Sidewave

Sidewave — sidechain-driven harmonic grafting

Sidewave started as a late-night experiment: what if the harmonics of one signal could be “painted” onto another in a way that feels musical, not broken? The result is a dual-input processor that lets a sidechain source imprint its character onto your main track. It can be gentle and glue-like or boldly synthetic. Truly, I haven't even witnessed the fully capability of this kind of multiplicative sidechaining, and I'm excited to see what you come up with!

Why it’s special

• True dual-input design – MAIN + SIDE feed a shaping engine that blends dynamics, tone, and harmonic behaviour.
• Character transfer – borrow the sidechain’s bite, sheen, or growl without drowning your source.
• Focused control – In, Side, and Out trims to set balance.

Great starting moves

• Send a gritty bass as the sidechain and imprint that edge onto a clean vocal or drum bus—impact without harshness.
• Use noise or a bright percussion loop as the sidechain to add airy sparkle to dull synths without EQ.
• Feed a vocal as the sidechain to give an instrument the vocal’s forwardness while keeping its own body.
• Low-pass the sidechain to drive a synth or bassline with the rhythm of another, or even a drum bus.
• Add my plugin Symmetry to the chain for additional control over the combined tone.