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AW1600 Owner’s Manual
Dynamics Parameters
184
Appendix
A gate, or noise gate is an audio switch used to mute sig-
nals below a set threshold level. It can be used to suppress
background noise and hiss from valve (tube) amps, effects
pedals, and microphones.
Ducking is used to automatically reduce the levels of one
signal when the level of a source signal exceeds a speci-
fied threshold. It is used for voice-over applications
where, for example, level of background music is auto-
matically reduced, allowing an announcer to be heard
clearly.
Gate (GAT) and Ducking (DUK) parameters:
• Threshold — sets the level at which the gate closes, cut-
ting off the signal. Signals above the threshold level pass
through unaffected. Signals at or below the threshold
cause the gate to close.
For ducking, trigger signal levels at and above the thresh-
old level activate ducking, and the signal level is reduced
to a level set by the Range parameter.
The trigger signal is determined using the KEYIN
SOURCE parameter.
• Range — controls the level to which the gate closes. It
can be used to reduce the signal level rather than cut it
completely. At a setting of –70 dB, the gate closes com-
pletely when the input signal falls below the threshold. At
a setting of –30 dB, the gate only closes so far allowing an
attenuated signal through. At a setting of 0 dB, the gate
has no effect. When signals are gated abruptly, the sudden
cutoff can sound odd.
For ducking, a setting of –70 dB causes the signal to be
virtually cutoff. At a setting of –30 dB the signal is ducked
by 30 dB. At a setting of 0 dB, the duck has no effect.
• Attack — determines how fast the gate opens when the
signal exceeds the threshold level. Slow attack times can
be used to remove the initial transient edge of percussive
sounds. Too slow an attack time makes some signals
sound backwards.
For ducking, this controls how soon the signal is ducked
once the duck has been triggered. With a fast attack time,
the signal is ducked almost immediately. With a slow
attack time, ducking fades the signal. Too fast an attack
time may sound abrupt.
• Hold — sets how long the gate stays open or the ducking
remains active once the trigger signal has fallen below the
threshold level.
• Decay — controls how fast the gate closes once the hold
time has expired. A longer decay time produces a more
natural gating effect, allowing the natural decay of an
instrument to pass through.
For ducking, this determines how soon the ducker returns
to its normal gain after the hold time has expired.
Parameter Value
Threshold (dB) –54 to 0 (55 points)
Range (dB) –70 to 0 (71 points)
Attack (ms) 0 to 120 (121 points)
Hold (ms) 0.02 ms to 2.14 sec (216 points)
Decay (ms) 6 ms to 46.1 sec (160 points)
■ Gate and Ducking
Threshold = –10dB
Range = –30dB
Range = –70dB
–70
–60
–50
–40
–30
–20
–10
0
+10
+20
–70 –60 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 +10 +20
dB
dB
Range = –30dB
Threshold = –20dB
–70
–60
–50
–40
–30
–20
–10
0
+10
+20
–70 –60 –50 –40 –30 –20 –10 0 +10 +20
dB
dB
Output Level
Input Level
Output Level
Input Level