The Controls
| Control | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Threshold | Level at which the gate opens. Above = passes through. Below = muted. |
| Attack | How fast the gate opens when signal crosses threshold. Usually fast (1–5 ms) on drums. |
| Hold | How long the gate stays open after signal drops below threshold. Prevents premature closure on drum ring-out. |
| Release | How quickly the gate closes after hold expires. Slower sounds more natural — signal fades rather than cuts. |
| Range | How much attenuation when closed. Full range = hard cut. Lower range = reduces but doesn't silence — useful when a full mute sounds unnatural. |
Starting Points by Source
| Source | Threshold | Attack | Hold | Release | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kick drum | -30 to -25 dB | 1–3 ms | 100–200 ms | 200–400 ms | Hold long enough to let the tail breathe |
| Snare (top) | -25 to -20 dB | 1–3 ms | 50–100 ms | 150–300 ms | Watch for hi-hat bleed triggering it |
| Snare (bottom) | -30 to -25 dB | 1 ms | 50 ms | 150 ms | More sensitive mic, tighter settings |
| Tom mics | -30 to -25 dB | 1–3 ms | 100–200 ms | 200–400 ms | Prevents toms from adding mud between hits |
Vocals and Gates
Use a gate on a vocal mic only if there's a specific bleed or noise problem to solve. Overzealous gating cuts out soft phrases, consonants, and breaths — it sounds unnatural and distracting. A high-pass filter and careful fader riding is almost always a better solution.
On the DM7
Gates are in the Dynamics section alongside compression. The DM7 shows an open/closed indicator — watch it while the drummer plays and confirm it opens on hits and closes cleanly between them.
If the gate is chattering (opening and closing rapidly), the threshold is set too close to the bleed level. Raise it slightly until it stabilizes.
Examples
Scenario: Snare mic is picking up hi-hat bleed and making the mix sound washy. Set a gate with threshold around -22 dB, fast attack, 75 ms hold. The gate now opens only on snare hits and closes between them, cleaning up the hi-hat bleed.
Scenario: Gate is cutting off the snare ring-out — every hit sounds choked. Hold time is too short. Increase hold to 100–150 ms to let the drum ring naturally before the gate closes.
Scenario: Gate chatters erratically during a soft passage. The threshold is too close to the bleed level. Raise threshold 3–5 dB until it stabilizes.
Related Concepts
Related KB Entries
Sources / Further Reading
- Yamaha DM7 Reference Manual — Dynamics section