Nicky Romero Kickstart 2

Nicky Romero Kickstart 2: Fast Sidechain Plugin

Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 is the fastest way to get a professional sidechain pump without routing a trigger track. Built by Nicky Romero and Cableguys, this Kickstart 2 sidechain plug-in drops onto any channel and ducks the sound in time with your kick using a drawable, tempo-synced curve. It ships with sixteen curve presets and adds sync, external and MIDI sidechain modes. It is light, cheap and instant. Mac and Windows, in one purchase.

What’s Inside Nicky Romero Kickstart 2

• Drawable ducking curve: shape the exact pump you want and it snaps to the beat, no trigger track needed.
• Sixteen curve presets: ready sidechain shapes from a gentle breathe to a hard, tight duck.
• Sync mode: locks the pump to your project tempo with visual feedback of the curve moving.
• External sidechain mode: trigger the duck from an actual kick or any audio source when you want it.
• MIDI mode: fire the ducking from MIDI notes for full control over the rhythm.
• Multiband and mix controls: duck only the low end if you like, and blend wet and dry to taste.

Who Is Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 For?

EDM, house and future bass producers use this sidechain plugin for the pumping, breathing groove those genres are built on, set up in seconds. Trap and hip-hop producers use it to duck a bass or pad under the kick so the low end stays clean. Anyone who finds manual sidechain routing fiddly reaches for the Kickstart 2 plugin, because it delivers the same effect with one plug-in and no bus setup.

Formats and Compatibility

Kickstart 2 ships in VST, VST3, AU and AAX, all 64-bit. On macOS it loads into Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig and Reaper, and the AAX build covers Pro Tools. On Windows the VST3 build covers FL Studio, Ableton Live, Cubase, Studio One and Reaper. It runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel, and one purchase covers both platforms.

System Requirements

• macOS: 10.13 or higher, Intel or Apple Silicon (native)
• Windows: 8 or newer, 64-bit host
• Formats: 64-bit VST, VST3, AU and AAX
• CPU: very light; runs on modest machines

How Producers Use Nicky Romero Kickstart 2

House and EDM producers drop Kickstart on the bass and pads, pick a curve preset in sync mode, and the whole track breathes with the kick in seconds, no send or bus routing. Future bass producers use a deeper curve on the chords for the signature heavy pump. Trap producers switch to the multiband control to duck only the sub under an 808 while the mids stay put. When a track needs the duck triggered from a real kick rather than the tempo grid, external mode does it, and producers often pair Kickstart with a modulation tool like Cableguys ShaperBox 3 for the rhythms a simple pump cannot cover.

Why Buy Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 From VST Vault?

• Instant digital delivery: your download link lands in your inbox within a minute of checkout.
• Mac and Windows in one purchase: one order, both installers.
• Priced in pounds: no currency-conversion guesswork at the till.
• Every order invoiced: a clean receipt for your records.
• Real support: message us on WhatsApp or at [email protected] and a person answers.

Questions Producers Ask

What does Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 do?

It creates a sidechain pump, the ducking effect where the bass and pads dip in time with the kick, without any bus routing. You drop it on a channel, pick or draw a curve, and it ducks the sound to the beat. It adds sync, external and MIDI trigger modes plus multiband control on top of the first Kickstart.

Is Kickstart 2 worth it?

For the price, most producers say yes. It does one job, the sidechain pump, faster and cleaner than manual routing, and the sixteen curves plus multiband ducking cover nearly every case. If you make house, EDM or trap and use sidechain on most tracks, it pays for itself in saved setup time.

Is Kickstart 2 free?

No, it is a paid plug-in, though it is inexpensive and there is a trial so you can test it first. There is no free edition; the purchase unlocks all sixteen curves, the three sidechain modes and multiband ducking, and it is a one-off for Mac and Windows.

Ready to buy Kickstart 2? Browse more Audio Effects at VST Vault, or head to Bundles for more in one purchase.