On Tap by Carbonated Audio is a $20 sidechain ducking plugin with 16 curves, three trigger modes and a band-split crossover, on macOS and Windows, with zero latency.
Plugin comparison
Carbonated Audio On Tap vs Kickstart 2
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which effect to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.2Great
Nicky Romero Kickstart 2 by Cableguys is a sidechain ducking plugin that ducks a track's volume on each kick to clear space for bass.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Carbonated Audio On Tap | Kickstart 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $20 | $16 |
| Dubspot Score | — | 8.2 |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX, macOS, Windows | VST 2.4, VST 3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Sidechain ducking and volume-shaping plugin | — |
| Curves | 16 hand-crafted shapes, including sidechain pump, sub-bass duck and reverse chain | — |
| Trigger modes | Sync (DAW tempo), MIDI (any note), Audio (incoming signal) | — |
| Band split | Crossover from 20 Hz to 5.12 kHz, duck above or below | — |
| Controls | Mix, slope offset, shift amount, draggable end marker | — |
| Latency | Zero, no lookahead | — |
| Formats | VST3, AU, AAX on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon native); VST3 on Windows | — |
| System | macOS 10.13 or later, Windows 10 or later (64-bit) | — |
| License | $20 one time, 3 activations, free updates | — |
| Curves / presets | — | 16 hand-crafted curves |
| Triggering modes | — | MIDI trigger and audio trigger (Cableguys audio triggering) |
| Curve editing | — | Draggable curve to fit any kick duration |
| Mix control | — | Mix knob to adjust sidechain ducking strength |
| Visual feedback | — | Kick View shows kick and bass waveform display; follows non-4/4 patterns |
| Windows | — | Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 (64-bit) |
| macOS | — | macOS 10.15 or later, Intel or Apple Silicon (Native/Rosetta) |
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