▪Eliminate unwanted background noise, such as headphones bleed when recording vocals,
amplifier hum when recording a guitar or bass, etc.
▪Control bleed levels across multiple microphones in a complex recording (e.g. on a drum-
set).
At first, background noise might not seem really disturbing compared to the level of your
recorded instrument or vocals. But on the contrary, don’t overlook it! It is strongly recom-
mended to thoroughly clean each of your tracks before mixing them together, in order to
create as much space as possible for your audio content!
Furthermore, the gate can be used creatively in countless situations, both when composing
and mixing!
Differences Between Gate and Expander
The difference between the gate and the expander relies in the way each of them attenuates
the signal once its level falls under the threshold:
▪The gate simply shifts down the signal level by the defined range (the gate “closes”).
▪The expander first attenuates the signal in a proportional way with a predefined ratio. For
example, with a ratio of 2:1, an input level that is 1 dB below the threshold will create an
output level that is 2 dB below the threshold. When the applied attenuation reaches the
chosen range value, the expander keeps the signal attenuated by this range, behaving like
the gate.
The gate can be seen as a brutal expander — an expander with an infinite ratio and no pro-
portional transition. While the gate creates a cleaner track, the expander attenuates the sig-
nal in a more natural way.
Main Expanding/Gating Parameters
Expanding and gating can be controlled by several parameters. The most important parameters
are the following:
▪The threshold defines the audio level below which expanding/gating takes place. Above
this threshold level, the incoming signal is left untouched; below this threshold level, the
gain of the incoming signal is attenuated.
▪The range defines the maximum attenuation applied to the signal.
Welcome to SOLID DYNAMICS
What Is an Expander/Gate?
Solid Dynamics - Manual - 7
