7.1.1 Gate

Silences the gaps between sounds: bleed between drum hits, noise and hum between phrases, a room that rings on too long.

A gate lets sound through while it is loud enough and turns it down when it falls quiet. Use it to clean up the space between notes and hits: the hi-hat bleeding into a snare mic, amp hiss between guitar phrases, background noise between vocal lines, or a drum room that rings on too long.

7.1.1.1 Adding the Gate

Select the track.
Right-click the Plugin Editor and choose Add Lite Plugin ▸ Gate.
Make sure its power button is on (orange).
Play the track, then set THRESH and RANGE (see Quick start).

See Lite effects for how the rack works.

7.1.1.2 The window

Title bar: the drag dots (to move the Gate in the rack), the power button, the name, and the gate’s state on the right: OPEN while sound is passing, CLOSED while it is being turned down. It reads OFF when the power is off.
Display: the level of your track as it plays, with the THRESH line across it. Drag the line up or down to set the threshold. Under the display, the state again (OPEN or CLOSED) and the current RANGE setting, in dB.
Knobs: THRESH, RANGE, ATTACK, HOLD and RELEASE.

7.1.1.3 Controls

Control	Range	Default	What it does
THRESH	−80 to 0 dB	−60 dB	How loud the sound must be to open the gate. Sound above it passes; sound below it is turned down.
RANGE	−60 to 0 dB	0 dB	How much the gate turns the sound down when it closes. At 0 dB the gate does nothing; at −60 dB the gaps are almost silent. Values in between just lower the gaps, which often sounds more natural.
ATTACK	0.05 to 100 ms	1 ms	How quickly the gate opens once the sound crosses the threshold. Short keeps the hit sharp; longer softens the start of each sound.
HOLD	0 to 500 ms	10 ms	How long the gate stays open after the sound falls below the threshold, before it starts to close. It starts again every time the sound goes back above the threshold.
RELEASE	5 to 2000 ms	120 ms	How quickly the gate closes after the hold. Short for tight, choppy gating; longer lets a sound fade away naturally.

A new Gate does nothing until you lower RANGE. With RANGE at 0 dB the gate opens and closes, and the display shows it, but nothing is turned down. Lower RANGE to hear it work.

7.1.1.4 Quick start

Set RANGE to about −40 dB.
Play the track and watch the display. Drag the THRESH line (or turn the knob) until it sits above the noise between the sounds and below the sounds you want to keep. The state should read OPEN on each sound and CLOSED in between.
If the ends of notes are cut off, raise HOLD or RELEASE.
If the start of each sound clicks or loses its snap, adjust ATTACK: shorter for more snap, a little longer if it clicks.
If the gaps sound unnaturally empty, bring RANGE back up towards −10 to −20 dB.

7.1.1.5 Good to know

No chatter. Once open, the gate waits until the sound is a little below the threshold before it closes, so a sound sitting right on the threshold doesn’t flicker open and shut.
Stereo stays put. Both sides open and close together, so a stereo sound doesn’t shift from side to side as the gate works.
No delay. The Gate adds no latency to your track.
Automation. Right-click any knob to automate it, for example to open the gate fully in one section.

7.1.1.6 Recipes

Tight snare or tom

THRESH just under the hits, RANGE −40 dB, ATTACK 0.1–1 ms, HOLD 20–50 ms, RELEASE 60–150 ms.

Quieter noise between guitar phrases

THRESH just above the hiss, RANGE −15 to −25 dB, ATTACK 1–5 ms, HOLD 50–100 ms, RELEASE 200–400 ms, so the ends of notes fade out naturally.

Vocal with background noise

THRESH below the quietest words you want to keep, RANGE −10 to −20 dB, ATTACK 1–3 ms, HOLD 100 ms, RELEASE 250–500 ms. A gentle range keeps breaths and room sound believable.

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