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DYNAMICS

Pump

The bass ducking under the kick, the pumping pad, the gate and the swell. On the beat, on another track’s sound or on its notes.

Made for Harmonic Pro Studio

Editions and pricing are announced at launch. Every new installation can try it free for 60 days.

Download free Read the user manual →
Harmonic Pro Studio Pump sidechain ducking plugin

  • Beat, sound or notes

    Pump on the song’s grid with no kick at all, duck under a recorded kick’s sound, or under the notes of another track, exactly on time, even from a muted track.

  • Draw the duck

    Seven shapes from a classic kick duck to a gate and a swell, or draw your own curve and watch the playhead run along it.

  • One right-click

    Right-click the bass, choose Duck to and the kick: Pump is set up and listening, in one undo step.

What makes it different

Pump is not a compressor: it never listens to its own track. It follows the beat or another track and lowers the level along a curve you can see and draw, in time with the song’s tempo and time signature. In MIDI it reads the kick’s notes before they sound, so a silent “ghost kick” can drive it and the duck can start a few milliseconds before each kick. It adds no latency, and an export sounds exactly like playback.

Features

  • Three triggers: TEMPO (the song’s grid), AUDIO (another track’s sound), MIDI (another track’s notes)
  • A muted or silent key track still drives the duck in MIDI
  • Duck early: up to 50 ms before each note in MIDI
  • Seven shapes: Classic, Hard, Soft, Long, Gate, Swell, Offbeat, or your own curve of up to 16 points with bends
  • Lengths from 1/32 to 4 bars, straight, triplet or dotted, following tempo and time-signature changes
  • Threshold with the key’s level shown live, and a pre-fader key that keeps ducking when you solo or mute
  • Pick the kick note on a drum track, and count notes played live too
  • Depth, Smooth, Nudge, Mix and Trim, with click-free changes
  • Duck to: one right-click on a track or a mixer strip
  • A live playhead on the curve, a gain meter and a hit lamp
  • 18 factory presets in Tempo, Audio and MIDI folders, plus your own
  • A/B, delta listening, full automation of Depth, Smooth, Nudge, Trim, Mix and the power
  • No added latency; exports sound exactly like playback

Requirements

Harmonic Pro Studio 1.0 or later, on Windows or macOS. Editions and pricing are announced at launch.

Questions

Is Pump a compressor?
No. A compressor listens to its own track. Pump follows the beat, or another track’s sound or notes, and lowers the level along the curve you choose. For compression, use Press.
Do I need a kick track?
No. On TEMPO, Pump pumps to the song’s grid by itself. In AUDIO or MIDI it listens to the track you pick as its key.
Can it duck before the kick?
Yes, in MIDI: turn Nudge below 0 and the duck starts up to 50 ms before each note. In AUDIO it reacts to the hit it hears, so it can’t start earlier.
Can the kick be silent?
Yes. In MIDI, Pump reads the key track’s notes before its instrument, so a muted kick track, or one with no sound, still drives the duck.
Does it add latency?
No. Pump adds no delay to your track, and an export sounds exactly like playback.
Where can I learn every control?
The user manual has a full page on Pump, with every control, the factory presets and recipes.