Borrasca Sidechainer 1.5

Borrasca Sidechainer 1.5 is a ducking Max for Live device.

Features

• Transient- and MIDI triggered envelope generator, envelope follower, and RM sidechaining

• 1-10ms pre-fade before transients, 10ms lookahead

• Envelopes trigger sample-accurately because all processing is written inside the gen~ environment in Max

• Envelope follower is specifically tuned/smoothed to be used for ducking. The prefade + hold can also be enabled for the envelope follower from the green "Pre-fade" button. The length can be made shorter via transient detection with the "Env Length" knob.

• RM sidechaining includes: "RM Env" focus on either transient or sustain portion, smoothing control to diminish distortion, strength multiplier slider

• Built-in oscilloscope

• Flip the envelope upside down with the "Gate" button to use for gating

• Use the device input as the trigger by turning off the "SC Input" button. In combination with the "Gate" mode, you can re-envelope drums by just placing the device on a kick/snare track.

• FREE!

Changelog

Version 1.5, 17th January 2024

• Better transient detection: ditched my own algorithm in favor of https://github.com/rconstanzo/SP-tools
• New settings & visualization for the transient detection from the Detection Settings menu
• MIDI input added. Overrides transient detection when enabled, but audio input still drives the envelope follower, RM sidechain & oscilloscope
• Changed RM sidechaining from 100% to 0% stereo linked
• Discontinued XL version, which had two "instances" and inputs in one device.

Version 1.4, 19th October 2023

• Envelope follower improved
• RM multiplier slider added

Version 1.1 Update, 21st August 2023

• UI changes: more vibrant colors, oscilloscope, former "Input" button changed to "SC Input"
• Added pop-up tooltips when hovering mouse over parameters to make device more intuitive for new users

Installation

Move Borrasca Sidechainer 1.5.amxd to:

Windows: \Users\[username]\Documents\Ableton\User Library\Presets\Audio Effects\Max Audio Effect

Mac: Macintosh HD/Users/[username]/Music/Ableton/User Library/Presets/Audio Effects/Max Audio Effect

Video walkthrough will be published later at https://www.youtube.com/@borrasca

There is no manual, but every knob and button has tooltips & info texts for the Info Box in Ableton Live.