This can also be used while mixing, be it on parts of the drum kit, such as the toms, for example, since you can set the gate to only trigger when the toms are being hit but not any other part of the kit, which will remove unwanted noise from the mix, or with any other element in the mix that might be introducing noise while not being played. It’s a great way of reducing unwanted noises, both in a mix or in live situations, since it keeps hum from being audible while the instrument isn’t playing, but then lets everything through once the actual instrument is played, since the signal becomes loud enough for the gate to “open”.Įxample: You know how a high-gain guitar amp always has a lot of hum/white noise when the guitar is not being played, even if you turn the volume knobs all the way down on the guitar? Engaging the gate and adjusting the threshold so that the hum completely disappears while the guitar is not being played means that it won’t add any unwanted noise while it’s not being played, but as soon as you hit a note the gate will “open” and let everything through. Once the threshold is met, the gate “opens” and lets everything through. Noise gates work by completely cutting off the signal until the threshold, which is controlled by you, is met.

If you want to know exactly how every different component in a compressor works, what the knee, the ratio, attack & release do, then here’s an article where I explain just that! What does a Noise-Gate do? Using a compressor while playing music is a great way of keeping the dynamics consistent, but it’s also the best way of adding punch to your mixes and to even everything out to keep some random loud volume spikes from poking their head out. It also adds sustain to the signal (when playing guitar, bass, etc., for example) since it keeps the signal from dying down. One thing to note is that compression does affect the tonal characteristics of the track, which is actually what a compressor is used for most of the time, to make the track sound “punchy, smooth, in your face, etc.”. Of course, going overboard will kill the dynamics of your music making it sound stale and lifeless. Essentially, it increases the volume of the overall audio file while decreasing the volume of the loudest parts so there’s not that much of a difference between them.

A compressor is designed to lower the dynamic range between the softest and the loudest sounds in an audio file to make everything more even.

Noise gates and compressors