From the source
Suno's guide explains sidechaining, the technique of using one signal's level to control another, and how to set it up in Suno Studio's browser-based compressor.
- Sidechaining dates back to early radio and film sound, where compressors were strapped to an announcer's mic output and fed a filtered copy of the same signal to trigger gain reduction only during sibilance.
- That practice, known as de-essing, later gave way to ducking, which lowers background music whenever a presenter speaks and is still used in radio stations today.
- Sidechain compression later came to define dance music, notably the French touch sound of Roulé records, Alan Braxe and early Daft Punk in the 90s and 2000s.
- Suno says Studio's compressor can sidechain like legacy DAWs such as Ableton Live, Logic Pro and Pro Tools, which it calls a huge deal for a browser-based tool.
- The walkthrough starts with a drum loop with a pronounced kick, adds a sustaining harmonic track, then selects the drum track under Sidechain and lowers the threshold until the drums audibly change the harmonic level.
- Producers can then tweak attack, release and ratio, and Suno suggests combining ghost triggers with audible tracks and multiple compressors on one track.
