The Digitakt II's master compressor supports flexible sidechain routing including individual track sources

The master compressor (Mixer Page 1) compresses all tracks routed to it (set per track in KIT > COMPRESSOR ROUTING). The SCS (sidechain source) parameter controls what signal the compressor analyzes to determine compression amount — this is key for sidechain pumping effects. SCS options: COMP MIX (all routed tracks), NOT COMP (all non-routed tracks), MAIN (main output), TRK1–16 (individual track — typically the kick), IN LR (external input). Setting SCS=TRK1 with kick on track 1 creates the classic sidechain pump: every kick hit triggers the compressor to duck all other tracks. SCF (sidechain filter) pre-filters the sidechain signal: negative values = lowpass (bass-heavy trigger), positive = highpass (avoid pumping from sub). DRY/WET MIX enables parallel compression (mix of compressed and uncompressed signals).

Examples

Route all tracks to compressor. Set SCS=TRK1 (kick drum), SCF=-30 (lowpass, responds to kick’s low end), RAT=6.00, ATK fast, REL medium. DRY/WET=80 for moderate pump with some uncompressed presence.

Assessment

Explain the difference between SCS=COMP MIX and SCS=TRK1. Why would you use SCF set to a lowpass value when the sidechain source is a kick drum?