Noise Gate ( for dummies )

teddis

teddis

Fractal Fanatic
Hi Guy's,
I have read the description of the parameters from the Wiki page. However I still really only understand and use the threshold control. Can anyone please tell me the best way to set up the Noise Gate, for dummies, LOL. thx

Parameters

THRESH - Threshold control. This sets the level at which the Noise Gate will start its downward expansion. If the input signal drops below this level it will be attenuated by an amount controlled by the ratio.

RATIO - Sets the downward expansion ratio. For example, if the threshold is set to - 50 dB and the input level is -60 dB and the ratio is 2.0 the input will be attenuated by 20 dB.

RELEASE - Release rate control. Sets the rate at which the Noise Gate attenuates the signal once the threshold has been crossed. Higher values will make the signal gradually fade once it drops below the threshold.
 
THRESH — Set this so your rig just goes silent when your strings are silent.

RELEASE — Usually, you'll want to set this so the volume level decays slightly faster than the natural decay with the noise gate disabled. Faster release = less noise, less sustain.

RATIO & RELEASE together — Tweak these for the best compromise between noise reduction and sustain (it will vary depending on your preset and your guitar). Higher ratio = less noise, less sustain.
 
Rex said:
THRESH — Set this so your rig just goes silent when your strings are silent.
Click to expand...

I set the threshold just above the level where I hear hiss when my guitar volume is rolled all the way off. Many of my lead patches clean up when I roll off the guitar volume and when playing quieter, cleaner passages I sometimes find the gate softening the attack more than I want if the threshold is set high enough to silence the amp with the guitar volume open and the strings muted. When I'm not playing I always roll off the guitar volume.

Not everyone wants to mess with the guitar volume like that and not everyone uses the guitar volume know as a gain control while playing either.
 
torkolort said:
What about the attack parameter?
Click to expand...
ATTACK determines how fast the noise gate opens to let sound through when you pluck a string. Long attack times will soften your pick attack; shorter times will will let sharper attacks come through.
 
Teddis,

Are you asking about the noise gate because you currently have a noise problem or just out of general interest? The reason I ask is that I used to go way overboard using the noise gate before I learned about properly shielding my guitars. As good a gate as the AxeFX has, you are always better served eliminating the noise at the source. Your sustain always takes a hit when you use the gate.

Cheers!
-AL
 
Rex said:
ATTACK determines how fast the noise gate opens to let sound through when you pluck a string. Long attack times will soften your pick attack; shorter times will will let sharper attacks come through.
Click to expand...

Would a longer attack remove "scratchiness"?
 
That depends on what you mean by "scratchiness." If you turn up the gain and pick a single note, you'll hear a very brief scraping sound just before the note rings out. That's your pick attack. If that's what you mean by "scratchiness," then yes, a longer attack will reduce that, provided the gate was closed to start with. If you pick a rapid succession of notes, the gate will stay open, and only the first note's attack will be reduced.
 
Hi @Rex ,
I found your tips really useful but struggling to get a good legato sound. What noise gate setting would you suggest for legato and smooth sweeping? My problem is in the lower frets I keep getting harmonics when I do legato runs, even after muting really well.
 
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that by “scratchiness“ he means what happens when you let a note ring out too long and you hear the gate rapidly opening and closing because the note’s volume is right on the gate’s threshold. It sounds a bit like static when this happens.

The attack and release controls control how quickly the gate opens and closes. Think of them as damping controls for the gate. To remove the scratchiness from the gate flipping out and rapidly opening and closing when notes are hanging around the threshold level, increase the attack and release times. This will allow more notes to sustain properly.

As a general rule, you want to keep the attack value set as fast as possible so when you hit notes, they ring out clearly from the moment you hit them instead of slowly fading up the volume. The release value determines how fast the noise gate reactivates after you stop playing.

The downside is that if you set your gate to release slowly and you’re playing at full volume, then rapidly mute the strings, you will hear the hiss of the noise for a longer period of time before the noise gate slowly activates and fades the noise out.

It’s all a balancing act. Play with controls until they feel comfortable.
 
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