Gating is like an exaggerated expander, reducing the level or even silencing parts of a signal
that fall below a certain level in order to reduce or eliminate noise in quiet parts of a recording.
For example, a range of 15 to 20 dB can reduce breathing in a vocal track but leaves just
enough to sound natural.
Gating is extremely effective, but it’s also very powerful so requires careful attention. If the gate
threshold is set too high it can cause artifacts, such as cutting off the start of a syllable or the
quiet end of a word. You can compensate by reducing the threshold slightly, or by increasing
the attack or release time.
Compressor
Compression lets you reduce peaks in an audio signal, reducing the dynamic range of a signal,
so you can boost the overall level without clipping. This is helpful when you want to make sure
the loud elements in a signal don’t diminish the strength of quieter sounds, or to smoothen
changes in audio levels within the signal.
TIP
It’s a good idea to apply the compressor after you have set the EQ controls.
Make Up
The make up setting lets you increase the overall signal in combination with compression
settings. With loud parts of the audio reduced using compression, you can now use the make
up control to boost the overall sound without clipping.
Limiter
The limiter prevents peaks of the signal from exceeding a set maximum level. A limiter is helpful
to prevent hard clipping. For example, if you set the limiter to -8 dB, the input signal will never
exceed that level. Adjusting the attack, hold and release settings will set how gentle the limiter
affects the signal.
Dynamics Controls Characteristics
Control
Minimum
Default
Maximum
Expander/Gate
Expander Controls*
Threshold
-50dB
-45dB**
0dB
Range
0dB
18dB
60dB
Ratio
1.0:1
1.1:1
10:1
Attack
0.5ms
1.4ms
30ms
Hold
0.0ms
0.0ms
4s
Release
50ms
93ms
4s
Gate Controls*
Threshold
-50dB
-45dB**
0dB
Range
0dB
18dB
60dB
Attack
0.5ms
1.4ms
30ms
Hold
0.0ms
0.0ms
4s
Release
50ms
93ms
4s
60
Using ATEM Software Control