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Other uses of gating
DN530
Operator Manual 7
Other uses of gating
Gates were originally devised to reduce noise in the silent passages of a music
programme, especially during the process of multi-track recording on analogue tape.
Although they are still used for reducing noise, many other uses and creative
applications have been found for them over the years, including:
• Noise reduction.
• Removing compressor breathing noise.
• Reducing spill from adjacent sound sources.
• Gating ambience reverb for effects.
• Gating one instrument to synchronise it with another.
• Ducking one source to make room for another in a mix.
• Reduction of ringing on drums.
• Increasing the definition and punch of drums.
Unwanted side effects
Very often the process of gating produces unwanted side effects, especially if the gate
is not set up well or does not operate sympathetically with a particular type of source
material. These can include the following:
• Chatter The gate is indecisive and keeps opening and closing on sustained notes.
• Clicking The attack is set too fast or its envelope shape is unsuitable and
generates high order harmonics each time it opens.
• False triggering The gate opens on mic spill as well as its intended source.
• Noise enhancement Noise is removed totally, so that the transition from when
the gate shuts to when it opens and back, modulates the background noise so much
that it draws the listener’s attention to the noise when it is present.
For details of how to overcome the unwanted side effects, see Appendix A "Application
Notes" on page 27.
Providing controls for threshold, attack, release, hold and ratio, plus good metering,
helps operators set up the gate for differing signal sources and minimise most of the
negative effects above. However, this may involve a degree of compromise between
the desired gating effects and the unwanted side effects. The DN530 will fare better
than most because design choices made during its development were based on
listening tests carefully tailored to match real world applications.