Filter
Top Products
7
Operating The S gate 4
GATING A SIGNAL
Unwanted noises, buzzes and hisses can be easily removed by using S gate 4. The idea is to have the Gate
open only when the sound you want to hear is playing and to mute off and eliminate (Gate closed) the unwanted
noises, buzzes and hisses.
Below is a step by step example on gating a signal with the S gate 4. A CD with a sample of a snare drum hit with
reverb, or a drum machine is a good signal source for the purpose of this test example, however you can use any
audio source. To Gate your signal, do the following:
Follow the previous section, "SETTING UP THE S gate 4" for normalizing the controls.
• To engage the Gate, make sure that the IN/OUT switch is pressed in and that the green LED is illumi-
nated.
• Now with your sound source playing, increase the TRIGGER level and listen as the signal begins to gate.
NOTE:
For a visual representation of the
gate activity, look at the GATE OPEN/
CLOSED DISPLAY located above the
TRIGGER control. The display has three
LED segments indicating gate open, hold
time and gate closed.
• To get the gate to operate fast, smoothly
and predictably use the ATTACK, HOLD and RELEASE controls to contour the shape.
In theory, the ideal gate settings would open the gate as fast as possible when the desired signal is on and close
the gate as fast as possible when the desired sound is off. The problem is that when the gate is opening and
closing, it is putting a new envelope on the hiss, buzz and noise you are trying to remove. This results in unwant-
ed sounds like pops and zips. DONʼT SWEAT! You can get rid of these unwanted noise artifacts by adjusting the
ATTACH, HOLD and RELEASE controls.
In order to get the best results, the S gate 4ʼs envelope controls include a HOLD time control. HOLD time is
especially useful since it lets you set the ATTACK and RELEASE to faster times. Generally, you can set faster
ATTACK and RELEASE times on sounds with fast attacks, such as drums. On sounds with slow attacks, such
as strings and synthesizer pads, slow ATTACK and RELEASE times will sound much smoother. You can also
change the characteristic of a sound such as using a slow attack and quick release to change an electric bass
into a synthesizer bass.
Keep in mind that all the controls including TRIGGER are somewhat interactive, so experimentation is the best
way to get the sound youʼre looking for. Remember to use your ears, because if it sounds good to you, it more
than likely sounds good.
1
RANGE
AT
TACK
RELEASE
dB
HOLD
TRIGGER
HIGH
LOW
FILTER
LINK
KEY LISTEN
DUCKER
IN/OUT
IN/OUT
GAIN REDUCTION dB
30 24 1827 12 6 1 2
30
Hz
3K
.1
10
KHz
-60
+10
+4
dBu
mSec
Sec Sec
.3
300
20
.04
4
1
.5
.2
2
1
60
40
CH 1
RED - GATE CLOSED
YELLOW - HOLD
GREEN - GATE OPEN