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Audio Sidechain Compress

Mix two tracks using sidechain compression (e.g., voice or ads audio when overlaying sidechain audio)

Click to upload file or drag and drop file here

Maximum file size: 200MB Supported formats: audio/*

Click to upload file or drag and drop file here

Maximum file size: 200MB Supported formats: audio/*

Key Facts

Category
Media
Input Types
file, text, select
Output Type
file
Sample Coverage
4
API Ready
Yes

Overview

Audio Sidechain Compress is a tool that mixes two audio tracks using sidechain compression, allowing one audio to automatically reduce the volume of another. This is ideal for scenarios like voiceovers, podcasts, or ads where background music needs to duck when dialogue is present.

When to Use

  • •When adding voiceover or narration to background music in videos or podcasts to ensure clarity.
  • •When overlaying advertisements or announcements on continuous audio tracks for better audibility.
  • •When creating dynamic audio mixes where one element should dominate over another at specific times, such as in live recordings or broadcasts.

How It Works

  • •Upload the main audio file, which is the foreground track like music or ambient sound.
  • •Upload the sidechain audio file, which triggers the compression, such as voice or ad audio.
  • •Adjust parameters like threshold, ratio, attack, and release to control how much and how quickly the main audio is reduced.
  • •Optionally set an offset to delay the sidechain effect, choose output format and sample rate, then process the mix.

Use Cases

Podcast production: Mix host voice with background music to maintain listener engagement without manual adjustments.
Video editing: Add voiceover to video audio tracks, ensuring dialogue is clear over background sounds.
Audio advertising: Overlay ad clips on background music in radio or streaming content for effective messaging.

Examples

1. Podcast Voiceover Mixing

Podcaster
Background
A podcaster records an episode with background music but needs the music to lower automatically when speaking.
Problem
Manually adjusting music volume during speech is time-consuming and often results in inconsistent audio levels.
How to Use
Upload the podcast voice recording as sidechain audio and the background music as main audio. Set threshold to -15dB and ratio to 3 for subtle ducking, then process.
Example Config
{"threshold": "-15dB", "ratio": "3", "attack": "20", "release": "300"}
Outcome
The background music automatically reduces in volume whenever the podcaster speaks, creating a professional and balanced mix.

2. Video Ad Overlay

Background
A video producer needs to add an advertisement audio clip over the video's background soundtrack for a promotional video.
Problem
The ad audio is hard to hear over the loud background music, reducing the ad's effectiveness.
How to Use
Upload the video's audio as main audio and the ad clip as sidechain audio. Adjust attack to 10ms and release to 200ms for smooth transitions, then choose MP3 output.
Outcome
The background music ducks when the ad plays, ensuring the ad message is clear and prominent in the final video.

Try with Samples

audio, file
Copyright-Free AAC Audio Samples
High-quality AAC encoded audio samples for testing and development, featuring nature sounds and meditation music with excellent compression
title token audio
audio
Copyright-Free WAV Audio Samples
Uncompressed PCM WAV audio samples for testing and development, mirrored from MP3 set with nature sounds and meditation music
title token audio
audio
Copyright-Free OGG Vorbis Audio Samples
Open-source OGG Vorbis audio samples for testing and development, featuring excellent compression with nature sounds and meditation music
title token audio
audio
Copyright-Free OPUS Audio Samples
Next-generation OPUS audio samples with superior compression and quality, featuring nature sounds and meditation music optimized for modern streaming
title token audio
audio

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FAQ

What is sidechain compression?

Sidechain compression is an audio effect where the volume of one track is reduced based on the level of another track, commonly used for ducking effects like lowering music when voice is present.

What audio formats can I upload?

You can upload any common audio format like MP3, WAV, AAC, etc., as the tool accepts audio/* files up to 200MB each.

How do I set the overlay offset?

Enter the offset in seconds or hh:mm:ss[.ms] format to delay when the sidechain effect starts relative to the main audio, such as '5' for 5 seconds.

What are the default compression settings?

Default settings are threshold -20dB, ratio 4, attack 20ms, and release 300ms, but you can customize them to suit your audio mix.

Can I use this for live audio processing?

No, this tool processes uploaded audio files and is not designed for real-time or live audio; it outputs a mixed file for download.

API Documentation

Request Endpoint

POST /en/api/tools/audio-sidechain-compress

Request Parameters

Parameter Name Type Required Description
mainAudio file (Upload required) Yes -
sidechainAudio file (Upload required) Yes -
offset text No -
threshold text No -
ratio text No -
attack text No -
release text No -
outputFormat select No -
sampleRate select No -
channels select No -

File type parameters need to be uploaded first via POST /upload/audio-sidechain-compress to get filePath, then pass filePath to the corresponding file field.

Response Format

{
  "filePath": "/public/processing/randomid.ext",
  "fileName": "output.ext",
  "contentType": "application/octet-stream",
  "size": 1024,
  "metadata": {
    "key": "value"
  },
  "error": "Error message (optional)",
  "message": "Notification message (optional)"
}
File: File

AI MCP Documentation

Add this tool to your MCP server configuration: 

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "elysiatools-audio-sidechain-compress": {
      "name": "audio-sidechain-compress",
      "description": "Mix two tracks using sidechain compression (e.g., voice or ads audio when overlaying sidechain audio)",
      "baseUrl": "https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=audio-sidechain-compress",
      "command": "",
      "args": [],
      "env": {},
      "isActive": true,
      "type": "sse"
    }
  }
}

You can chain multiple tools, e.g.: `https://elysiatools.com/mcp/sse?toolId=png-to-webp,jpg-to-webp,gif-to-webp`, max 20 tools.

Supports URL file links or Base64 encoding for file parameters.

If you encounter any issues, please contact us at [email protected]