> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sidechain

> Lets one track control a plugin on another, through Audio, MIDI or Trigger Impulse. Open the plugin in the Plugin Strip, switch to its Sidechain tab, and pick a source track and a mode.

## Set up a sidechain

Click a plugin card in the [Plugin Strip](/sounds/plugin-strip.md) to expand it and switch to the **Sidechain** tab. Select the source track, such as the kick, then choose a mode.

## Fire triggers early

In MIDI or Trigger Impulse mode, drag the **Lookahead** slider to fire each event up to 15 ms early, ahead of the plugin's attack.

## Good to know

* **MIDI and Trigger Impulse have no detection delay.** They trigger from clip start positions and MIDI note-on events, which are known ahead of time.
* **Lookahead adds no latency.** It looks ahead in the timeline instead of delaying the audio.
* **The modes offered depend on the plugin and the source.** A plugin needs a sidechain input bus or MIDI input, and the source track type counts too.
* **For a plain volume duck, no plugin is needed.** [Ducking](/mix/ducking.md) explains the difference.
* **Assistants can route a sidechain too**, through the `plugin_configure` tool of the [MCP server](/assistants/capabilities.md).

> **Modes**
>
> | Mode | What reaches the plugin |
> | - | - |
> | **None** (default) | Nothing; the sidechain is off |
> | **Audio** | The source track's audio, on the plugin's sidechain input bus |
> | **MIDI** | MIDI note-on events at note and clip positions |
> | **Trigger Impulse** | Synthetic audio impulses at note and clip positions, on the plugin's sidechain bus |
>
> **Lookahead**: 0–15 ms, MIDI and Trigger Impulse only.


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