Kickstart supports three different retrigger options. Opening the settings tab (by pressing the gear icon) shows the different retriggering options, which make things a lot more interesting. Setting the note length to 1/8 means that the envelope is restarted every 1/8th count, whereas 1/4 means it’s applied every 1/4th count and so on.

You can choose between 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1/1, and thus determine how the volume automation relates to the host application’s tempo setting. Other than that, you can set the different timing options on top of the user interface. Conveniently, it is possible to make these adjustments by using the left and right arrows on the UI. The customization can be done by choosing the preferred envelope shape and by shifting the envelope left or right. The waveform display is super convenient, as you can make sure to tweak the volume automation curve according to the audio signal that is being processed. Underneath the curve display, you can monitor the waveform of the audio signal going through the plugin in real-time. Obviously, this curve closely mimics the position of the kick drum in most dance music tracks and its effect on a side-chained track. Some are creative, some are relatively standard, such as the first one, which ducks the volume right at the start of the count.

In total, there are sixteen curves you can apply. Next to it, we have a choice of different volume curves, or, as the developers like to call them, hand-crafted modulation curves. The higher the percentage, the more apparent the volume automation effect will be. First of all, the effect has a big ‘Mix’ knob which is, of course, just another term for a Dry/Wet control. Kickstart uses different volume ducking curves to achieve the effect that we typically associate with side-chain compression. It is a volume automation utility, rather than an actual side-chaining device, as you don’t have to send any additional signal to the plugin’s input in order to get the desired pumping effect. What you see, is quite literally what you’ll get on the output.Īlthough the first look at the user interface might suggest that Kickstart is a side-chain plugin, that is not exactly correct. It comes at a reasonable price of €10 ($15) and is surprisingly easy to use. The plugin was crafted by the Cableguys, in collaboration with Nicky Romero. Nicky Romero Kickstart is a virtual effect available in VST and AU plugin formats for PC and Mac based host applications.

Nicky romero kickstart vst