Skip to main content

​
The Problem with Traditional Sidechain

When a compressor needs to react to a kick drum, it has to:
  1. Detect the transient in the audio signal
  2. Look ahead to catch the attack
  3. Apply gain reduction
This lookahead adds delay. Some plugins compensate, but the fundamental problem remains: you’re reacting to audio that’s already happened.

​
Kern’s Approach: Clip-Based Triggering

Instead of analyzing audio, Kern uses clip start positions as triggers. Since clip positions are known ahead of time, there’s no detection delay. How it works:
  • Select any track as your trigger source
  • Kern reads the start position of each clip on that track
  • These positions become precise trigger points
Example: Your kick track has audio clips. Each clip starts exactly when the kick hits. Kern uses these clip start times to trigger your sidechain — the compressor reacts exactly on the beat.
This works with both MIDI and audio clips. For audio, clip starts are the triggers. For MIDI, note-on events are the triggers.

​
Three Sidechain Modes

​
Audio Mode

For plugins with native sidechain bus support:
  • Kern automatically detects plugins with multiple input buses
  • Route any track’s output to the sidechain input
  • Full audio signal as sidechain source
Use this when your plugin supports it and you need the actual audio signal (e.g., for frequency-dependent compression).

​
MIDI Trigger Mode

Triggers the plugin via MIDI events:
  • MIDI clips — note-on events trigger the sidechain
  • Audio clips — clip start positions are converted to MIDI triggers
  • Useful for gate effects, rhythmic processing

​
Impulse Mode

For plugins without any sidechain support: Instead of routing audio through a sidechain bus, Kern generates audio impulses and sends them to the plugin’s main input. Trigger sources:
  • MIDI clips — each note-on generates an impulse
  • Audio clips — each clip start generates an impulse
Impulse parameters:
  • Attack — impulse attack time (ms)
  • Decay — impulse decay time (ms)
  • Amplitude — impulse level
  • Gate Length — how long the impulse sustains
This lets you achieve sidechain effects with any compressor, gate, or dynamics processor — even ones with no sidechain input.

​
Latency Compensation

Kern automatically compensates for plugin latency:
  • Per-plugin latency tracking — reads reported latency from each AU
  • Path calculation — computes total latency for each signal path
  • Sidechain compensation — ensures sidechain signals arrive in sync
  • Automatic updates — recalculates when you add, remove, or reorder plugins