Ducker

In the desktop app. Ducker is a device of the desktop app, arriving in its beta; the web studio does not have it. The examples on this page are made with a reference version of the effect, applied to sound from the studio’s engine: they show what each control does, and the device itself may differ a little in character.

What it is for

The Ducker turns its track down for a moment whenever another track plays, and lets it come back up afterwards. The classic use is bass and kick: both live in the low end, and when they sound together neither is clear. With a Ducker on the bass listening to the kick, the bass steps aside for each hit and returns between them. The kick is heard, the bass is still there, and the low end is clean.

Other studios call this sidechain compression and ask you to route a signal into a compressor. Here it is one device: put it on the track that should make room, and choose the track it makes room for.

Reach for it when two parts fight in the same range at the same moment: see Two sounds can fight for the same place. Used strongly, it is also the pumping, breathing sound of dance music.

Listen to

The track that the Ducker listens to, chosen from the Listen to menu. Whenever that track sounds, this one is turned down. The Ducker hears it after its fader, so a muted or silent track ducks nothing.

A new Ducker listens to Nothing and leaves the sound as it is until you choose a track. If the track it listened to is deleted, the menu says A removed track and the Ducker stops ducking. Two tracks cannot listen to each other in a circle: the studio drops that connection and says so.

Amount

How far the track is turned down while the source plays, in decibels. A few dB clears the low end without anyone noticing. A large amount is heard as a rhythm of its own.

Release

How long the track takes to come back up after the source has gone quiet. Short, and the track returns at once, which is clean and tight. Long, and it swells back slowly. Set it by ear against the tempo, so that the track is back up just before the next hit.

The reduction meter

The meter at the top of the device shows how far the track is stepping aside at each moment, in decibels. It should jump on every hit of the track it listens to and return to zero before the next one. If it never moves, check Listen to: the Ducker may have nothing to listen to.