Studio Edge

This month in Studio Edge, we’re going to go over a subject that can turn solid recordings into a high-definition mix: noise gating. Proper use of noise gates can result in recordings that are crystal clear, and will take your project to that next level.

What is Noise Gating?
Simply put, a noise gate is a device that’s used to cut any unwanted noise out of your mix or your instruments. This process is called “gating” because of the way that this process happens. Think of a noise gate like a fence gate in a garden: it opens and shuts. The last thing you want are unwanted pests (noise) in your garden, so we want to be able to open this gate for things that help our garden (mix), and shut it for things that don’t.

Setting up Your Gate
The gate is fairly simple to set up as long as you understand what the controls are doing. Let’s look at a digital gate plug-in (such as WAVES C1 Gate, pictured), since it will illustrate all of the ins and outs of a gate for a more structured understanding.

Threshold: This is the first parameter you’ll adjust when you begin gating. There will be Threshold/ Gate Open and Gate Closed settings. These settings are used to set where in your signal you want the gate to open and where the signal should be cut. The best way to start your gate is by having it completely off (past -100db), then gradually move it back until the desired gating starts.

Make sure and listen to the louder signals as well as parts that are soft before setting this, otherwise it will cut out your softer nuances. A great way to get this set right is to record your track without the gate, then play it back and adjust your gate accordingly.

Attack: The attack control determines how quickly the gate shuts after the signal has dropped below the threshold you set up. For newcomers, start this around the 2.00ms to 5.00ms mark. After you have more time to play with it, you can really hone in and adjust this setting perfectly.

Hold: The hold control determines how long the gate remains open at full volume after the signal drops below the threshold. If you set the hold to 0ms, gating can sometimes cause audible “chattering” when the threshold is too close to the signal’s lowest volumes. This chattering will sound like helicopter blades in flight, and you will easily know something’s wrong. Try setting it at 1.00ms and then adjust accordingly.

Release: The release control determines how long it will take for the gate to open back up after the signal has gone above the threshold. This setting is something that you should start around 30ms, or whatever the default setting is. This one is a little tricky to get right, but find a guitar part that has the most pick attack and work on getting the gate to capture every little part, without cutting off the beginning of it. Adjust accordingly.

Using Gates
As guitarists, we’ve begun to see many amp companies start to integrate noise gates into some of their high-gain heads. Why is this? For you chugga- chugga rock and metal players, a gate will clean up the unwanted noise in-between palm mutes and other desired silenced areas including amp hiss. Normally pedals like the ISP Decimator and built-in amp effects will only have a knob for Threshold, which makes it easier to adjust how the gate will affect your sound. When it comes to using gates in your mix, use them the right way.

The best gating will only be noticeable in dead silence because it will be deathly quiet. There should be no audible irregularities (chattering) or missing pieces to any of your playing. Just get rid of those unwanted elements for your mix to really pop. This is because any unwanted noise, even if it’s extremely faint, is noise that affects the overall quality. When a CD goes through the mastering process, those small subtleties will turn into noticeable problems if not dealt with earlier.

Understand that gating is a time saver if you’re patient setting it up. If you rush through the setup, you’re bound to run into problems including unwanted “chatter” and other artifacts. My suggestion for anyone gating for the first time is to record the tracks without the gates in place. Then, after you’re happy with the recording, take some time and mess with the settings until you’re comfortable with them. If after that you’re still having some issues getting the gates locked in, don’t be afraid to turn off the gate and dive in and manually cut out the problem dead space by hand. Doing it old school can sometimes save the day too!

Until next time, happy experimenting!