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I've noticed that it seems popular in some electronic music genres to quickly lower the volume of the music (except the bass) right around each bass beat.

Not sure why you'd wanna do this, perhaps to make the bass more pronounced? Personally I find it very tiring and annoying to listen to, almost to the point of making me physically uncomfortable even at very low volume.

Does this "effect" have a name?

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  • Sometimes videos of people talking, which usually have some background music, uses this method (aka sidechaining) so that the music doesn't interrupt the talking but also fills the gap when the speaker(s) pauses (so the audio doesn't feel too dry)
    – Divide1918
    Feb 5, 2021 at 11:28

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It's called ducking, sidechain ducking, sidechain compression or sometimes even "sidechaining".

A compressor is a device which lowers the volume of a signal when it gets louder than a set threshold level. Compressors are used in many ways to alter the dynamics of individual instruments and mixes. In a sidechaining compressor, the "key" signal that's used to control the attenuator, is taken from a different place than the signal that's attenuated. For example, a string pad might be the processed signal, and a kick drum (bass drum) is used as the key signal. Every time the kick drum hits, the string pad's volume drops and rises back after a release time has passed.

A similar technique is used for example in radio shows, to automatically duck the background music when someone speaks to the microphone.

Sidechain ducking is used to glue sounds together and to let drums or other things be loud and pronounced all the time, while allowing everything else to be loud all the time too! :) Everything is loud all the time - win/win situation?

Another effect achieved with sidechain ducking that's used a lot in electronic dance music is rhythmic pumping. If the release time is set so that the ducked instrument comes back after a musical meaningful time value like 1/8 note after the kick drum, then the background pad pumps in sync with the kick drum beat almost as if it was a guitar or accordion playing a back beat. So, the compressor is used partly as an automatic mixer, or almost like an arrangement helper.

Here's a demonstration. The musical effect is the same, but kids these days don't want to hear accordions anymore, they want boom boom kicks and ducking pads. Same thing really. ;)

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  • Obviously OP isn't impressed by the effect, so what is the purpose of using it?
    – Tim
    Jan 11, 2020 at 16:55
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    Perhaps pumping is the general name for the effect, while sidechaining / sidechain compression is one way of achieving it..?
    – Нет войне
    Jan 11, 2020 at 22:52
  • @topoReinstateMonica Isn't that what I said? :) Pumping is an effect achieved with sidechain ducking
    – piiperi Reinstate Monica
    Jan 11, 2020 at 23:02
  • I saw that you mentioned pumping, but personally thought the word 'pumping' perhaps deserved to be in the first line of the answer (as in - i thought that the answer to What do you call it when volume is decreased at bass beats? is "pumping", first and foremost; it can be achieved with side chaining, but can also be achieved without it). I may be wrong and I've nothing to add to your excellent answer otherwise - +1.
    – Нет войне
    Jan 11, 2020 at 23:31
  • Sometimes the effect isn't desired, in which case it's called "suckout." You'll frequently hear this on the radio when they play "Crazy Train" by Ozzy. The intro has a guitar lick then two bass/drum hits and a volume drop.
    – Duston
    Feb 4, 2021 at 14:49

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