A Noise Gate is one of those few tools producers and engineers have to guarantee the perfect recording, whether it's vocals or instrument. Read along with today's post to see what it can be used for and how you can apply it to your own tracks.
A noise gate is a type of audio effect that is commonly used in music production and live sound engineering to reduce unwanted background noise and improve the clarity of the audio signal. It is essentially a device that automatically reduces the volume of an audio signal when it falls below a certain threshold.
The basic operation of a noise gate is relatively simple. When the audio signal falls below the set threshold level, the noise gate "closes" and attenuates the signal, effectively muting any noise that falls below the threshold. When the audio signal exceeds the threshold, the noise gate "opens" and allows the full signal to pass through.
Noise gates are often used in live sound settings to reduce unwanted background noise from instruments and microphones. For example, a noise gate can be used to reduce the sound of cymbals bleeding into the drum microphones or to reduce the noise of a guitar amplifier when the guitar is not being played.
Noise gates can also be used in music production to clean up recordings and improve the overall clarity of the mix. For example, a noise gate can be used to reduce the sound of breaths and other unwanted noises in a vocal recording, or to remove the noise of a guitar amplifier between notes.
In addition to the basic threshold control, noise gates may also include other controls such as attack and release times, hold times, and sidechain filtering. These controls allow the user to fine-tune the performance of the noise gate to better suit the specific application.
In summary, a noise gate is an audio effect that reduces unwanted background noise by muting the audio signal when it falls below a certain threshold. It is commonly used in live sound engineering and music production to improve the clarity of the audio signal and reduce unwanted noise. Noise gates can be fine-tuned using various controls to optimize their performance for a specific application.