Gate:Classic
Gate:Classic is a traditional, straightforward gate, highly efficient in removing background noise from guitars, vocals, and other acoustically-recorded source material.
Threshold
The Threshold is the most important control. It defines the level at which the gate will open. It appears directly in the Input Meter through a white indicator, and it is controllable with the fader.
When Input Meter is above the indicator, the gate will be open, meaning that signal is not affected. When Input Meter is below the indicator, the gate will be closed, meaning that signal is reduced or cut.
Ratio
Where a gate simply applies a fixed amount of reduction, the expander reduces gain proportionally according to the Ratio setting.
Here we can set the Ratio to an infinite value (= Gate Mode) or fixed values (for example 3:1 = Expander Mode).
Range
The Range sets the maximum amount of attenuation to be applied to the signal when the gate is closed.
When Ratio is set to infinite value (100:1), Range is the amount of attenuation applied to the signal when the signal is closed. When Ratio is set to lower values (4:1, 6:1, etc.), the amount of attenuation will be either based on the Ratio or Range, depending on the input signal.
Attack
Attack parameter defines the length of time the gate takes to change from closed to fully open. It is the fade-in duration. Minimum attack is recommended to preserve transients, but depending on the source, you may increase this value to avoid audio clicks.
Release
Release parameter defines the length of time the gate takes to change from open to fully closed. It is the fade-out duration.
Release Slope
The Release Slope defines the shape of the release envelope.
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100% Exp | Hardware Like timing thats feels really natural |
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50% Lin | Good compromise between a natural sound and the efficiency to cut the tail |
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100% Lin | Same timing but sharper slope that is really efficient to gate the tail of a sound |
Gate Mode
Gate Mode changes internal parameters in order to better suit the detection algorithm to the source.
Classic: standard detection based on the signal amplitude only. The input signal can be filtered with the HP & LP Detection Filters. Knee is fixed at 3dB.
Vocal: introduces an internal filtering that aims to better detect the breathing of the singer. Knee is also fixed at 3dB and a special timing circuit is added to smooth the opening and closing of the gate.
Sidechain Filters
Filter the signal before it hits the threshold, so the gate only reacts to certain frequencies. A band pass behavior is possible by holding SHIFT when dragging one of the faders. This will automatically move the other fader accordingly.
Listen
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Solos the sidechain input |
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Option to auto-activate the sidechain listen as soon as you touch the filters |
Listen states are temporary, they are not saved in presets and not automatable.
External Side-Chain
When enabling the External Side-Chain, Gate:Classic will use an external source to open the gate. You will see the level of the external source on the vertical meter so you can set the Threshold appropriately. Adjusting the External Side-Chain Gain will also change the level in the detector, thus affecting the threshold.
Input Meter
Input Meter displays the peak level of the sidechain signal, after sidechain filters. It goes from -72 to 0 dBFS, and displays the maximum peak level between L and R in stereo operation.
LEDs Open/Closed
These LEDs indicate when the gate is open or closed, with a gradient depending on the gain reduction.