband ducking and no MIDI trigger, and the deepest duck is about 30 dB.
Other free ways to sidechain
All free, as their makers list them (checked 2 October 2026). Some need an account or an email address to download. Without any extra plugin, your DAW's own compressor can do it too - see the FL Studio and Ableton guides linked above.
- Flux Mini 2 · Caelum AudioOfficial page ↗
A shape you draw modulates filter cutoff, resonance, volume and mix in time with the track; Caelum mentions sidechain-style use.
Free · needs a Caelum Audio account · Windows, macOS, iOS · VST3, AU, AAX - Compressor and Trance Gate (Kilohearts Essentials) · KiloheartsOfficial page ↗
Part of a free effects bundle: a compressor with a sidechain input for classic kick-keyed pumping, and a trance gate for rhythmic volume patterns.
Free with a Kilohearts account · Windows, macOS · VST2, VST3, AU, AAX - SideKick 2 · Rewired RecordsOfficial page ↗
A volume-shaping plugin for EDM-style sidechain pumping and trance-gate effects.
Free · Windows 64-bit only, VST3
COLONY: the free multi-effect plugin from 13x Audio
Add warmth, width, space and movement to drums, keys, bass and loops — six effects in one plugin, moved together by one ENERGY knob.
What is sidechain pumping?
Turning a sound down briefly on every kick and letting it swell back in between, either with a compressor keyed by the kick or with a ducker synced to the tempo. It makes room for the kick and adds groove.
Can I sidechain without routing?
Yes, with a tempo-synced ducker: it draws the dip in time with the project, so no kick has to be sent anywhere. COLONY's PUMP does this with its Clock trigger.
Does COLONY's PUMP need a sidechain input?
No. The Clock trigger needs nothing. The Kick trigger and the Sidechain style use the sidechain input; without a signal there, Kick falls back to the clock.
What rate should I use for house?
A quarter note, so the duck lands on every kick of a four-on-the-floor beat. Try eighths for a busier feel, or a garage-style second duck on the off-beat.