Klark Teknik DN514 Plus, Operator'S Manual

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Signal
Le
v
e
l
Signal
Le
v
e
l
Threshold level
Snare
Time
Time
Background noise
Gate closed
Gate closed Gate closed
Open
Open
11
l
abc
Using the DN514
Even in situations where there are many interacting sound sources we seem to be able to 'tune in' on the sounds
we want to hear and reject others. This sometimes known as the 'cocktail party effect' where it is possible to
pick out one person's voice even at a distance from many conflicting conversations.
The microphone is less selective in its pick up, being sensitive to ALL sounds within its range and coverage
angle. For example, a microphone set to pick up the snare drum of a drum kit will pick up every other drum
and cymbal to some extent, and probably the bass guitarist as well. When several microphones are positioned
on the kit, each one giving a good sound on its own particular drum, they will all pick up unwanted
instruments as well, making the sound less clear.
One solution to this problem is to use a noise gate on each microphone. The gate will reduce the output from
the microphone to almost zero when the drum is silent, yet will open practically instantaneously when the
drum is played. As the sound from the drum decays, the gate will close again and reject noise from the rest of
the kit.
The Threshold level represents the sound level at which the gate will open. Any sound exceeding the threshold
triggers the gate. Sounds at lower levels leave the gate closed and the microphone will be almost completely
silent.
Diagram 1