Operating the s gate 4, Gating a signal, Ch 1 – Samson S-Gate 4 User Manual

Page 9

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.

RANGE

ATTACK

RELEASE

HOLD

TRIGGER

HIGH

LOW

FILTER

LINK

KEY LISTEN

DUCKER

IN/OUT

GAIN REDUCTION dB

24 18

12 6

KHz

-60

+10

dBu

mSec

Sec

300

.04

CH 1

RED - GATE CLOSED

YELLOW - HOLD

GREEN - GATE OPEN