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GATE
Gate In
Press GATE IN to switch the gate into the signal path.
Expand
Pressing EXPAND causes the Gate to function as an Expander,
which gives a similar effect to gating, but instead of cutting off any
signal below the threshold, it proportionately decreases it (see
diagram). This may give a more natural sound when recording
non-
percussive sources.
The adjacent LED meter
indicates in dB the
amount of gain reduction
caused by the Expander
Gate, and provides
additional visual
indication of the effect of
the RANGE control (see
below).
Listen
Press to allow audio monitoring of the gate sidechain to assist
accurate frequency adjustment during setup. The LISTEN LED
beside the meter illuminates to show that ‘Listen’ mode is active.
Range
Range determines how much the signal is attenuated when the
Gate is closed. The Gate can be set up as a cut (80dB attenuation,
control clockwise) or lesser attenuation to 0dB. Maximum
attenuation may give an unnatural sound, so keep Range at a low
value unless it is essential to reduce high levels of background
noise, or unless an obviously gated effect is desired.
Threshold
Threshold determines the level at which the gate opens, (or at
which gain reduction finishes when in Expander mode.) The higher
the threshold, the more the low-level noise is reduced, and the
more extreme the effect.
Hold
HOLD controls the variable delay before the gate release starts.
This allows the Gate to be held open until the signal has decayed
away sufficiently that the quite rapid onset of gain reduction isn’t
noticeable: alternatively the signal can be deliberately truncated
before its natural end for special effects.
Release
This control sets the Release time, the rate at which the gate
attenuation increases, fading out the signal: this Release period
begins immediately the signal has dropped below the Threshold.
On transient signals a fast release will be appropriate (control
anticlockwise), but with other material a slower release (control
clockwise) may give a more natural sound. Ideally the Release
needs to be slightly slower than the natural decay rate of the signal
to avoid audibly cutting it short.
Fast Attack
FAST ATTACK determines how quickly the gate opens once the
level of the source signal has risen above the threshold. When the
switch is pressed, the response is fast, which may be necessary on
some signals to avoid “missing” an initial transient, but could also
introduce an undesirable click on smooth, sustained sounds when
using a high threshold setting. On such signals a slower attack
(switch released) may give a more natural sound.
Hyst
Press to introduce hysteresis; this will prevent the gate oscillating
with particular combinations of input signal and threshold settings.
Ext Key
Pressing EXT KEY switches control of the gate to an external signal
on a rear panel jack socket.
De-Esser
The DE-ESSER is based on an optical technology design, letting you
remove excessive sibilance from a vocal performance (if “ess”
sounds are over-emphasised).
De-Ess In
Press in to activate the De-Esser.
Threshold
THRESHOLD determines how much de-essing is being applied to
the selected frequency. The lower the threshold (control
anticlockwise), the more de-essing is applied.
Freq
This control selects a frequency to remove between 2k2Hz and
9k2Hz.
ISA 430 Manual (multilanguage) 20/1/2000 9:06 am Page 6
