Summary

Kickstart 2 is a fast, easy-to-use plugin designed for professional sidechaining, created by Nicky Romero and Cableguys. It solves the common problem of clashing kick and bass sounds by providing instant volume ducking synchronized with the kick drum, making space for bass to be clear and punchy. It is suitable for various music genres including EDM, trap, house, hip-hop, techno, and drum and bass.

Features

• Compatible with any DAW and music genre.
• Instant setup with no complicated configuration needed.
• Includes 16 hand-crafted sidechain curves used by Nicky Romero.
• Big Mix knob to easily adjust sidechain effect strength.
• Adaptive curve fitting for any kick drum length by dragging the curve.
• New audio triggering that follows any kick rhythm, including non-4/4 patterns.
• Multiband sidechain feature to duck only the low frequencies of the bass, allowing tighter bass without losing overall fullness.
• Visual kick view showing kick and bass waveforms together for precise adjustment.

Development & Support

Developed by Cableguys, known for plugins like ShaperBox, HalfTime, and VolumeShaper, in collaboration with Nicky Romero. A free demo version is available with some usage restrictions. The full plugin supports VST 2, VST 3, AU, and AAX formats on Windows and Mac OS (including Intel and Apple Silicon).

Upgrade options are available for users of Kickstart 1 at a reduced price.

Intended Users

Producers and mixers aiming to improve the clarity and impact of the kick drum and bass relationship in electronic and dance music styles.