Sixgate
TM
Owner's Manual v 6.0 CE ©2010 ARX®
Sixgate
TM
Owner's Manual v 6.0 CE ©2010 ARX®
6
3
Using the Key Input
When you plug a signal into the KEY input, the gate is no longer controlled by the signal
plugged into the ordinary input, but by the one plugged into the KEY input.
Let’s say you want the Bass guitar exactly in time with the Kick drum. Insert a Sixgate channel
on each of them. Take a parallel split from the Kick channel and plug it into the KEY input of
the Bass gate. Now the Bass gate is controlled by the Kick drum, and will open and close
exactly in time with it.
If you have timing problems with the brass section in a band, assign them all to one subgroup,
gate it, and Key that gate with a line from the Lead brass player’s channel. Now when he or
she plays, they all play!
If you have access to a signal generator you could run a 40 Hz signal into a gate and Key it
from the Kick drum for a really FAT sound that no amount of EQ could give you. You could also
try the same thing with a White noise generator Keyed by the snare drum (or Pink noise for a
deeper sound).
Using the Key inputs of your Sixgate is limited only by your imagination. Just about anything is
possible - try it and see.
Sidechain Insert
The KEY inputs on your Sixgate are also insert points for the gate sidechain, and are wired Tip
IN, Ring OUT, Sleeve EARTH/GROUND. By using this insert point you have access to the
gate’s control circuitry (sidechain) for Frequency Sensitive Gating. This involves the insertion of
a Graphic EQ, Parametric EQ or a simple RC filter in the gate’s sidechain, to make the gate
more or less sensitive to certain frequencies or frequency ranges.
For example, the insertion of a Low Pass Filter decreases the gate’s sensitivity to higher
frequencies such as Cymbal splash. This can be useful in drum miking, where the gate on a
Tom can be falsely triggered by a loud cymbal crash, or the Snare gate triggered by the very
close HiHats.
By inserting a Low Pass Filter in the control circuitry you make the gate ‘deaf’ to the cymbal
frequencies, so it is only triggered by the sound of the drum.
Here is a simple Low Pass Filter that will fit inside a stereo guitar jack plug, and suitable for
drums.
Specifications
Introduction
Thank you for choosing this ARX Sixgate. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed
creating it. As with all ARX equipment, it has undergone extensive alignment and ‘burn in’
before shipping. To ensure continued trouble free use, please familiarise yourself with the
contents of this manual before using.
About the Sixgate
The sheer amount of effects and signal processors necessary for today’s standards of audio
production puts a great strain on the available space in equipment racks, both in the studio and
on the road.
To put it in a nutshell, space is money.
Recognising this fact, ARX design engineers have developed the Sixgate, a Six channel Noise
Gate in a single rack unit. This truly unique and versatile signal processor gives no less than Six
independent channels of gating in the space normally taken up by a single channel unit.
The effective use of gates is a key element in creating clean mixes, and enhances the stereo
imaging, as well as cleaning up noisy tracks. With its Six independent gates, the ARX Sixgate
can handle a complete drum kit through to a conference, and all points in between.
In live work gates let you have the sound you want, not the sound you are forced to have to stop
things feeding back. In studio work gates give you a dramatic increase in clarity, stereo depth
and overall sound.
Despite its compact size, the Sixgate is not short of features. Each channel has an IN/OUT
switch, individual controls for Release, Depth and Threshold, and Red and Green LED displays
to indicate Gate Open or Closed status. In addition to this, as on all ARX single rack unit
equipment, there is a numbered marker panel that you can write on for easy confirmation of your
compressor assigns.
Balanced Inputs and Outputs are standard.
Full access to each gate sidechain is provided through Key Input/insert points on the rear panel.
Application Notes - Noise Gates
A Noise Gate is an audio signal processing device that shuts off a signal when the level drops
below a user adjustable threshold.
When the signal is below this threshold the gate will close and the signal won’t be heard; when it
is above this threshold the gate will open and the signal will pass through unaffected by the gate,
at unity gain.
Thus a gate can be set to discriminate between the audio signals you want, and unwanted
sounds such as tape hiss, ground loop buzzes, background noise, and leakage from other
instruments. All that is necessary is a level difference of a few dB for the gate to distinguish
between wanted (louder) and unwanted (softer) sounds. By careful adjustment of the Threshold
control you can let through what you want to hear (or to record) and shut out what you don’t.
As an example, listen to a Kick drum channel alone, with the PFL/SOLO button on the desk,
when the whole band is playing. In between beats of the drum you will normally hear leakage
To raise the filter frequency, decrease the capacitor value; to lower the filter frequency,
increase the capacitor value.
68 NF CAPACITOR
4.7K RESISTOR
TIP
RING
SLEEVE
For non-technical people
TIP
RING
4.7K
68 NF
SLEEVE
For technical people