Kick & bass

Psytrance Sidechain: Duck Only the Sub

By Psiger · Updated July 2026

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Sidechaining is where a lot of psytrance low ends go wrong. Duck the whole bass and you hollow it out and kill the groove. The trick is to duck only the sub, only where the kick lands, with a smooth curve.

Grab the free preset and set your kick and bass up so they punch together instead of fighting.

Key takeaways

Do not sidechain the whole bass. Duck only the low band, below about 120 Hz.
Only duck where the kick actually lands on an overlapping bass note.
Use a smooth volume-shaper curve that matches the kick shape, not a hard gate.
The mid-range of the bass keeps breathing, so the groove stays alive.
Check on a correlation meter, but trust your ears on monitors over the meter.

Why full sidechain hollows the bass

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Ableton bass channel showing a heavy sidechain pump — Ducking the whole bass kills the groove.

The classic mistake is dropping a compressor on the whole bass and ducking everything when the kick hits. It pumps, and it scoops out the mid-range that gives the bass its body. The groove dies. You want the kick to punch through without gutting the bass.

Duck only the sub

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A volume shaper ducking only the low band under the kick — Split off the low band and duck just that.

Instead, target only the low band, below about 120 Hz, and duck just that where the kick lands. A volume shaper or a multiband tool does this cleanly. The sub gets out of the way for the kick transient, and the mids of the bass keep playing, so the low end stays full.

Shape the curve

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Shaping the sidechain volume curve to the kick — A smooth curve, matched to the kick, beats a hard gate.

Draw a smooth curve that matches the shape of the kick, rather than a hard on/off gate. And only trigger it where the kick actually overlaps a bass note. Check the result on a correlation meter, but in the end trust your ears on monitors.

Common questions

Psytrance production FAQ

How do I sidechain a psytrance bass properly?

Duck only the sub, below roughly 120 Hz, and only where the kick lands on an overlapping bass note, using a smooth volume-shaper curve rather than a hard gate. That gives the kick its punch while the mid-range of the bass keeps breathing.

Why does my bass sound hollow after sidechaining?

Because you are ducking the whole bass, not just the sub. When you scoop the mid-range every time the kick hits, the bass loses its body and pumps. Split off the low band and duck only that.

Should I use a compressor or a volume shaper for sidechain?

A volume shaper gives you far more control. You can draw the exact curve, match it to the kick shape and apply it only to the sub band. A compressor pumps the whole signal and is harder to tame.

Do I sidechain on every bass note?

Only where the kick and bass overlap. If a bass note falls between kicks, there is nothing to duck. Triggering the ducking everywhere just thins the groove for no reason.