There’s nothing here that can’t be done using Cableguys’ own flagship tool, Shaperbox. Kickstart 2 is smartly pitched between simplicity and flexibility.

Kickstart 2 is smartly pitched between simplicity and flexibility This is an excellent touch, making the plugin far more useful for subtle mixing applications as well as more overt pumping. Kickstart 2 introduces a band split mode too, whereby the ducking can be applied solely to the low frequencies below an adjustable cutoff point. This is particularly useful in combination with the real time waveform displayed by the plugin’s UI, which here can display both the main audio and sidechain inputs simultaneously, allowing users to drag the curve to match the displayed waveform. However, here users can also click and drag the curve itself to precisely control the length of the effect. As with the original, the whole curve can be nudged left or right to adjust timing. There are both down and upward curves, meaning that along with rhythmic ducking, Kickstart can also automate a sound’s decay/release. These can be used to apply everything from extreme volume cuts to slower fades. Nicky Romero/Cableguys Kickstart 2: Performance and verdictĪs with its predecessor, Kickstart 2 comes stocked with 16 preset automation curves. As a response to this, the developers have added a handful of new features for Kickstart 2 that mean it’s now not just an easier source of rhythmic automation than those likely available in your DAW’s stock plugins but a significantly more powerful one. Sidechaining techniques have become ubiquitous over the past couple of decades, and tools that apply – or emulate – the effect of a sidechained compressor are far more commonplace now. This mode joins the existing functions from the original – Sync, once again offering 1/8, 1/4, 1/2 and 1/1 pumping, and MIDI triggering, slightly easier to access here having been moved from the advanced menu to the front UI panel. Most significantly, it adds an actual sidechain input, meaning the ducking effect can be triggered by a custom kick pattern or any other audio source, which immediately opens up its rhythmic capabilities. Kickstart 2 does a lot to expand the flexibility.

However, Kickstart’s synced pumping was effectively locked to divisions of a 4/4 rhythm and, while it was possible to work around this using MIDI triggering, that limited its appeal beyond house, EDM and techno. Its simplicity made it an instant hit with that audience, and a range of pre-designed automation curves made it flexible within its remit. Unsurprisingly, given Nicky Romero’s name attached to it, Kickstart was primarily targeted at EDM and ‘big room’ house. Includes 16 preset automation curves and bandsplit more. KEY FEATURES: Rhythmic volume automation tool with Sync, MIDI and Audio sidechain modes.

Fl studio kickstart plugin