DAW guides / Ableton Live

AutoChain in Ableton Live

Route your kick drum into AutoChain’s sidechain input so the plugin can duck and carve your bass in time with the beat.

1. 01

   Load AutoChain on the bass track

   Select the track that holds your bass or 808. Open Device View by clicking the bottom section of the screen or pressing Shift+Tab. Drag AutoChain from the Browser (Plug-Ins > VST3 > AutoChain) onto the track, or search for it using Ctrl+F (Windows) or Cmd+F (Mac) in the Browser.

2. 02

   Enable the sidechain input

   On the AutoChain device, click the small triangle toggle on the left side of the header bar to expand the sidechain section. Click the Sidechain button to enable it. Two dropdown menus appear: the first selects the source track, and the second selects the tap point (Pre FX, Post FX, or Post Mixer).

3. 03

   Select the kick as the sidechain source

   Click the first dropdown (labeled Audio From) and select your kick drum track. If your kick is inside a Drum Rack, select the Drum Rack track and then select the specific pad output in the second dropdown. Leave the tap point at Post FX unless you have a specific reason to change it.

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