$29

sidearm is a very flexible compressor with many options to tweak the sidechain signal for very precise control. It can perform downwards, upwards and parallel compression and limiting, in peak or RMS flavours and with lookahead if you want it. But the sidechain control is where sidearm really gets to business. Whether you choose an internal sidechain or an external audio source, you can modify the sidechain audio with a multi-mode, adjustable-slope filter (up to 96 dB/octave) and adjust the mid/side, stereo balance and gain. You can also gate the control signal so it only kicks in above a certain level. This brings a level of control that will allow you to define exactly when the compressor kicks in, by isolating specific frequencies, stereo positions and volume levels in the sidechain. There is even a ‘sidechain listen’ option so you can hear what the compressor hears in the sidechain.

Example uses could be to isolate a kick sound in a loop with a LP filter and 100% mid signal, so the compressor ducks the bass channel every kick. You can create an effective de-esser by isolating sibilance with a steep BP filter, so the compressor reduces volume at these points. The gain and gate are useful to create fast and choppy drum compression and also useful for controlling upwards compression triggers. The mix control allows mighty parallel compression, with no phasing between the wet and dry signals, for an unbeatable combination of compressed drums and preserved transients.

Not to miss out the other options that include linked/unlinked stereo detection, brickwall limiter, super fast attack and release with low frequency distortion cleaning and it just wouldn’t be a de la Mancha plugin without a dirt knob. It also has stereo level, peak and reduction metering with adjustable sensitivity.



· Multi-function compressor with tweakable sidechain and comprehensive metering
· Flexible controls allow use as a compressor, limiter or maximiser
· Sidechain signal can be filtered, adjusted for mid/side, stereo balance and gain for precise triggering
· Internal or external sidechain routing
· 6 mode filter (LP, HP, BP, notch, peak a & b) adjustable from 12 to 96 dB/Octave to isolate frequencies in the sidechain
· Sidechain listen option – you hear what the compressor detects in the sidechain
· Wet/Dry mix control allows blending of dry uncompressed signal for NY style parallel compression
· Dirt knob adds saturation for subtle flavour or full-on filth
· Attack / Release curve can be linear or non-linear
· Stereo input detection can be linked or unlinked, with max or average level detection
· Distortion ‘cleaning’ option for very short release times
· Input detection can be Peak or RMS level with adjustable window
· Optional limiting on final output
· Look-ahead defined by user in ms
· Metering for each band and combined output, covers stereo input, output and gain reduction with adjustable sensitivity. All meters show actual and peak levels
· Presets covering all functions and many configurations



sidearm is capable of significantly increasing the volume of audio material and some of the presets are much louder than others. Please take care when scanning through presets or tweaking/automating parameters, as you may get sudden increases in volume that could damage your ears or equipment

$29 - Click the Buy Now button to purchase sidearm from the dlM automated webshop using PayPal
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The download includes standard and 'internal sidechain only' versions (for use in hosts that don't support multi-input plugins)





Download demo VST (3.9 MB) - This zip contains the demo versions of sidearm to allow you to fully evaluate them before purchasing. The download includes standard and 'internal sidechain only' versions (for use in hosts that don't support multi-input plugins). They are fully functioning except you will get 1 second of silence every 30 seconds and a nag screen on start up. Manual is also included

I decided against making audio demos for sidearm, I feel compression is a matter of taste and the demo VST will give you a better idea if it's right for you than any audio demo



There is a wide range of presets included to demonstrate the different options of sidearm. These presets can sound totally different depending on the source material and may not compress enough or could clip/distort depending on what you try it on. The compressor settings will almost always need to be adjusted to the volume and dynamic range of the audio you are running through it. So the presets are a demonstration and a starting point, but you should expect to tweak a little if you want to get the best out of sidearm.



sidearm was developed using SynthEdit software version 1.016
There is a known bug with this version of SynthEdit that affects some multicore processors, although it isn't widely documented. Some users with multicore processors and certain hosts have reported issues when trying to load multiple instances of the same SynthEdit plugin. This bug is not reproducable on all systems or hosts, and may not occur on your system. If you have a multicore processor you are strongly urged to fully test the demo version of sidearm on your system before purchasing.
This bug does NOT affect single core processors or single instances of a plugin
This bug only seems to apply in hosts with multi-core support
Whilst SynthEdit 1.1 will fix this bug, there are several other bugs associated with SE 1.1 and it is not considered stable at this time. There is no guarantee that sidearm will be updated to SE 1.1, as the compatibility between the two versions is not certain.
If you do have issues with multiple instances, there is a potential workaround. By making several copies of sidearm.dll (eg sidearm_1.dll, sidearm_2.dll, etc) in your VST directory, your host will see each one as a different plugin and be able load one instance of each



sidearm has been tested and works in Cubase 4.5, Sonar 7.0.2, Ableton Live Lite 7.0.14, FL Studio 8.02, Reaper 2.56, Renoise 2.0, energyXT 2.5, energyXT 1.4 and Podium 2.09
You should however always test the demo version in your choice of hosts/system before purchase



Thanks for the 3rd party modules from Chris Kerry, Dave Haupt and Kelly Lynch



All plugins are Windows VST only. They can be bought seperately or in bundles for an even better deal. Please check the included End User License Agreement (EULA) before installing. You are encouraged to try the demo version before purchase. You can get updates on plugins by subscribing to my newsletter